HIGH AND DRY

Last week, Dave, Myron, Wayne, and I took advantage of the ongoing warm weather for a pre-Christmas canoeing trip. A last minute cancellation left me with Tuesday off, and I decided to take advantage of the opportunity. Myron suggested paddling the Ararat River, which flows south from Mount Airy near Pilot Mountain State Park before joining the Yadkin River. The water level in the Ararat was minimal, but Myron and Wayne were pretty confident we’d be able to get through.

Myron left his truck at the Shoals access in Pilot Mountain State Park on the Yadkin River, and we all met at the put-in. Our plan was to start from the highway 268 bridge over the Ararat. The only parking option here is pulling off the side of the highway. Fortunately the access from there down to the river was recently cleared of brush. As a result, we had a relatively easy time accessing the water.

Dave and I went tandem, while Myron and Wayne paddled solo canoes. Unlike some of the recent rivers we’ve paddled, the Ararat has some actual rapids. The run we had selected has three or four class II drops, as well as numerous smaller ones. I was looking forward to a bit of a challenge, as I hadn’t attempted any significant rapids in quite some time.

I didn’t have to wait long. The biggest rapid on the river is only a couple of hundred yards downstream, beneath a bridge. We followed Myron and Wayne, and although our run was far from perfect, we emerged upright. The next rapid downstream featured some exciting waves, and one of them washed over the gunnel and drenched me. It may have been a warm day, but that water was cold! It took several hours before I finally warmed back up.

Sometime later we ran another fun rapid. This one was longer, and we finished at a large sandbar where we took a brief break. From there the rapids were a bit easier, and we were able to enjoy the scenery. The river banks are almost completely undeveloped, and high bluffs covered in mountain laurel made for a pretty trip. At one bend in the river, we spotted the unique spire of Pilot Mountain in the distance. Aside from the fine scenery, we saw a fair bit of wildlife, including deer, turtles, and kingfishers.

We had a quick lunch on another sandbar before resuming the trip downstream. Later, we tackled another tricky rapid. This one required a fair bit of zig-zagging to find a clear channel through an abundance of rocks. We started out ok on this one, but ended badly. We maneuvered through the first couple of turns, but botched the last one. The end of the rapid only has one clear channel, and we missed it. We ended up washing up onto some rocks, and there was no hope of getting off. We were thoroughly stuck, and our only choice was to get out and walk. Wading through that icy water was unpleasant, but at least we didn’t flip! We pulled the canoe to shore, and portaged the final section of the rapid.

The river was easier beyond that challenging rapid. We passed under another highway bridge, and a short distance later we floated under the Yadkin Valley Railroad trestle and into the Yadkin River. The rest of the trip was tedious. The Yadkin River is wide and slow here, and we actually had to work to keep our momentum going downstream. We finally reached the take-out, and I waited there while everyone else retrieved the other trucks. While I was waiting, I cleaned up some of the abundant trash that mars the access area. Dave and Wayne returned later, just ahead of the park ranger who’d come to lock the gate.

We headed home, after vowing to paddle some more rivers in the area. Dave and I are looking forward to more opportunities to improve our whitewater paddling skills. Next up might be the Fisher River, which offers similar scenery and challenge. Or, we might just come back to run the Ararat again. The Ararat is a lovely river, and we’re all looking forward to paddling it again sometime.

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