Saturday, July 5, 2014

Roanoke River Blueway Impractical?

Nice rapids like this are rare on Roanoke River.
The local daily finally got around to doing a piece on the Roanoke River as a blueway this a.m. (here) and it's a good article as far as it goes. The most important point in any story like this is "can it be used effectively?" and the answer here is that the Roanoke River is far too rocky and low to be a good kayak/canoe river.

There is an intent to have "more attention given to water levels and how to improve them so users could get the most out of the river," but there's no explanation how that can be done. The river is not dam controlled, localities draw off water in the summer, and levels are extremely low on an already-shallow river.

It is a good river for brief paddles, tubing, local swimming and fishing. It is entirely too slow and non-challenging for veteran kayakers/canoers and frustratingly rocky and difficult for the inexperienced. It is not a dangerous river, from my experience, with Rapids through the main part of the valley reaching Class 2. Up near the Montgomery County line, there are a couple of sets of rapids that are far more challenging, but they don't constitute much of a "run" of three or four hours.

My guess is that short of dredging the rocky areas with a channel of, say seven feet in width, which the EPA simply will not allow in my estimation, there's not a lot that can be done with the river on a daily basis and that's too bad. It would be a lovely and convenient run if it were a little faster and a lot more fun. And it would be quite an economic lift.

3 comments:

  1. Yet another restating of the classic refrain about living here. It would be great if it wasn't Roanoke! As for the Roanoke River being a "Blue Way?"well, let's just say that's wishful thinking carried to a whole new level! We're just to far upstream for that to happen. Yes, the Roanoke can be a nice little paddle. There is a moment that happens a few days after a long and heavy rain when the mud has settled out when padding the Roanoke is actually fun. But that window, unless the rains have gone on for months, is tiny! Lasting anywhere from a few days to a few hours. Then it's right back to the meandering creek that makes visitors wonder about us when we call it "River. "

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  2. شركة نقل عفش بالرياض وجدة والدمام والخبر والجبيل اولقطيف والاحساء والرياض وجدة ومكة المدينة المنورة والخرج والطائف وخميس مشيط وبجدة افضل شركة نقل عفش بجدة نعرضها مجموعة الفا لنقل العفش بمكة والخرج والقصيم والطائف وتبوك وخميس مشيط ونجران وجيزان وبريدة والمدينة المنورة وينبع افضل شركات نقل الاثاث بالجبيل والطائف وخميس مشيط وبريدة وعنيزو وابها ونجران المدينة وينبع تبوك والقصيم الخرج حفر الباطن والظهران
    شركة نقل عفش بجدة
    شركة نقل عفش بالمدينة المنورة
    شركة نقل اثاث بالرياض
    شركة نقل عفش بالدمام
    شركة نقل عفش بالطائف
    شركة نقل عفش بمكة
    شركة نقل عفش بينبع

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  3. شركة سكاي لخدمات نقل العفش والاثاث بالمنطقة العربية السعودية نحن نوفر خدمات نقل اثاث بالرياض ونقل عفش بالمدينة المنورة ونقل عفش بمكة ونقل عفش بالطائف نحن نقدم افضل نقل اثاث بخميس مشيط ونقل عفش بجدة
    شركة سكاي نقل العفش
    مدونة لنقل العفش
    شركة نقل عفش بمكة
    شركة نقل عفش بالرياض
    شركة نقل عفش بالمدينة المنورة
    شركة نقل عفش بجدة
    شركة نقل عفش بالطائف
    شركة نقل عفش بالدمام

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