Cumberland River Below the Falls - Kentucky

BJett

Member
Joined
May 3, 2013
Messages
562
The mighty Cumberland River begins its journey deep in the southern Appalachians...Harlan County, Kentucky to be exact. It eventually runs into the Ohio River.
Cumberland Falls is a ~65' waterfall located in McCreary and Whitley County, KY. Its famous for its Moonbow, and its also a very popular tourist spot.

A buddy of mine recently bought a cataraft and has been learning the ropes on some easier whitewater. We did an overnighter from below the falls to the mouth of the Laurel River, an 11 mile scenic cruise with a bit of spice. We had low water, mostly class 2-3 but at higher water its steps up its game a bit. I paddled my Alpacka packraft and let him haul the gear and beer.

IMG_5360.jpg


81214

81215

81216

81217

Camp above Screaming Right rapid. It was more of a whisper at low water. Testing out my new Zpacks cuben fiber tent.
81218


Good morning
81219

Normally a legit class 3+ rapid. Not so much at 300 cubic feet per second.
81220


81221


Pinball rapid, the last drop before Lake Cumberland takes over. Low lake levels mean more rapids, and another 6' drop in water levels uncovers one more called Last Drop.
81222

The crux of the run is the epic 4 miles of flatwater to get to the boat ramp where the Laurel River enters. Like, lake flat. Still a stunningly beautiful run.
My friend snapped an oar early in the trip, and managed to fix it using his paleolithic skills and rock tools. pretty typical actually.

https://parks.ky.gov/parks/resortparks/cumberland-falls/
 
Neat, I've looked at the water below the falls and wondered what the rest of the river looked liked. Where did you put in? Just below the falls? If you carried the cataraft from the parking lot, I'll bet you got some weird looks :)

I've thought about carrying my Klymit LWD and just paddling a bit towards the falls, but then other things come up
 
Neat, I've looked at the water below the falls and wondered what the rest of the river looked liked. Where did you put in? Just below the falls? If you carried the cataraft from the parking lot, I'll bet you got some weird looks :)

I've thought about carrying my Klymit LWD and just paddling a bit towards the falls, but then other things come up

Yep you called it! Lots of questions and curious tourists. 3 trips worth of gear. Had the river to ourselves.
 
Some pretty country back there.

Right in the middle of reading Harry Caudill's 1963 book 'Night comes to the Cumberlands' about Harlan county and the surrounding country.

Any luck with the fishing?

Enjoyed my limited trips through there, Thanks for posting!
 
Some pretty country back there.

Right in the middle of reading Harry Caudill's 1963 book 'Night comes to the Cumberlands' about Harlan county and the surrounding country.

Any luck with the fishing?

Enjoyed my limited trips through there, Thanks for posting!

Good book! Fascinating, and frustrating history. A place time forgot.

Didn't even see a fish. Too damn hot!
 
I don't get to see many backcountry reports from KY, beautiful area. Thanks for sharing!
 
Similar threads
Thread starter Title Forum Replies Date
BJett Packrafting the Cumberland River Below the Falls - Kentucky On The Water 6
BJett Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Backpacking 8
BJett Cumberland Plateau - Obed/Big South Fork Hiking & Camping 7
M Lost a drone in the San Rafael River area/below the wedge. No time to hike in to retrieve. General Discussion 0
fossana Colorado River talks in Springdale, UT (March 27th, April 5th) General Discussion 4
TractorDoc Yellowstone's Gallatin River -- September 7-9th 2023 Backpacking 12
BJett Rockcastle River No Shuttle Packrafting - Kentucky On The Water 2
Janice Such a GRAND Canyon - Deer Creek / Tapeats / Thunder River Backpacking 21
Kullaberg63 Suggestions for Escalante east of river, south of Choprock Trip Planning 4
scatman The Gallatin River, Bighorn and Fawn Passes, Yellowstone National Park - September 7, 2023 Backpacking 14
shredhiker Thorofare, Heart Lake, Snake River Sept. 2023 Backpacking 16
Ugly Headless Valley- Film about traveling the Nahanni River General Discussion 5
meowtaingal Wind river high route mid september Trip Planning 7
BJett Packrafting the Obed National Wild & Scenic River - Tennessee On The Water 1
kwc Savage River, Denali NP Hiking & Camping 1
D Wind River offtrail route questions Trip Planning 28
Rockskipper You think you found a pithouse, or maybe an Ancestral Puebloan tower near Green River, UT? It's maybe something even more interesting... General Discussion 3
SteveR Sheep River Road Ride on May Day Everything Else 2
F Upper Escalante River Backpack conditions Trip Planning 6
W Greetings from the West Side of the Winds (Wind River range) Noobs: Introduce yourself! 5
marquiri Wind River Range - Angel Pass Trip Planning 24
Writhdar Day hikes in the White Clouds and Lost River Range Hiking & Camping 1
Mikjik86 Backpacking The Wind River Range - Wyoming, September 2022 Trip Reports 3
kwc Cedar River Flow, Central Adirondacks On The Water 1
kwc Fall paddle on the West Branch of the Sacandaga River 10/23/22 On The Water 0
Jackson Heart Lake and Snake River for Labor Day Backpacking 23
Stephanie B Dirty Devil River Impassible at Poison Springs Canyon Off Road 0
R Wind River Range: Green River Lakes/Clarks Trail/Porcupine Creek Trail Trip Planning 3
BJett Amazing Appalachians - Backpacking/Packrafting the AT and Nantahala River Backpacking 5
Georgia Yankee Snake River; Wolverine, Coulter, Pilgrim Creeks, July-Aug. 2022 Backpacking 18
Mikjik86 Another Wind River Trip Planning! Elkhart/Titcomb/Knapsack/Shannons Pass loop back to Elkhart, or continue to Green River Lakes Trailhead? Trip Planning 10
wsp_scott Wind River Range Sept 2021 (part 2) Backpacking 4
wsp_scott Wind River Range Sept 2021 (part 1) Backpacking 16
WasatchWill WRHR - Day 7: Beaver Park to Green River Lakes Backpacking 15
BJett Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area Packraft/Backpack Loop (TN) Backpacking 6
BJett Red River Gorge/Red Byrd Arch Packraft Trip - Kentucky Hiking & Camping 9
scatman Gila River - Gila Wilderness, New Mexico - April 18, 2022 Backpacking 61
B Wind river range mid sept. Trip Planning 8
andyjaggy Wind River Range Roberts Mountain Trip Planning 4
Rockskipper Application Period Open For 2023 Private River Trips Through Grand Canyon National Park General Discussion 0
marquiri Wind River Range - September 2022 Trip Planning 31
P Yellowstone Snake River weekend Backpacking 7
TheMountainRabbit Northern Wind River Traverse (Bridger/Fitzpatrick Wilderness) - September 2021 Backpacking 16
scatman North Pitchstone Trail, Headwaters of Ouzel Creek, Bechler River and Mr. Bubbles(?) - Yellowstone National Park - September 13, 2021 Backpacking 36
stretch Grand Canyon Loop: Thunder River -> Tapeats -> Kanab -> Sowats Backpacking 22
Janice Cosmic Ashtray via Wolverine/Little Death Hollow & Escalante River? Trip Planning 16
scatman Snake River Lollipop Loop - Yellowstone National Park - August 8, 2021 Backpacking 45
Noun Sequitur Jemez River, Las Conchas Trail and Beyond Hiking & Camping 1
D Wind River Blowdown Trip Planning 2
priz1234 Pine River, Lake Creek, Flint Creek Loop San Juan. 7/3-7/5 Backpacking 6

Similar threads

Back
Top