Georgia Canoe - Kayak Paddlers

Georgia Canoe - Kayak Paddlers
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Sope Creek

Section: Lower Roswell Road to Columns Drive on Metro Chattahoochee
Scenery: Pretty
Appropriate for: Advanced
Miles on River: 2-3 miles
Month Runnable: Only after major rain.
Difficulty: III (IV at high water)
AWA Point Scale: 18 points
Gradient: I estimate 30-40 feet per mile
Gauge: USGS data from Internet; Three I-beams under bridge at put in
Runnable Level: Minimum: 5' or 300 cfs; I-beams under put-in bridge (river right) just under water
Maximum: 8' or 900 cfs;
Hazards: Difficult rapids, strainers, holes
Scouting: Boat scouting possible at all major rapids, bank scouts at some.
Portages: If you have to portage you shouldn't be doing this one.
Rescue Index: Metro Atlanta right in people's back yards.
First run with Snuffy 5/1/98

If it is raining like stink mid-week, and you can take off from work at a realistic time, consider looking at Sope Creek. It takes a lot of rain to get Sope up, and too much can create too much fun. So, call up the gauges, drive out to Paper Mill to check it out in person, and consider just how good you really are before opting for it. This creek can vary considerably according to the volume. Sope starts out as a fast flowing but flat creek. The first rapid is just around the corner about a quarter mile from the put-in. Too bad it's unrunnable due to strainers, and if you go left you will probably die. I mean it! This bad boy personifies a strainer. Once you see it you'll understand where the term originated. Portage on the right. Directly below is a set of surfing waves. Enjoy these because it's a half mile at least before you hit Sope Creek Gorge.

You'll know the gorge is coming due to the sound. The first class III rapid is called Gateway to Hell; it ends in a big tongue with a nice surfing hole. Immediately following Gateway are the Narrows, an easy III with a big eddy below and lots of surfing waves. About 5 yards below the Narrows you will see a horizon line created by Hammer, a 15+ foot sliding vertical drop into a potentially very sticky hole.

At high levels, the run could become lethal on the left, so run it on the right. However, be aware that the right hand drop wants to slam your boat into the bank, so angle left when running the drop. Immediately below the recovery pool of Hammer comes the Anvil, which was clogged with trees in the middle but could be run right or left. From here you can plainly see Paper Mill Rd bridge. The drop through the bridge is known as Compound Fracture. It is solid class III at low levels, definitely a IV at high levels, and V at the upper limits of runnability. Compound Fracture has three slots; the middle and right are the best. One must be careful since the cross currents try to slam you into the bridge pylon. The far left has a really nasty hole and the far right has a dangerous undercut about 5 yards down stream. The complicating factor of this rapid, besides the bridge pylon, is the massive nearly symmetric hole directly below the bridge. This hole is big and it is dangerous. It's the reason I recommend scouting from Paper Mill Road before you put on. There is a good eddy on the right below the bridge. Following the big hole is a smaller drop which has its own hole at high water but is followed by a good recovery pool.

Sope continues with a number of class III shoals and drops including one called Paper Mill Shoals. Then almost as suddenly as it begins you see a white sewer line and the river flattens out. The fun's not over, because you get to paddle your first golf course water-hazard (keep your helmet on and your head down). The take-out is imminent just past the bridge, or you can continue on to the Metro and Cochran Shoals Park. A small low head dam is right past the take-out before Sope meets the metro hooch.

To get to Sope Creek take Highway 400 north to Exit 5A, Abernathy Road. Take Abernathy west past Roswell Road and a shopping center, up a hill, to Johnson's Ferry Road. Turn right onto Johnson's Ferry and cross the Hooch. Just past the bridge turn left onto Columns Drive. Follow Columns to the parking lot at the very end (you will cross Sope Creek). This is the take-out (Cochran Shoals Park).

I recommend walking to the river to be certain you will recognize the take-out while paddling. Alternatively, you can take out at the bridge and walk to the parking lot. No matter, once you've figured this out, go back to Johnson's Ferry and continue to the left. At the top of the hill is Paper Mill Road, consider turning left onto it to scout the river.

If you do this, follow Paper Mill Road until you cross Sope Creek and look for parking. Scout from the bridge. If it looks too low it is and if it looks too high then go home.

Go back to Johnson's Ferry and continue to Lower Roswell Road (it's a couple lights). Turn left onto Lower Roswell Road and continue to the bridge that crosses Sope Creek. There is parking at some transformers to the left just before the bridge. The 3-I beam gauge is located just upstream of the bridge river right. The take-out is via Lower Roswell to Johnson Ferry and going right. The next turn is on Columns Drive on the right. The take out is on the bridge, which crosses Sope Creek. Park for the take-out at the end of Columns Drive.