By Nicole Eastman, Yadkin Riverkeeper and Ward Swann, Yadkin River State Trail Coordinator
Ward Swann, Yadkin River State Trail Coordinator
The second half of the Narrows portage is NOT easier. Each half is roughly equivalent to one of the High Rock portage or Tuckertown portage. If southern cooks use their “heart” to measure sugar and butter, southern paddlers measure portages by their swear words. This was a long portage. We ran an hour behind through safely negotiating the neglected trail.
As I carried gear and boats I thought about how close we were to the Hardaway Archeological Site. Archeologists at this site have shown habitation back 12,000 years. It’s findings have defined some of the shapes of arrowheads that we still find. In talking to farmers throughout the region, every one of them will tell you that they think their land was part of a Native American camp due to the amount of artifacts found in the potato field after a good rain. More likely, Native Americans were just as likely to drop and lose things as modern people are and they’ve been dropping stuff here for 11 and a half thousand years longer than the European colonists. Crops that disturb the soil followed by rain that washes the soil away often reveal any stone that happens to be there. I met a farmer in the process of putting up Mile Markers that shared with me his collection of Native American points and tools. It was impressive. The difference between a neat collectible and archeology is the detailed description of how and where they were found. Without context it’s just an interesting pointy rock. I hear that arrowheads are like four leaf clovers, nearly impossible to find, that is, until you find your first one. After that they pop out with greater ease. I am still looking for my first.
Once on the water of Falls Reservoir I look for blooming Yadkin Goldenrod at the base of the dam. It would be early to find it, but given that it only exists in the wild at the base of Narrows dam and Falls dam, I would be remiss if I didn’t look for it. Falls lake is clear, deep and quiet. I once again wished that I could spend a day just floating on my back in the cool water like an Astronaut detached from the spaceship of time. With the Uwharrie National Forest on one side, and undeveloped State Park on the other, our time on Falls Reservoir passed too soon.
Launching from the portage of the Falls Dam put us 1.3 miles away from Morrow Mountain State Park Ramp. Continuing the thoughts of the Native Americans in this area, I consider the mining site at Morrow Mountain. For most of the Yadkin River State Trail we have paddled by Quartzite rocks. Quartzite is rock formed by sandstone under extreme heat and pressure found deep underground; not volcanic. Even Pilot Mountain is estimated to have started its existence compressed between tectonic plates deep under an ocean. Quartzite does not hold an edge and is typically too heavy to be either spear or arrow points. In the last day or two we entered into a region where Slate is more common. In this case slate is indicative of volcanic activity in the past. Morrow Mountain State Park holds further evidence of this as it has a mining site that Native Americans utilized to obtain rhyolite. Rhyolite is a volcanic rock that is easy to shape and lighter than the other rocks of the area making them much better for arrows and spears. Native Americans would take the mined material from this site and shape it into the points they needed at the Hardaway Site mentioned above. These points and/or blanks would then be traded. Arrowheads from this site have been found from Maine to Florida. We like to think how clever the modern world is for inventing industry and trade. Truth is that it’s always been in our DNA. Modern man has just figured out how to maximize it for disproportional gain.
Now in the home stretch, we paddled with strength borne from excitement even though it means the dispersal of a well functioning crew. We looked at each other with fresh perspective and old familiarity. There have been many people who shared the water with us on the trip, but the crew here had tackled the toughest elements together and have grown as a group. As we approached Mile Marker 0.0 we could make out a group of folks holding signs and cheering us to the finish.
One last time from Douglas Rights:
“The Journey included some hardship, but was thoroughly enjoyable, and as good a tonic as you would want. We read in the paper the day of our arrival that there were one billionaire and 11,000 millionaires in the United States, but we will wager that not one of the bunch of 11,001 felt any more content than we.”
-A Voyage Down the Yadkin-Great Pee Dee River, Douglas Rights
Nicole Eastman, Yadkin Riverkeeper
We woke up early today just before the sun rose to get started on the second half of the Narrows dam portage and to make it to our final takeout at Morrow Mountain around lunch time. The bright lights from the dam lit up part of our campsite in the trees while we started packing up our tents and hammocks and heating up water for breakfast and essential caffeine.
The second half of the portage was just as tough, but with fresh(er) legs we made our way to the bottom of the towering dam with a few trips lugging gear and kayaks. Bob waited for us in a canoe to start our journey across Falls Lake. We finally had a cloudy morning, a nice break from the fierce August sun. Whenever it is cloudy, I notice nature’s colors are more vivid. The forest is a darker, richer shade of green and the lake water turns a reflective blue, almost black color. Falls Reservoir feels moody today with a cloudy sky and dense forest in every direction.
I admired the tall tan, peach, and gray cliffs lining parts of the lake and tried to imagine how grand this section of river must have been before the dams. This section of the river was known as the “Grand Canyon of the East.” If only I could turn back time and see the magnificent canyon that must have been the Yadkin River between Stanly and Montgomery counties.
We stopped at the boat ramp to meet Colleen again who graciously offered to take all the gear out of our kayaks in her pickup truck so we could have a lighter load for our final portage at the Narrows dam. The paddle on Falls Lake went by very fast which means I need to come back and take my time exploring this lake.
We pushed through our final portage. I was relieved this was our last trek over a dam with our kayaks, but it started to hit me how far we’ve come. Now I knew what it felt like to paddle over 180 miles on a river (and lakes). The two weeks we spent on the Yadkin gave me the chance to connect with the river every day and notice how it changed. The thought of tacos waiting for us propelled me forward on the narrow trail along the hillside.
Once we finally made it to the other side of Falls dam at Lake Tillery, there was a new, excited energy within our group. We made it. The last few days paddling the lakes in the heat and humidity and carrying our kayaks across the portage trails was a real challenge. But, we made it as a team. I looked to my right, and we had naturally lined up side by side paddling towards the takeout at Morrow Mountain. It was so cool to glance across our group of colorful kayaks and see the excitement and the sense of accomplishment. Soon, we saw a group of folks holding signs and standing on the bank of Lake Tillery including YRK’s amazing staff, board members, the Pee Dee-Lynches Riverkeeper and Winyah River Alliance’s Executive Director (Dylan and Debra), supporters, and Wildlife Resources rangers. We paddled to Mile Marker 0.0 as a strong group of river advocates connected by our shared love of the mighty Yadkin.
