By Nicole Eastman, Yadkin Riverkeeper and Ward Swann, Yadkin River State Trail Coordinator
Ward Swann, Yadkin River State Trail Coordinator
“But the Yadkin has a certain charm that seizes and holds your interest. Willows, sycamores, and a variety of other trees line the banks, often spreads out over the edges of the stream, pieced out with reedy thickets and dense undergrowth. A gradually widening yellow ribbon, it stretched out mile after mile, inviting us ever onward. The sound of the waters, here and there rushing over rocks and hidden shoals , yielded music sweetly borne to the ear. Occasionally a fish flashed for a moment above the surface and disappeared, leaving a faint ripple to mark the spot. Blue herons appeared nearly every mile, leaving a mud flat to travel ahead of the boat, sometimes for several miles, stopping slowly and waiting until we were almost within kodak range, then rising again for the grave flight ahead.”
-A Voyage Down the Yadkin-Great Pee Dee River, Douglas Rights
We met the enlarged group of paddlers at the Highway 64 bridge and loaded boats on the trailer and carried people in three cars to Tanglewood. Tanglewood has had a reputation for some mud, but today it out did itself. Fortunately, even though the mud went up to the knee, it cleaned easily as we got into the boat. It was not the worst mud of the day. Four miles downstream, Idols dam waited for us.
With Tanglewood continuing on our left and mostly undeveloped land on our right, a paddler can once again feel like they are immersed in wilderness as the sounds of I-40 subside behind us. The water was still up and flowing strongly so miles sailed by.
Idols Dam
Quickly we came upon the crux of our day, the portage of Idols Dam. Presently it is the City of Winston-Salem’s largest water intake, capable of bringing in 48 million gallons of water a day. The dam was constructed with slabs of granite in 1898 to be the first commercial hydroelectric generating station in North Carolina. It continued to generate electricity until a fire destroyed the generator shed in 1998. https://www.ncanchor.org/anchor/idol%25e2%2580%2599s-dam-and-power-plant
At the moment, there is no real portage trail here. The waters slow dramatically on the right side of the river and you climb up the bank with your boat directly under the railroad trestle to weave through signs that are to encourage you to move along. With a little poking around, you find an easy walk to the beach of a creek below and launch into the now speedy water. Last time I did this the bank we climbed was dry. This time, everyone had to fight to keep their shoes from being consumed by the mud.
Once we were all set to rights again, we paddled to the island just downstream from the dam for lunch and a chance to clean up from the mud.
Muddy Creek
I consider the confluence of Muddy Creek to be the halfway point in this section of the trip. As I look at this “creek,” I am aware that we are miles outside of Forsyth County and that this creek winds through western Forsyth County all the way to Bethania. It functions as a major artery for surface water throughout the county. And it also is part of the wastewater treatment for the City of Winston-Salem.
Enough time to really enjoy the paddle...
I was surprised with how many people signed up to do, what is usually considered, a trip that is too long. In my role as Yadkin River State Trail Coordinator, I usually seek to have accesses every five or so miles to give options for folks who may be fishing. The distance between Tanglewood and Hwy 64 is 17 miles. I am looking for two accesses in the area. So when the trip became 15 paddlers strong, I took a survey, why did you sign up for this trip? I learned from the answers that there are people who crave time on the water, not just the typical answer of being able to check off on a list that they paddled this weekend. When we do five mile trips, there are people who consider it a good start, but have to get off the water when they are just starting to unwind. It’s refreshing to find that we could find a portion of the population that wants to “BE” on the river.
Still, by 4pm we were ready to get off the river as the clouds that were so beautiful to watch pass over field and farm turned darker and rumbled a warning at us just once. After previously getting out at the portage, this crew was ready for the steps of the Hwy 64 access. In true Long Paddle Crew fashion, our guest paddlers pitched in and cooperated as if they had been with us from the start of the Long Paddle.
Nicole Eastman, Yadkin Riverkeeper
After a short reprieve at home and a cold shower, we were back on the water with our biggest group yet! We had about 12 folks join us for this stretch of river between Forsyth and Davie counties. Everyone was a good sport about making our way down rocky rip rap and through mud to get started at Tanglewood.
It was nice to see new faces on the Yadkin River with us. Folks from Durham, Burlington, and Yancey County joined us! It is really neat to see how the Long Paddle has sparked the interest of paddlers and river enthusiasts across the state.
This stretch of river changes again from the previous section. Now, there are larger visible open areas along the river that make up farms and private backyards. There are more houses and slower water. We portaged Idols Dam early on in the paddle. It was a slippery, muddy endeavor but once again our group took the challenge in stride as we skated down the muddy bank with kayaks in hand.
We floated along slowly as we all chatted and shared stories from the trip so far. Eventually, we crossed Muddy Creek which is the receiving water body for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth Utilities’ wastewater. We smelled the soapy scent that generally accompanies the treated discharge. Muddy Creek is a tributary that often comes up in our work since it flows through the most populated part of our watershed in Forsyth County. Many families live along the river and walk the greenway, so there is a special interest in its protection. I make a mental note to try to paddle up Muddy Creek one day soon.
After a long 17 miles on the river with great company, we approached the HWY 64 access in Davidson County. We filed up the steps one-by-one and made our way to the cars with AC awaiting us. Today was another great day building community on the lovely Yadkin.