Heidelberg to Dam 13

Kentucky River

Friday July 26, 2008

Dam 14 in Heidelberg to Dam 13 (Mile 240)

Wow. The comics in the paper this morning were an absolute riot and they had me laughing and in a good mood from the start today. It began with the Argyle Sweater “Popeye” and continued with the Dyslexic Mugger in Bizzaro and the Motivational Listener in Speed Bump. Every time I thought back on them throughout the day I’d start laughing again. This happens to me. One good laugh can stay with me for an entire day – or longer.

It was a little cloudy out today but I decided to head out anyway and keep a close eye on the weather. One thing I’ve noticed about living in Kentucky is that it seems hard to predict rain. When I first moved here I used to look at the weather forecasts and prepare around them. If it was supposed to rain I’d stay in. I began to notice, however, that I was really missing out on a ton of sunny days. Now I prepare as if the forecasted weather may occur, instead of will occur - especially if there's a 60 percent chance or less of rain.

My route to the river today would take me on KY52 through Irvine and once you go through this community you’ll really be in the mountains. You’ll wind through them, and as you go up and then down the first one you’ll be in a flatter area which contains some really scenic farmland. These farms are nestled amidst the mountainous backdrop, and the animals grazing in the fields look like tiny specks compared to the hills which surround them. Meanwhile, the hills themselves kind of weave back into the distance and they’re sweet to look at! I have to admit though, that I noticed the scenery more on the way back than I did on the way out. I think that’s because I was distracted. I was singing along to a Yellowcard disk at the time. :)

The ramp I used was in Heidelberg, Kentucky which is an interesting spot (directions below). From the ramp you’ll see dam 14 on your right, while the river will flow downstream to your left. Sturgeon Creek will be coming in behind you and the town on Heidelberg itself will be in front of you. There’s another ramp directly across the river here too which looks to be public but I’m not really sure. As I was coming down to the water with my second load of gear I noticed a couple people over there. It was a little disturbing, however, as a man stood yelling at what looked to be a younger person. They were fishing! This should have been a stress-free experience!

Anyway, when you add the blue KY399 Bridge to what I've described above you have an especially picturesque location.

The lock side of the dam was on the left this time as I paddled up to it to start. I was, of course, ultra cautious as I stayed way close to the left bank and once getting to the very corner of the lock I noticed that there were no steps on this side as there had been on the other (described in my last upstream journal). For a portage then, it’s a fairly long climb up the rocks to reach the top. Note also, the old bridge support here. You'll see others exactly like them intermittently if you continue on Kentucky past this section. Meanwhile, on the other side of the river you'll note the rocky, cliff-like area.

At this point I turned around to technically begin my downriver narration. Again, there's quite a bit to see. As mentioned, the town of Heidelberg is here. It will now be on the right while there’s farmland on the left. Meanwhile, I found the Sturgeon Creek to be fairly sizeable and it seemed to share some characteristics with the Middle Fork – but not before displaying some South Fork traits. I again noticed the brown film on top of the water in the first section. This stream appears to be about as wide as the Middle Fork, but it gets shallow much more quickly and I was stopped at the first deadfall. I also heard a dog topside and wasn’t in the mood for any possible confrontation in this shallow water. I headed back having gotten in about 1/4 mile.

Incidentally, the Turnhole Branch also enters on the same side immediately after the Sturgeon over a shoal, but it wasn’t paddle-able today. Yet another steam, the Sawmill Branch, is directly across the river. It was dry at the Old Gal Bar (really the name!) it ran through. According to the navigation charts this stream flows right through Heidelberg.

After the curve to the left at mile 248 the farmland on the left will disappear in favor of forests, mountains and… forested mountains! Farmland won’t appear again on this side until just prior to dam 13 at mile 240 – about 8 miles down. At mile 247 there are some rock cliffs which border the water on the left. These will be present through much of this stretch as you look back through the trees, but here they’re clearly visible right up against the water.

At mile 246 there are cliffs on the right side as well where the river makes a left turn. In fact, this bend is called Yellow Rock Bend and the cliff bottoms here do have a yellow hue to them. I’m assuming (usually wrong when I do this though) that they could be the namesake for the bend and for the town which I’d come upon shortly on the right. The best picture I was able to get of the rock was the one below which I took on the way back.

It was about at this point too, that the train track which had been up and to the right atop the bank appeared to either go through or behind these cliffs. This same track would continue to border the river all throughout this stretch as it did on the last one between Beattyville and dam 14. I’d hear rather than see 5 trains as I paddled today.

Anyway, at the aforementioned bend the river takes the rough shape of a “W” down to dam 13 (I’m paddling from the upper right side of the letter). The train track does not extend all the way to the bottom dips in the “W”, but is instead receded a bit from the river as it hits those spots to let in a bit of farmland. In fact, it does so after the Salt Rock Branch enters at mile 245 on the right side (it dry as far as I could tell over a shoal today).

I noticed what I thought were wood ducks here. I see these constantly. They’re smaller than a regular duck and much more shy. They either swim or fly away over the water (sometimes a combination of both as they kind of skim the surface) to avoid me, and I’ve seen them dive under water and stay there for an impossibly long time too. Forget getting a good picture of them with a base model camera like mine, however. You'll never get close enough!

The Old House Branch comes in on the right at mile 244 (the first bottom of the “W”) but like most of the other streams it wasn’t paddle-able as it entered across a shoal. It was also choked with trash and other debris. As I looked to the other side I could see part of the town of Yellow Rock. There are some really nice looking houses and farms here and they, along with the grounds around them, looked to be very well maintained. Mown stretches of lawn along a Kentucky River bank are somewhat of a strange sight to see. Any mowing that has been done usually isn’t visible from down on the water, yet an entire field looks to have been mowed here.

At mile 243 you'll pass the Long Willow Shoals Bar on the right. Cave Branch is directly across it and I was able to paddle maybe 100 yards up. It was at the mouth of this stream that I suddenly felt very small amidst all the mountains visible directly in front of me...

Willow Branch (dry) was on the right after the left curve pictured above and it ushered in the community of Willow (which, from the looks of it, may just consist of one house). After the Willow community, you'll find the Little Willow Branch (a few feet wide) enters on the same side. Thus, the community seems kind of “sandwiched” between these 2 streams – Willow and Little Willow. Would you believe that a huge dragonfly landed on my boat here? I really like these! They’re so incredibly colorful and they just kind of cruise along with me at almost all times. I usually attract the blue ones (maybe because of my blue boat?).

Somewhere on the left - and I don’t know what made me notice it - was what looked like a really old house. It was almost invisible amidst the trees and I don’t know if I’d ever be able to find it again unless it was winter with no foliage. The train track seems to recede again from the bank here to let in more farmland on the right just before dam 13 becomes visible down at mile 240. Upon reaching this dam I found about a 10 foot dirt climb to reach the top from the corner of the lock which is on the left side.

I plan to put in at this lock and dam next time as there’s supposed to be a boat ramp directly on the other side, but today I took my time heading back to Heidelberg (exploring the side creeks as I mentioned) and departed around 7pm.

DIRECTIONS:

KY52 to KY399 South. The put in is on the south side of the river just after you cross the blue bridge in Heidelberg. It’s on the right side of the road and is in what looks like a gravel parking area. Once you’ve turned into this, you’ll want to drive toward the left side, and soon you’ll see a little gravel road which curves down to the water. There’s room for many vehicles and there’s no fee here.