Tadpole Branch

Today's 7.5 mile paddle trip began on the Tennessee River at the old Washington Ferry site on Highway 30 between Dayton and Decatur. We paddled 1.5 miles up river to Clear Creek, followed Clear Creek for about 500 feet and then turned our kayaks into Tadpole Branch which we followed for about 1.5 miles. Tadpole Branch was littered with many overhanging trees we had to paddle under and numerous log jams we had to paddle around or force our boats over. At the 1.5 mile mark Tadpole Branch had narrowed to the point where there was little more than enough room to turn the boats around and a concrete bridge blocked further progress so we turned around and headed back downstream. When we arrived back at Clear Creek, we decided to explore it. At about .6 miles up Clear Creek, our curiosity was satisfied so we turned around and began paddling back toward Tennessee River as rain began to fall. Rain ended after a few minutes and we had clear sailing all the way back to Washington Ferry.

Slide show of Don's photos

Preparing for launch