First Saturday Paddle - December
First Saturday Wolf River Paddle
Rossville, TN to Piperton, TN
Saturday, December 3, 2022 — 9:00 am - 3:30 pm
This program is free to Wolf River Conservancy members. Non-members will be charged a paddle fee of $25.00 per person, which can be paid on registering. Please register online by noon on Friday, December 2.
This is a 6.4-mile section of the Wolf River between the Fayette County cities of Rossville and Piperton, Tennessee. Participants on this trip will be paddling a wide, unchannelized portion of the river. Individuals will experience a natural un-cluttered class one river with meandering curves and bends. The channel is clearly visible through the entire section and participants rarely become disoriented or venture off course. WRC has intentionally not placed any of the familiar blue and white canoe trail signs, thereby helping to keep this section as natural as possible. Downed trees and strainers are present and can be easily avoided by individuals with minimum paddling skills.
THIS IS A COLD WEATHER PADDLE
Air and water temperatures are now cooling and could make an accidental entry into the water a rather unpleasant experience. In an appropriate dry bag, lease bring a spare set of clothes to change into in the event of a capsize. If you have questions, just give Jim Gafford a call/text at (901) 573-2353 to discuss.
Once on the water, actual travel time will depend on many factors and is simply very hard to predict. Please plan to make this an all-day (morning and afternoon) event. Be sure to bring sunscreen, bug spray, lunch, snacks, and water on the paddle. You may want to bring a second set of clothes to keep in your vehicle to make the trip home more comfortable. A meal after the paddle is often planned so make plans to join us if you can. The Wolf River Café in Rossville is a very popular spot for the meal.
Our River Guides will share the trip leader responsibilities on this paddle. They are a great bunch of volunteers and will ensure you have both a safe and enjoyable adventure. If you have questions about the trip, please contact Jim Gafford (jg54513@yahoo.com or cell/text 901-573-2353) or Jeff Sojourner (rjsojourner@gmail.com or cell/text 901-573-6307). Both will be happy to discuss the particulars of the trip with you.
To assist with planning, please register early for the event. Online registration will close on Thursday, December 1 at noon. If this is your first trip or if you want to learn more about the Wolf River, please read the following documents under the paddling section of our website (www.wolfriver.org/paddling): “River Descriptions”, “Wolf River Access Map” and “Safety Information”.
For Those Renting Boats: Our recommended outfitter for this trip is Mike Dawkins. If you need to rent equipment, contact Mike at mikedawk@comcast.net (email) or cell/text at (901) 485-2531. Please contact Mike as soon as you complete your event registration to discuss equipment rental options and other trip arrangements.
For Those Bringing boats: You will meet our Guides at the river access ramp on the east side of Highway 194 and just north of the City of Rossville, TN.
Please arrive around 8:00 AM to unload your gear and participate in the frontend vehicle shuttles. The last shuttle will leave at 8:30. We will also run a shuttle at the end of the trip as needed.
Parking Disclaimer: Both the access and takeout parking areas are relatively safe but are unmonitored. You should be able to leave your vehicle in either of these parking areas. Please note that the Wolf River Conservancy is not responsible for loss of or damage to private property.
SAFETY and PFD requirement: Participants in Wolf River Conservancy on river programs will be required to wear a US Coast Guard approved Personal Flotation Device (PFD) while on the river. Children must wear child size approved PFD’s. If you are renting a craft, the outfitter will provide you with an approved PFD as part of the rental package. There are no exceptions to the PFD requirements. Please note that they must also be properly worn and securely fastened at all times. Please do not use the “belt type” units that are popular with the SUP community. These are single discharge units and cannot easily be reloaded once deployed.
Although the Wolf River is rated as a class one river (little whitewater), conditions can rapidly change. It is imperative that boaters realistically evaluate their experience and abilities related to the section being paddled before launching into the water. Any concerns can be addressed with our river guides. Any decisions and recommendations will always favor the most cautious and safest solution.
