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Description

Thunderhole Creek is off of Globe Rd. between Collettsville and Blowing Rock. If you have a NC gazetteer, it's easy to find. The access trail is a spur off of FR 4071. We hiked in about a mile to get the footage you saw. The rest of the creek was too low to run. Thunderhole would need a lot of rain to run. Very small watershed. A run of about 3-4 miles could be made down to Upton, there's good access there. Don't know about in between, but it looks as if the gradient is all in the upper parts. A put-in as high as the confluence with New Years Creek would be possible I think. I would say that it is mainly class III, but boat control and eddy catching skills are a must as wood is always a problem on creeks this small. You could use the short put in option to cut out some of the scrappy stuff near the bottom but you'll have about .2-3 of a mile hike out. In the event of a hike out the trail crosses Thunderhole Creek several times but is generally on river left. Put-in : ~1850' at New Years Ck Conf. at 36.1062, -81.6949 Take-out: ~1200' at Upton at 36.0682, -81.6948 Elev.loss: ~650' NOTE: The gate is closed January 2nd - April 1