Retro-Hughes Road to Leggett Rd bridge

With origins in Bledsoe county, Rock Creek eventually finds itself in the town of Sale Creek, TN. The takeout is at the Leggett Rd bridge. A crude spray paint gauge does exist. 2.5 feet is a nice optimum level. One has several choices for a put in on this stream. One, is to actually put in on Rock Creek on Tendon Road. Another is to put in on Hall Creek, a northern tributary, off of Tendon Road as well. As of 1998, an alternative put -in was accessible too. Take the first main left road off of Leggett, some seven miles up the mountain. Follow the road for about a mile until you notice a pine plantation on the right. The trail leads 1/4 of a mile to Hall Creek. A nice man across the street actually lets you park in his yard, but make sure to ask first and be discrete in changing. This put-in cuts the trip down some three miles of basically class II. On the topo zone map, notice Clifton Bend. That's the road to Hall Creek. At the confluence of Hall and Rock, there is an excellent playground for nearly 1/2 mile. The creek is wide and the holes (mostly shallow) are friendly making for some great play at nice levels. Several excellent class IV's and IV+'s are too be found later downstream when the creek narrows down a little. None of the rapids are officially named to my knowledge. A few of them with good water inch pretty close to class 5, and with good water this run is a considerable step above similarly rated runs like Piney River, Island Creek, and Piney Creek into Whites Creek. There are several complex boulder gardens with consequences and tricky moves. Most of the rapids you will encounter are class III-III+ though. In 1998 I spotted three bald eagles in the gorge, one mature and two juveniles. Overall this is an enjoyable stream where you can enjoy steep drops at times and good play as well.