Blackburn Fork Upper

Easy but beautiful, the Upper Blackburn Fork drains the steep slopes of Pine Mountain near Springville. Bluffs, a few caves, and the occasional lively shoal/rapid. Though not as difficult as some other runs that might be going off at the same time, it's incredibly nice.

Put-in: Dumas Bridge road. Put-in is 20 yards past the iron bridge.

Take-out: Inland Lake. When Blackburn drops into Inland, paddle pretty much in a straight line towards the fishing center. There is parking, and a bait shop, if you are so inclined.

**Levels: If the Lower Blackburn is running, which is only a few times a year, this is probably good to go. Once Highland Lake is full, it seems to run quite well for a few days after heavy rain. You might be surprised how long this will run once the lake is full.

I have used the Benedict's put in on River Rd., and my family actually owns the land with the little cabin across from that put in, but there aren't really any rapids until Dumas Bridge, and as of last year, there was a mangle of trees I had to portage in that stretch. But that put in would make it more worthwhile, distance-wise. -Shane Hulsey

Upper Blackburn Fork

Report originally from ''Winter 2000-2001 Exploratory Update''

Written by Mark D.

Shane Hulsey told me about this one near Oneonta. Chris Parker was taken hostage after a Short Creek run and we weaseled a shuttle from one of the Birmingham boys. We almost didn't make it because we got behind a slow moving funeral for 15 miles out of Albertville. This run is short and scenic, and needs lots of water. If you are in the area, it might be worth dropping by as a second run of the day. We saw a big hawk right by shore munching on a dead deer. You have to paddle a short way across Inland Lake.