tubing down rocky river (safe, swimming, suburban)

[jamie_madrox]

anyone ever went tubing down rocky river? i want to know if theres any waterfalls or good reasons not too

[mullman]

:listening:

[Metallisteve]

I don't have any facts readily available to back up my apprehensions, but I'd be concerned with water quality in that river. Just the fact that it drains a largely urban/suburban watershed would make me stray away from swimming in it. But I could just be overly paranoid. I used to swim in FL rivers that had many more contaminants than here...including the dreaded ear microbe that could crawl up in your ear and kill you (very rare, but caused by warm stagnant water). The majority of our water quality issues are related to turbidity, mainly from soil erosion. Think of what the river looks like immediately after a thunderstorm...orange from all the clay runoff. Add to this the fact that sanitary sewer lines are typically run along side of our streams and rivers due to that being the low point for gravity to do it's thing, and I have concerns with other sorts of water quality issues...if you catch my drift. Another concern would simply be trash accumulated on the bottom of the river form teh urban watersheds...glass, metal, nails, etc.

I certainly don't want to raise a paranoid alarm about our natural waterways as they are typically very scenic and for the most part relatively healthy. But you probably wouldn't catch me swimming in them. there are too many other rural rivers within a short drive from here that are much more safe to swim in.

[pinkpocketbooks]

i wouldn't do this on my own, but i know in other areas i've done river tubing through a local business that organized it. is there anything like that around here or closer to the mountains even?

[Native_Son]

Originally Posted by jamie_madrox

anyone ever went tubing down rocky river? i want to know if theres any waterfalls or good reasons not too

there are class 5 sections (extremely difficult, should only be attempted by experts in fully-outfitted kayaks or canoes) at the rocky broad. After I post though, I see you're talking about the rocky river (NW Mecklenburg Co) and not the Rocky Broad. Def. stay away from the Rocky Broad, lol.

tubing without an outfitter down an unknown river is a BAD, BAD idea around here. even a flat-water river could have a low-head dam (AKA drowning machine) that could kill you.

If you want to tube, go to the lower Green. Green River Adventures may be able to help you. Or better yet, save your gas money and go to the whitewater park...

Let me reiterate to include boating: Floating OR boating down an unknown river is NOT a good idea, ever.

[thestem]

don't go down the Green River if you don't like snakes...I mean BUNCHES of snakes... )