Raging Harpeth

Well, maybe not quite raging. But definitely full. "All swoll up" if you prefer a more rural parlance. Despite the high waters, Jimmy and I decided to head to the Harpeth today and float from the Highway 70 bridge down to the Narrows take-out—a trip of just over ten miles. This route took us right through the center of Mound Bottom, a prehistoric Native-American site with ceremonial and burial mounds that are visible from the river.

Harpeth - Hwy 70 to Narrows


At first we thought put-in was going to be a muddy bank affair, but it turned out the water was so high that it formed a perfect, still pocket next to the bridge pylon. Normally, that rocky area is well above the river level. Also out of the ordinary was the small creek that empties into the Harpeth just next to the put-in. The river was backed up so far into the channel that we were able to paddle up the creek a hundred yards or so and explore beyond the Cedar Hill Road bridge.

Click pictures to enlarge.



A few miles into the trip, we were treated to a bald eagle perched riverside in a tall hardwood. It flew down the river in front of us a couple of times before finally letting us pass by. With my little point-and-shoot on full zoom, I managed to snap several pictures of the majestic creature, which was obviously a mature bird with its bright white head and tail feathers. Several years ago, I visited Reelfoot Lake in northwestern Tennessee and saw both adult bald eagles as well as the more mottled juveniles. Other than those resident birds, I've only seen three other bald eagles in the wild, including today's sighting.




In addition to the eagle, we spotted numerous herons fishing the banks of the river, several turkey vultures/buzzards circling over one area (never a good sign), and two hawks soaring further and further into the sky on an updraft. In a couple of spots, large swirls near Jimmy's boat marked where fish, most likely carp or gar, were startled by the sudden presence of a bright orange kayak.





The trip was a quick one since the river was up and moving fast. We covered 10.2 miles in just over two hours, averaging 5 mph. According to Jimmy's GPS track, we hit speeds well over 10 mph in some spots—probably stretches where we were shooting a narrower neck of the river.

The average speed would have been even faster, but our time afloat included stops for two side excursions. In addition to exploring the creek next to the put-in, we also paddled up to the waterfall at the Harpeth Narrows tunnel. Water was gushing out of the rocky opening, and we spent some time paddling up into the frothy current and then surfing out.

I captured a quick video of Jimmy battling the rush of water. With the sound turned up, you get a pretty good sense of the roar created by the spillway.