Boss Hollow
Rating: Classification III, IV+ (V)
Location:
Newton County, USGS-Deer, Fort Douglas, Lurton, Sand Gap Quads.Turn West from Hwy 7 at the "Who Would Have Thought It Gift Shop". Take the left-hand fork ~1.2 miles to the 6th drive/road to the left. Park and carry or drive 0.75 mile (4WD only) to a gate. An ATV trail leads downhill just before the gate. Drag downhill about 0.5 miles to put-in (elevation ~1560). Reach the take out by taking the right fork at the gift shop down the hill to Hurricane Creek put-in. At the bottom of the hill the road forks. The left fork fords a creek. If creek is high park here and carry boats out 0.5 mile. If crossable, drive 0.5 mile to house on right in left hand bend. Ask permission to park in the clearing provided by landowner (Very nice!)
Gradient:
~200 ft/mile (Boss Hollow), Max 400 ft/mile. 80 ft/mile on Buck BranchLength:
2 miles to Buck Branch, then 2 miles to Hurricane Creek.Season:
Local FLOOD (Fall through Spring)Gauge:
Gage at Richland Campground needs to be above 6.Look for 1.5" or more rain at the Deer and Ben Hur rain gages, as posted on the
Hazards:
Undercut ledges and rocks, overhanging branches, strainers, waterfalls.Very tight in places (pinning hazzards). Vertical pins possible on left side of "THE BOSS". Avoid "The Undercut!"
Description:
First known descent was December 17, 1995.By Cowper Chadbourn, Chris Anderson, Chris Jones, Nathan Kline, and Lance Jones. The creek starts out fast and narrow dropping over several small slides and ledges. Approximately 0.25 miles there is a small ledge into a pool. Now the tight and technical section starts. Lots of pin possibilities here. This is where the "Toilet Bowl" and "Baby Boss Slide" are encountered. These are followed shortly by "Face Slap Falls" and "Sycamore Slot". After several more extended fast continuous rapids there is another small ledge into a pool. The exit to the pool is usually cluttered/blocked with logs. Scout on the right bank. This is the entrance to "THE BOSS". This is the combination of the entrance to the big slide "Performance Evaluation", the big slide "Broken Paddle" and the last ledge "Half a Paddle". Pick your way around the wood or carry. Run down the main channel to the left through a slot, over a ledge and down a narrow slide and hang a 90 degree right to the big slide. Make sure you slide down the right half of the slide to avoid the nasty vertical pins on the left side. The last ledge into a small pool can create a strong hydraulic. Very shortly (100-150 yds) the creek takes a sharp turn to the left and funnels down a 3-4 ft. wide slot. This is "The Undercut!" A large house foundation sized slab rock at least 50% undercut. Run as far left as possible. (up on the wall is my preferred route) The next 0.25 mile to Buck Branch is known as "Cheesegrater". A long continuous shoal with several surf holes. At low water it feels like a your sliding down a cheesegrater. (At least your boat will be lighter for the carry out!). The final 2 miles down Buck Branch have many class III drops and several play spots. Take out just above Hurricane Creek at house beside the creek.
Like other micro-volume creeks, meaningful ratings are difficult to establish on the accepted International scale. At lower levels, the creek will seem like a very technical Class III, with much rock bashing, scraping, and some portages. At higher levels, several rapids are expected to become solid Class V.
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