Huu Trach River - "Forbidden Gorge" & Lower Huu Trach
Section Length: 7 km (if able to do full run)
Put In: see text Take Out: Small road just below suspension bridge |
Difficulty: III
Est. Flow: too low < 400 < medium < 3,000 < high Paddlers: Cuong Tran, Timothy Bouch, Kit Davidson |
The Huu Trach River is one of the major tributary streams to the Huong River, which is the famous (and primary) river that flows though the ancient capital city of Hue. This river actually drains all the way up to the Ho Chi Minh Road, far in the mountains southwest of this run, but sadly because of the hydro-electric dam at the head of this run, a significant portion of this river canyon has been flooded. As it is, a short, 7 kilometer stretch below the dam is all the remains of this once great river, and while this section is still fun, it's hard not to think about what has been lost under the reservoir upstream.
This run is called "Forbidden Canyon" because there is a good chance you may not get to run all of it. The run technically begins below the Binh Dien Hydroelectric Dam, but because the dam is a "sensitive area", you may get denied access, especially if 1) you are travelling by car, and 2) you are a foreigner. If that happens, there is an alternate put in just below the gate for the dam, although it does cut off around 2 kilometers of the run.
This upper section, the "Forbidden Gorge" itself, is arguably the more interesting section of this run, although the lower section contains more of the whitewater. It is more interesting because most of this section is contained with multiple "mini gorges" of granite bedrock. Geologically there is a large, clearly-defined fault here, and the transition from mountain gorge to open river is fairly abrupt. There is one rapid towards the bottom of these gorges, which is open on the left and has some features on the right, with a large mid-stream boulder downstream. The biggest thing to worry about in these gorges is the currents; because the river is funneling through these narrow rock boxes, it does create bizarre whirlpools, eddy-lines, "ZFWs" [zones of funny water], boils and all manner of tricky currents.
Once through the mini gorges, a tiny side-stream joins on the left, and the highest non-sensitive put in is found here. The river here is wide and flat, but carries a good current. This is a good place to talk about flows. The Huu Trach River is one of the main tributaries to the Song Huong, or Perfume River, which is the main river that flows through Hue City, about 15 to 20 kilometers downstream. This river, as well as it's sister to the east, the Song Ta Trach, are critical to Hue City and it's surrounding urban and rural areas for both municipal use and irrigation. Not only does the Binh Dien Dam at the start of this run generate a sizable amount of electricity, but it also acts as a huge storage reservoir for those water needs. As such, there seems to be consistent flows on this stretch, even into low-water months, and there are a couple reasons to think this.
First, the photos on this page were taken on a trip in late-April, during drought conditions, and during a time when all other area rivers were bone-low. As you can see in the photos, there was plenty of water coming down this river at that time. Not only that, but it was clear and surprisingly cold, indicating it was coming out of the bottom of the reservoir. Second, because it was clear and cold, there was some heavy moss growth on everything underwater, even just below the water line, indicating that the water level probably doesn't drop much below what it was at. If it did consistently, the moss wouldn't have grown to such lengths. Likewise, there was a fairly strong waterline on the rocks of the shore as well, another indicator that the river likely doesn't go below what is pictured very often.
Back to the river. After the stress-free put in, there are some easy moving flats, and then a couple of minor "corner" rapids where the river runs through some light waves around a couple of corners. These are very painless and easy, and all but the worst lines should end safely with little issue. Enjoy the splashy cold water, especially if you are visiting in the brutal summer heat.
After these easy corners pass, another corner comes up fairly soon, and it becomes evident soon that there is a decent sized rapid here. This is the first of the two "big" drops on this run, both found where the river has cut through a harder piece of bedrock. This first drop, "Broken Tooth", is a fairly simple class III- drop. There are a couple of small holes that are not sticky, and several fun lines to choose, including left, center and right, all of which go rather easily. There is also a nice large recovery pool below in the event of any swims, and swims themselves should be relatively minor. The best scout (and portage if need be) is on the right, although use care going over the boulders.
The next drop, The Dentist, is down about 200 meters and set on the next corner. Here, the river splits into two channels. The river left line is more direct, with a pair of laterals stacked one above the other, the first on the right and the 2nd on the left. The second is the more powerful of the two and actually looks like it could flip an unwary boater pretty quickly, although it does have a nice safe passage on the river. It feels stressful but it does go pretty easy. River right is an easier series of smaller and less powerful drops in channels between the bedrock.
After The Dentist, the river sweeps around a few more corners and proceeds through around a kilometer of small rapids. None of these are riverwide or pose any real problem to just about all boaters, but there are lots of fun waves, holes and riffles to splash through. This would be a good section to swim through in life jackets, and SUP users may also find this stretch quite enjoyable. With trees lining most of the banks. and very few houses in sight, it feels surprisingly remote despite being less than 20 km from Hue City.
Once you reach the small side stream that joins on the left, the rapids are finished. This small side stream may be runnable for stunt boating and/or novelty purposes if it has enough water. Below here, and for the rest of the run, the river slows down and flattens out significantly. The takeout is not too far away, but it can take a surprisingly long time to reach it as the river is quite slow. There is one tiny rapid (although its hard to even call it that) just before the big gray suspension bridge, easily run, and the takeout is found less than 100 meters after the bridge on river left.
While not a classic, this river definitely ranks high for a few reasons. First, the seemingly consistent releases means this river will often have water even when others do not. Not only that, but the water is dam release from the bottom of the lake, so it is clear and refreshingly cold. And, although the run is short, thanks to the number of small rapids mixed in with the two bigger drops, there is a lot of entertainment value here. It is possible that beginner boaters could even run this section with little trouble, provided they portaged the two bigger drops. Finally, because this river is close to Hue, its well worth doing for any visitors to the area. If I lived in Hue, I would paddle this stream several times a week. As it is, I will probably return to this river a couple times a year.
The Map
The Video
Video coming soon, stay tuned....
All photos copyright Kit Davidson.
All videos copyright Kit Davidson and Cuong Tran. All maps copyright Google MyMaps, and all music copyright original owners. |