Conasauga River Saturday, August 20.
We had a group scheduled, "Keeping it Wild" from ATL but they did not show up. The Snorkel Boss was going to be my Lifeguard for the day and expecting 35 snorkelers he had brought along every wetsuit we had and together we laid them out wide on the ground tarp along with setting up all the other assorted gear, tents, tubs and snooks. Then we waited. And waited. Finally at Noon he called it off and disappointed we reloaded all the gear.
But after Jim left, i took full advantage of being in the here and now.
The afternoon before the Eton guage had reported 1.5" of rainfall. When i crossed over the Conasauga that morning i noted it was about 25% murky, then crossing the Jacks it was nearly 100% clear. The 2 rivers join about 300 yards upstream of the snorkel hole and here visibility had been reduced to about 6' max, worse on the far side's deep channel. Lots of particals were suspended in the flow greatly reducing visibility in the deep stretches for the mega species. The most disappointing was that EVERYTHING was covered in about 1/4" of brown silt. We discussed the potential cause but whatever it was, it was disappointing, unappealing, ugly. I suspect there is disturbance of the ground in the Conasauga watershed. When the substrate and boulders are exposed they are quite beautiful and even colorful. But a silty brown is just plain ugly. We discussed the possible use of a leaf blower to clean everything in advance of snorkeling visitors, yet there are two things to resolve. Being... how long should the extension cord should be and how much additional USFS time is needed.
If it was not for the playful human activity in the Snorkel Hole i am not sure how long the silt would lay. However between the folks kicking and splashing and the Black Suckers rock popping these activities washes the silt down to the next slack water area and where it settles out. I will be back in about 10 days so it will be interesting to see if the hoped for change occurs. Only about 5 days before i had been here and much of the gravel was clean and pretty, with most of the stones exposed.
An updated google sky view might reveal the disturbed ground culprit but from my experience no one will be held accountable.
To make the most of the low visibility i stayed up in the riffle runs, cleared an area and watched the Bronze Darters come in, hunting the freshly exposed substrate. These are the most common of the Darters here, and the most handsome.
I found a few Hellgrammites here and love the intricate pattern found on their topside. Always a good sign.
A few more snails than normal were seen, with a blurred Alabama Shiner beyond. I think the temps are cooling after the Summer highs and the Bamas are rejoicing, several males displaying full finage though their colors muted. Today's morning temperature was air... 75, water... 75. On my last trip the water rose from 75 in the morning to 85 degrees by the end of the day, measuring the same spot, knee deep, in the current's flow. A 10 degree increase on a sunshine day, the most i have ever recorded. It shows the power of the sun.
Sculpin, Mottled likely.
Tennessee's state wildflower is the Purple Passion Flower AKA the Maypop. It's getting pollinated here by a foraging riverside Bumble Bee.
This is what the flowers develop into, also called a Maypop or Passion Fruit. Interestingly the Cherokee name for the fruit is Ocoee, which also happens to be the name of the river to the north. The ripe fruit is delicious and many hung from a vine close to the Conasauga's edge. I ate a green one with satisfaction but they will ripen and yellow in a few more weeks, increasing their flavor.
The day was not lost with the non-arrival of the scheduled group, as at about 1:30 a group of scouts arrived with masks and googles in hand. They had been camping up at Jacks River the night before and stopped here to cool before heading back to Atlanta. I ended up spending about 2 hours with them in the shallow runs showing the Scouts Hogsuckers, Shiners, Darters and stone flipping Logperch. I was satisfied.
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