Four hardy (foolish?) paddlers converged on Violette's Lock at 11:00 AM. In OC-1s were: Alan G., Hendrik v.O., and Kim B. Gus A. was our only K-1. With water temps of 45 degrees and air temps around 40 degrees, all were prepared and properly dressed for coldwater immersion.
The Little Falls gauge was at 3.19 ft. We eyeballed the water level in the C&O canal and determined that while it was a hair lower than last week, there's probably still enough water to do the usual loop trip; but the group took a vote and elected instead to set a shuttle to run from Riley's to Pennyfield.
Very little wind and sun made for a pleasant paddle on the main part of the river. But once inside the shady confines of the GW canal itself, things got a little on the cool side; perhaps for that reason there was less playing/dithering and more river running than usual. After returning to the main river, all continued down to the takeout at Pennyfield (a first for Alan G).
A fun time was had by all!