We had 6 paddlers join us for our weekly run from the Old Angler’s Inn put in on the Potomac River down to the Carder Rock take out. The water level was at 3.46 (and falling) ft, and the discharge was 5,710 cfs at the time we put the boats in according to the Little Falls gage. The group consisted of Tina Schneider, Logan Hoffman, Sean Trench, Dan Rick, Natalie Hanno, and me. This trip was originally slated as an Angler’s Inn to Lock 10 run, but we realized that we would not have enough daylight to accomplish that, so we shortened the run to take out at Carder Rock instead. This turned out to be a very good call.
We launched at 6:15 PM and arrived at Carder Rock at about 8:00 PM getting us to our cars right at sunset. This week the water level was high enough that the Offutt rapids were still in play, which is a seasonal springtime treat. We were also able to enjoy some play time around Yellow Falls. All three rapids offered plenty of opportunities to practice some surfing, ferrying, and other forms of Tom Foolery. I’m very happy to report that we only had 1 swim on this trip and no major incidents.
Once sunset moves to 8:15 or later, we will extend the trip to our normal take out at Lock 10.
Submitted by
Dean Hawes