We had 16 paddlers join us for our Sunday run in the GW canal section of the Potomac River. We ran the typical loop, meeting at Violette’s Lock at 10AM. The weather was cloudy with the threat of rain existing for the entire time that we were out there. Luckily for us the rain largely held off until we were on the C&O canal paddling back up to Violette’s Lock. Temperatures were in the low 70s and the winds were blowing at about 6 mph. The water level was at 4.2 ft, and the discharge was 11,900 cfs at the time we put in according to the Little Falls gauge. The group consisted of Dasa Merkova, Miki Komlosh, David Beck, Elizabeth Koller, John Snitzer, Brian Cooke, Dmitry Didenkov, Barb Brown, Toni Bickart, Sergey Grinkrug, Matt Elliott, Tim Tilson, Leonardo Leonato, Kathleen Sengstock, Natalie Hanno, Wayne McDaniel, and Dean Hawes (TC).
We launched at about 10:30 AM and convened the group in the first eddy for introductions and a trip briefing. This trip was a PFD for 2 paddlers. Once we all caught up in the eddy prior to the entrance rapid we broke into 2 groups and started our way down. I did receive some comments that the group size may have been a bit too large, so I think in the future we can think about breaking up into smaller groups.
The conditions were very different this time as a result of the storms and the high water from the previous weeks. Most of the debris on the river has been pushed downstream. The entrance rapid was largely cleared with one small tree in the water on river right. The logs just downstream of the diagonal rapid were completely cleared, and the log jam at the bottom of jacuzzi was completely gone. A lot of the debris that was washed out got caught on river left of the exit rapid though, but it was very obvious to see as you approach this section. It looked like a completely different river.
In terms of statistics, we had 16 happy paddlers, 2 PFDs, 2 out of boat experiences (including yours truly), and no injuries.
Submitted by
Dean Hawes