Local Loops: Violettes Soon, Little Falls Not at All Soon

The C&O Canal National Historical Park staff reported in a March 24 email to Alf Cooley of the River Access Committee that cleanup and repairs will keep the Violettes Lock loop return section from being rewatered at least through the first week of April. The work is not major, though, and the rewatering can be expected "soon."

No such luck with the reconstruction that is keeping the Lock 5 area closed. Alf expects that the options for Little Falls paddlers will remain suboptimal for two more years. Many have been doing a walking shuttle between Lock 6 and Chain Bridge; others have been doing a car shuttle between Lock 6 and Fletchers Boathouse. The hardiest souls carry boats on the Towpath from the takeout all the way back to Lock 6. 

Speaking of Violettes Lock, the return of Donald Trump brings back into play a security zone that can be imposed around his golf course on the Virginia side. Coordinators of GW Canal trips, be advised: After a lawsuit was filed by CCA and Democracy Forward in 2018, the Coast Guard finally declared, "Persons and vessels transiting from Violett's [sic] Lock to Seneca Falls and the George Washington Canal are outside the security zone and are not subject to the transit restrictions imposed by the security zone at any time, including when the security zone is being enforced." If questioned, you can show them 85 Fed. Reg. 29615-29621 (May 18, 2020) online if you have your phone and cell coverage—or print out the Federal Register notice and keep it in your PFD pocket!