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Trip Reports

Violettes Lock, Sun July 14 - with photos
Barbara Brown
By Alf Cooley
       Thirteen paddlers showed for a warm paddle at 3.9 feet - down the GW Loop.  No enforcers were encountered on the way over to the mouth of the Patowmac Canal.  We had Peter Ryan coordinating and - Wayne, Barb, Pam White, Cannon Warren & friend in an OC2, Louise Saulnier, Gary & Ginny Quam in individual Probes, Michelle Ryan, Bill Branson, Miki, and Alf.

      Peter immediately put us in pairs for coaching and safety, and kept us moving, with appropriate time in the larger rapids and for practicing  ferries and the like.  In Diagonal Rapid, Cannon and Miki wallowed in to remove a couple of nasty strainers.

     Meanwhile, Alf, eeling down a rare side channel, found a half stranded cannoiest making his way down a fascinating narrow declivity paralleling our route to the left (it deserves checking out by a small, strong group).  This was Tim Brown of Leesburg, who was exploring Seneca Breaks for himself - first time, but who was happy enough to come over to join our group before he had to split off to meet his pick-up ride at Riverbend Park.  [Tim has just joined CCA.]

     All paddlers ferried back to the Maryland shore in style - and found the new fill-in at the transfer trail at Blockhouse Point to have fine foot-steps hollowed into the gravel - Alf questions whether these will hold over the long run and Barb took a photo (q.v.) to establish a base point in case we need to call in the C&O Park to refurbish.

      Canal was well filled, and we were delighted to encounter about 60 newbies coming down-river in rec kayaks.  They said they were from Potomac Paddlers.  It is good that the re-opened Pennyfield Level is being used by beginner boaters (it was an out-and-back trip from P-field) as well as by us elder codgers.

Pictures by Barb are posted on CCA's facebook.
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