Trip Reports

We had 8 paddlers on a beautiful October day, with temps in the mid-60s, the level at 2.8’, and high tide. The paddlers were Larry, Gary and Ginny in canoes and Mark, Gary S, Jenny, Bruce and Ned in kayaks. The trip was uneventful until the final paddler in our group descended Little Falls in her canoe. She was aiming to go to the Maryland side from the staging eddy behind the island in the middle of the river. However, she ended up unexpectedly going to the Virginia side, backwards, and into the dark side hole. Given the circumstances, it was inevitable that she would capsize, but the river gods were smiling and on her side. She cleared the dark side hole with aplomb and worked her way out of the sometimes chaotic runout, to the surprise and hearty cheers of the other paddlers. The takeout was a breeze, given the high tide, and we were still talking about the amazing recovery as we paddled back up the canal to Lock Five.