By David Cottingham
Ten hardy paddlers braved cool temperatures (in the 40s) and blustery winds (gusts to 20 mph) to paddle from Anglers to Lock 10 on the final scheduled outing of 2022 for the Thursday paddling group. In OC-1s were Ginny Quam, Gary Quam, and Larry Lempert. Paddling K-1s were Gus Anderson, Ned Howenstein, Peter Ryan, Gary Steinberg, Jenny Thomas, and David Cottingham. Water level was 4.37. What a difference a week makes. The Thursday before, this group ran Little Falls at about 2.8 ft on gage in 75 degree weather. Rains over the weekend brought the water level up significantly.
Other than a little excitement below Yellow Falls as folks ferried and eddy hopped, it was a pretty uneventful trip. Where Scott’s Run flows into the Potomac, several of us watched 3 people clad in long white garments baptize a young woman. The cold water and chilly winds made for a day she will long remember.
We celebrated a wonderful 2022 paddling season at Fish Taco. We told tall tales and missed some regulars in the group.