by David Cottingham
A group of 11 paddlers (10 K-1s and 1 OC-1) had a delightful run down Little Falls at a low, low water level of 2.81 ft on the Little Falls gage. Kayakers were: Mark Brenneman, Peter Ryan, Ned Howenstine, Anne Kibler, Kyle Harris, Kent Marcoux, Jenny Thomas, Lisa Laden, Robert Ristow, and myself. Ginny Quam was our lone canoeist. Almost all dropped boats at Lock 6, drove to the parking lot above Chain Bridge, and walked back to the put-in. Three kayakers – Peter, Ned, and Kyle – successfully ran the “Beaver Slide” and all mentioned that the river is almost at minimum level to do so as the run-out was quite rocky. The major excitement of the day occurred as one kayaker hit Cleaver Rock and swam to the Virginia side. His paddle went downstream. Upon retrieving his kayak, he hand paddled into the swirlies and past the “room of doom” as others watched in awe ready for a rescue that wasn’t needed.
Another lovely day on the Potomac messing around in boats.
Submitted by
David Cottingham