We had 10 paddlers (8 in kayaks and 2 in packrafts) join us for a run from the Old Angler’s Inn put in on the Potomac River down to the Lock 10 take out. The water level was at 2.70 ft / 1530 cfs according to the Little Falls gage. The group consisted of Barb Brown, Mar Solis, Alf Cooley, Greg Landrigan, Gordy Lang, Laura Thompson, George Faraday, Mike Stringfellow, Cliff Zinnes, and myself.
We launched very close to our target time of 6:30 PM and arrived at Lock 10 just as the sun was setting, giving us about 2 ½ hours of time on the river. The lower water level left the Offutt rapids channel almost impassable. Almost everyone got hung up on the rocks going into the channel. I suggest bypassing this section and heading down the other side of the island when the water is at this level.
But Yellow Falls and Stubblefield Falls gave us plenty of action, and multiple opportunities to play around. Unfortunately, some of this playing around resulted in a pile up on one of the rocks at the bottom of Yellow Falls. Luckily, all victims escaped with only bruised egos, and armed with a fun story. Also worth noting at this water level, the entrance to the Lock 10 channel approaching the take out was pretty shallow, so most of had to get out of our boats and drag them to the take out.
One last suggestion I would make for an evening paddle is to be mindful of the slow water paddle from Stubblefield Falls to the take out. That distance usually seems to take longer than expected and could result in finishing your paddle in the dark if you’re not careful.
The Potomac scenery was just as beautiful as always, and everyone appeared to have a great time.