Little Falls gauge 2.92, 2,450 cfs, water temperature 78°, air temperature low 70's to low 80's.
Once again a large group, 22 paddlers, turned out to paddle Sunday morning. Five paddlers organized a shuttle from Riley's Lock to Pennyfield Lock: Hendrick vanOss (OC-1), Rich C (OC-1), Robin W, Beth K, and John S. The other 17 met at Violettes Lock, and once on the water, split into two groups. Jackie H generously offered to lead a faster group. She is a gem. Mark W (OC-1), Dan R, Diane H, Linda W, Louise S, and George F went with Jackie. Trip Coordinator Lisa L took Pam W, Lauren W, Mikey B, Andrew T, Robert R, Susie S, Natalie H, Dmitry D, and Toni B. All except Hendrik, Rich, and Mark paddled kayaks, and all were familiar with the run.
Jackie's group started first and stayed ahead. She reports they had a nice day with no issues. Lisa's group was surveilled by the patrol boat as they crossed the river and told not to get out on the shore on the VA side. One of the patrollers was taking photos, but didn't seem to be pointing at us. Once in the canal we caught eddies and played whatever features we found. At Surfer's Ledge we encountered the kayaker who camps out at the waves there on Sunday mornings and then were caught by the shuttle group. We mingled for a while surfing with a bit of happy, crowded, chaos. Robin had a great side surf and roll. The Shuttlers reported a very polite and respectful interchange with the guys on the patrol boat on their crossing. Lisa's group lingered at Diagonal Rapid while the Shuttlers headed downstream. We took the left side of the island, where Dmitry and Natalie attained Attainment Rapid, possibly Natalie's first time? Beth went ahead at Exit Rapid to take photos. With the river getting low, we had some difficulty exiting to the river. There were no significant moments of instability on the trip. At the Blockhouse Point takeout, the gravel that washed down has improved the mud situation at the shore considerably. We helped each other up the slope to the canal, but most found the climb manageable and not as treacherous as reported. We paddled up the canal among a large flotilla of sea kayakers returning to Riley's Lock. We didn't see a single turtle, but did notice some vivid purple wildflowers. Thanks to all of you for helping each other and making such a large trip go smoothly and safely. It was another great day on the river.