On a mild, sunny, December day with the LF gauge at 4.29', eight of us gathered to attain from Carderock: Anne Kibler and Gus Anderson in race boats, and Lisa Laden, Mark Anderson, Pete Ryan, Jackie Hoagland, and Chris Oberlin paddling plastic. John Snitzer abandoned his big creek boat for a much faster old T-Slalom. The water was 44° - cold. Anne zoomed upstream leading us, and somewhere before Calico Falls we welcomed solo paddler, Cory, in a Green Boat. We took different routes up Calico but converged above the rapid and continued to the top of Offutt Island, where Gus, Mark, Jackie, and Pete turned downstream. The rest of us continued to the Angler's put-in. Anne, Cory, and Chris kept going and attained the Center Chute at Difficult Run. Lisa and John headed downstream as the sun dropped low above the trees. The low-angle winter sunlight on the rocky islands and cliffs on the way downstream was gorgeous. We're looking forward to the next warm-ish day.