We had 21 boats, 22 paddlers on today’s Sunday paddle. Summer is here! The Scouts, made up of John S., Lisa L., Wayne M., Tim T., Gale R., Angel A., and Paul, got a quick start and headed out in front of the rest of us. All 7 in K-1s, yes Tim too.
The rest of us were - Katie D., Laura E., Toni B., Hendrik vO., Alf C., Tom and Evelynn P., Kathleen S., Brian H., Jackie H., Lisa W., Mikey B., Gordy L., and Gary and Ginny Q. We had 1 C-1, 1 OC-2, 4 OC-1s, and 8 K-1s.
Even meeting at 9am, parking at Violettes Lock got tight. It was a hot and sunny day and we had a bit of a breeze crossing the Po to the GW Canal and back again to the C&O Canal. We introduced two newcomers to the Violettes Lock loop and once again took our time down the canal with lots of ferrying, eddy hopping, surfing and general playing. There was quite a bit of success making the elevator move in the left channel below Diagonal rapid.
There were no new obstructions in the GW Canal. Water level is going down, so a few more rocks are becoming visible. We had paddlers go down both the right and left channel below Diagonal and both are clear. Water in the C&O canal was very shallow! While we didn’t leave anyone behind mired in muck, it was slightly less than enjoyable and has most of us considering a Pennyfield shuttle. Lisa L. and John attained, avoiding the C&O canal altogether. No unintentional swims today and a good time was had by all.
C&O Canal Note - The NHP had drained the Canal without giving public notice on their website. I checked Pennyfield immediately after our paddle - two wickets in the lock there were open, dropping the level by 44 inches. We'll be talking with our friends in the Park this Monday morning ! - Alf Cooley