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Trip Reports

Violettes Loop - Sun, 31 July
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     I had told the participants it was going to be 3.4 ft.  Wrong.  Because of the rains on the north side of the Potomac which took out downtown Ellicott City, the river was in fact rising rapidly, leading me to calculate (just now) that as we nosed into the GW Canal, the level at the Little Falls gauge was equivalent to 4.17 ft = 11,900 cfs.  (Calculation below) 

    We were 12 this week, but had but 10 boats - 4 canoes (counting in the Kniplings' inflatable Aire) and 6 kayaks.  Many of the rapids in the canal were washed out, and we declined the opportunity to really engage with the big one and get windowshaded.

    Our group was so compatible and chatty that I could swear that we spent more of the circuit talking with one another in the eddies than actually surfing.  At the end, the ferry across the Potomac went swiftly, and once in the Canal,we were treated to dessert.

    For the extra foot at the Brookmont gauge means about the same lift at Rowsers Ford (Violettes Lock) and raised the level of the C+&O Canal by about 9 inches, leaving the dreaded hydrilla invasion safely under water.

     We were:  Louise Saulnier, 3 Kniplings - Ron, dtr Leah, grandson Trent, Mike + Gena McGurrin, Hein Bogaard, Jerry Odhner, Jan Wolf, Lisa Weed, Wayne McD, and Alf C.

(Calculation:  The LF gauge is 16.5 miles below Violettes - and calculating the lag until our water reached it at 3 mph (actually 2.92 mph), the relevant reading is 5 hours later - meaning that I took the 3 PM LF gauge reading.  This sort of thing isn't necessary most times, but today, due to the huge rains that took out downtown Ellicott City, we had a rapid increase in river volume/ height just before paddling.)
   Alf
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