This was the first use of the "Pick-Up" trips distro - and it got us eight paddlers to take advantage of the runoff of a one-inch rainfall on 31 March.
After hovering over weather data and gauge readings Friday, we went to bed with hopes of catching the South Branch of the Patapsco up on Saturday morning. ‘Twas not to be. We needed technology for a midnight run. The gauges that went straight up Friday afternoon came straight down Friday night and we were left with a low-water muddy paddle down the main stem of the Patapsco River.
We 2 picked up 4 paddlers at Gaither, then drove over the main Patapsco, where we met 2 from DC and another - a local whose paddling partner has wimped. So there were 9 of us - John S, Alf, Frank Fico, Keith, Matt, Larry L, Greg, Danny & Lisa. Two in canoes; the others in K1s. We put in at the Hollofield gauge at 230 some cfs, and the river dropped only slightly during the run. This was a low water run with lots of rocks just under the surface to grab the passing kayak. The signature rapids near Ellicott City were exercises in route picking through just-covered boulders made difficult to see by the coffee colored water.
The river is much changed by last July’s flood. There is a big clot of uprooted trees across from the put in and uprooted trees aligned downstream along the entire run. Banks are scoured in places and the cobble bars in the lower section are rearranged. We will see if the denuded areas refill with wildflowers or are invaded by weeds. It looks as if boulders in the creek bed were pushed aside post-flood to armor banks in places. The trash and debris and tangled sections of silt fence scattered along the river banks are depressing. This section of the river would benefit much from a paddling community cleanup effort. There are now tough looking no parking signs under the railroad tracks and chained-together concrete blocks obstructing the former factory site at the takeout, so parking there is more limited.
While it was nice to get out and paddle and we met some nice new folks, the high point of the day was returning to Sykesville afterwards. Within two hundred feet of the South Branch is a blue house with a French flag - the French Twist. No beignets, but the crepes and coffee are good, and there is outdoor seating for paddlers who might want carbs and caffeine after paddling the Gaither Gorge section of the South Branch, which we'll be seeking to do on a moister occasion.