Trip Reports

 Maury River through Goshen Pass -  5 paddlers - 433 cfs - Bob Maxey

On the morning after our trip, I lay awake in bed after a sound sleep thinking of what an awesome day of paddling we had, as follows.  The rains from a week ago provided sufficient water in the Maury River for a paddle through Goshen Pass.  A flow of 573 CFS on Wednesday convinced me that we could make this run.  In fact, Thursday, May 18 was the last day this river could be paddled with its flow of 433 CFS.  By Friday, the flow had declined to 343 CFS.  The level was a good one for first timers, since the water was not pushy.  However, there were numerous points where the river was scrapy and there were pinning possibilities in Devil’s Kitchen Rapid.  Our group of me, Miki Komlosh, John Snitzer and Mark Brenneman met at Manassas at 9:00.  Miki and John picked up Jim Long in Culpeper on the way to the river.  We were delayed by the long drive to Rockbridge Baths from Manassas and the even longer drive to pick up Jim.  Consequently, we put on at 3:15 PM.  There were several fun rapids leading up to Devil’s Kitchen.  We scouted this rapid on river left, as is the custom.  Jim and I decided that the middle section of the rapid was unrunnable, due to numerous rocks obstructing the required passage from the top left of the rapid to the lower right, the route that I have taken at higher levels.  We formed a line passing the boats from the top to the bottom of the rapid on the left bank.  This worked well and we were able to paddle the last drop of Devil’s Kitchen.  We had a late lunch at the picnic area before running Corner Rapid, the most difficult of the rapids that we ran.  This rapid consists of a drop of 5 feet over a very short distance.  I was able to run it, although some manuvering was required for a successful run.  After a while, Jim, Mark (with a roll) and John ran it as well.  Miki decided to attempt a carry on the right bank, which was impossible.  I had gone on the bank to assist Miki with the carry of her boat, starting at the lower end of the rapid, but soon encountered cliffs and poison ivy.  In addition, I was most concerned about the potential for snakes.  Finally, Miki overcame her fears and ran the rapid, as this was the easiest route down the river.  She did fine here and on the entire river.  In fact, both Miki and Mark had successful rolls in Class 3 rapids; there were no swims.  We finally got off the river at 7:30 PM and were on the road by 8.  This was a great run on an outstanding river.  We all agreed that we were ready for this river at larger flows.  I added that my preference would be to not run it in cold water in February or March, as I had done previously.  Our group was a tight one and we relied on each other for a successful run.  Jim Long’s accurate memory of routes on the river was most appreciated.  Five paddlers was a good size group.  I got home at 12:30 AM on Friday; John returned home at 2:30 AM.  Glory be!

Bob Maxey