Appomattox River in Petersburg 10/18/2014

[PaddleAllen]

Jan and I want to thank Ann Lankey and Ginny Wiley for taking us under their arms and taking us on a fantastic float down the Appomattox near Petersburg Saturday. We put in just below the Chesdine Dam and pulled out at the park at the Fleet Street Bridge. It was a PFD for Jan and me and some of the largest rapids we have run. So, thanks also go out to Marko and Mike for retrieving my kayak. For mid-October, the weather was wonderful, with a temperature of 70F and partly cloudy sky. The flow was high, at 1200 cfs.

Jan and I had been wanting to float this section, but were worried about the difficulty of the rapids. Well, the river did not disappoint us. It was beautiful and had some great Class II's and III's rapid, sufficiently tough enough to afford me the opportunity for more out of kayak experiences. And, I would do it again tomorrow, or any time we can get a trip together.
Thanks ladies for a great time and comradery.
PaddleAllen

[LilMoochie]

Agreed- had a good time. Normally I bring my camera but forgot it this time. I'm doubly disappointed now that I know there was some valuable information to be gathered following the removal of the Harvell Dam.

Special thanks to Jenny for the beta, and for being our defacto guide. Special thanks also to Turbo D in the "boat retrieval department"

Heretofore I've always thought that rec boats could handle class III without too much difficulty but the last two rapids (Target rock and the new "chute-like" rapid after target rock) were pretty meaty for an average rec boat.

While I'm looking forward to doing this run again sometime, it was an awful lot of work paddling the slackwater in my little playboat (Pyranha Rev).

[Mike W.]

What's it like below the whirlpool now?

Tell us about the new rapid...please.

[Jenny]

See post on "Want to paddle now?" under trip ad. Paddle Daddy requested description in that thread and we replied.

In brief, new rapid is awesome. The little rapid that is just after Girl Scout is bigger (more drop and larger waves). Then comes new rapid with hole (pourover) on right and most of the water heading towards rock sticking out from left bank. In between is the sweet spot. Lots of big waves with a really squirrel outflow due to the constricted space under the bridge.

We need a name for the new rapid (and for the break out at the dam upstream). For the rapid above the bridge, here's some suggestions:

Harvell's Revenge
Whirlpool
Fleet St Treat

Other suggestions?

[Jenny]

Also, the rapid is above the whirlpool / bridge, not below. Below the bridge is still flatwater. We took out at regular place so I didn't see dam site, but other paddlers told us there wasn't a rapid there. New rapid above the bridge was caused by drop in the river level below bridge. This can clearly be seen at take-out which is no longer level with the river -- rather there is a drag up hill.

[Mike W.]

Interesting. I did not expect much change upstream from the bridge. I did expect more change downstream. It was low water yesterday, so I guess you really couldn't tell if the whirlpool was effected.

The dam break upstream was named "The General Lee" just after it formed a few years ago. At some levels it's fun. Other levels, it's scary (mainly depending on where the run-out goes). I have run it & walked it, depending on how it looked that particular day.

Thanks for the info! I hope we have a wet winter so it'll run.

[chromo]

Thanks for the info on the new rapid - I am looking forward to running it soon! I read somewhere that it used to be called Narrow Falls before the first dam was built there. I like that name, and I also like Whirlpool if we're changing it. Of course i might have another idea once we actually run it..

[Jenny]

Narrow Falls also fits because the rapid is formed partly by the drop and partly by the constriction of the river width.

[Kahn]

How long does the run take with ample surfing, maybe a swim, etc?

[chromo]

I usually plan for 3.5 hours on the water. We take our time though