O.C.T. weekend of May 18, 19 NB Potomac at Bloomington

[bambam]

If some of this sound familiar it's because I'm stealing bits from last year (and the year before that) that worked and we had a good time.

This run forms part of the border between West Virginia and Maryland. I consider it to be a fairly fast-moving class II / III run. Years ago, for me it was a test to see if I was ready to move up to the lower Yough in Pennsylvania.

Dam releases are scheduled for both days. This allows for consistent good flows, almost always. Exceptions are when we have too little or too much water, neither of which is likely this year, fingers crossed. Water can be released from the reservoir from various depths so the water temperature can cover a significant range. Come prepared for chilly.

We usually paddle both days with a later start on Saturday to allow for travel there and earlier on Sunday to allow travel time home. Exact times to be determined.

A good river description can be found here.

https://www.americanwhitewater.org/cont ... /2430/main

You are on your own for lodging. I will be in a motel in Keyser, about 20 minutes from the take out. Area campgrounds include Robert W. Craig and Big Run State Park. At Barnum, (the put in) there are cabins (haven't checked on availability) and tent sites (first come, first served). 304-788-5732. There are more primitive sites along the Savage River that I know next to nothing about.

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More details to come. Please sing out if interested, here, messaging, or email. This is another one where it is not okay to just show up.

Cheers,

Ken Dubel

[dkeller]

Will be 3-4 of us from Hampton Roads area as there has been for last couple of years

Always a good time.

Will paddle both days.

As always, thanks for setting this up.

Don

[Judge]

I'm in for both days.

[Leerail]

I’ll be coming staying at Keyser

[dkeller]

Please post meeting time for Saturday when it is known.

Will be coming from SE VA.

Thanks.

Don.

[bambam]

Monday evening update.

I am nursing a back injury that morphed into a sciatic nerve episode that is, how shall I put it, ..... , um, causing me some distraction. I plan to attend but am taking things one day at a time. I want this trip to happen but there is a chance I won't be there. I'm working on coordinating from afar just in case.

Reservoir levels look normal. There is rain in the forecast but nothing gigantic. I expect we'll see ordinary releases from the dam. Sidenote, the nearby Savage merits paying attention. There is a possibility that it will be low-runnable. The focus of this trip remains the North Branch Potomac but if folks want to split off for the Savage then that's fine.

Don Keller, please check your @cox.net email address.

Cheers,

Ken Dubel

[bambam]

Wednesday evening update.

Cautious medical optimism, I expect to be able to show up on Saturday. If not, I've had some conversations and see no reason for this trip to not happen. We have some grizzled veterans on tap for the Bloomington run.

The Savage continues to tease us with projected releases of up to 400 cfs which is a low-medium but quite fun level. I don't know if that will last through the weekend or not. Release projections can be found at this link. (I hope.)

https://www.nab-wc.usace.army.mil/nab/northBranch.html

This remains a North Branch Potomac at Bloomington trip. The Savage stuff is just potential icing on the cake.

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One minor negative wave, sorry, I've had some trouble lately with folks just showing up without contacting me so I've hesitated posting times and places. Please don't do that. ..... The plan is to meet at the Bloomington takeout at noon on Saturday and at ten on Sunday. If you don't know where that is then send me a note. GPS might be sketchy in that area.

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Cheers,

Ken

[bambam]

Thursday evening update.

I plan to attend and hope to be able to boat. I have a noonish doc appointment tomorrow that might swing those decisions.

The current forecasts say 1/4" of rain on Saturday, 1/16" on Sunday. Temps at boating times low to mid 60's. To me that sounds like light rain off and on and a bit chilly. Dress appropriately.

Gauge geeking, I think Bloomington will have standard releases both days. The Savage is predicting 200 (too low, even for me) to 400 (reasonable low level) for Saturday. They only predict three days in advance. Given that they choked it back today I'm guessing 200 for the weekend unless the light rain on Friday amounts to anything. Light winds are forecast.

Cheers,

Ken

[bambam]

Friday afternoon update.

Deepest regrets but I'm out. The doctor looked at me funny when I described my weekend hopes. He said I'd be better off swimming the river. I didn't get into it with him about the involuntary nature of swimming in dam-release water. I'm in enough pain that I'm heeding his concerns and not making the trip. So sorry.

I've kept a list of folks who have expressed interest and will attempt to contact all via email. I hope that most of you will still go and have fun.

Cheers,

Ken

[Judge]

I don't feel qualified to take over trip lead duties as I am not that familiar with this river. Safety first.

That said, my hotel reservation is non-refundable, so I am inclined to show up if there is someone else going along that is familiar with the river.

[Katherine]

Dave and I will be joining the Saturday trip. (Judge, no worries - we both know the run well.)

Katherine

[dkeller]

I concur with Katherine.

7 of us on Sat and 6 on Sunday.

Most know it and/or are decent paddlers. 5 of us were there last year.

Pretty straightforward run. I'm sure the group can work together to pull it off both days and be safe and have fun.

Sat weather looks about 50% rain at put in time with temps in 60's but Sunday looks real good. Dress appropriately.

If some from the group I have run it with in past two years are there, we should be fine and then some.

That said, anyone have an idea of how many?

I assume we will meet at takeout at noon. We plan to get there about 11:30 - 11:45 to start getting ourselves organized.

Look for black RAV4 ('09, V6) with 3 boats on top (all SOT's, I run an IK Lynx) and a Yukon as well.

SYOTR.

Don.

[Regina]

I will be there both days and am happy to help lead the trip. See you at noon tomorrow! I will get to the takeout early to get my stuff together, too.

Regina

[bambam]

"That said, anyone have an idea of how many?"

I'm counting around 16.

Ken

[dkeller]

Trip went great on both days. Weather cleared in time for Sat and was perfect on Sun.