South Branch - 06/14/2014

It rained like crazy last week with flood warnings after the downpours on Friday the 13th.  The USGS gage at Stanton Station was at over 5.5 ft Friday night.  I did a quick check Saturday morning around  9 am and it was still at 4.5 ft.  This was the highest that I had opportunity to try the river.  I quickly loaded up kayak, paddle, PFD, 2 water bottles, and my waterproof mobile protector.  My middle daughter road with me for the 15 minute drive up to my drop off point on River Rd.

I didn't waste any time getting the boat in the water.  It was 10:20 when I pushed off.  The water was very fast.  There was dull roar from the water going over the low head dams at the water plant.  I didn't have any concerns about hitting bottom and just took off.

Overall the trip was really great.  This is the first time that I have done this trip where I didn't hit bottom in any meaningful way.  I could just follow the current the whole way without constantly search for the deepest channel.  I could tell that I was really moving quickly, particularly since I was in an 8 ft rec boat (Emotion Comet).  There were lots of riffles, but no real white water.  I didn't see anyone on the river until just after going under the route 31 bridge.

After going under the route 523 bridge, I went through the partially wash out dam at Darts Mill.  It had nice drop and I had bit of wash over the front of the boat.  I continued on to the next washed out dam roughly mile further.  This is where I took on a lot of water last trip.  I though it would be smoother this time due to higher water, but this was not the case.  There was a large drop where I hit a rock just before a small wave that had significant wash over the boat.  I had roughly 2 inches of water in the boat.  Unfortunately I didn't take a pump or sponge, so I just let it go as I was only 3/4 a mile from my take out.  The weather was warm so it was no big deal.

I reached my take out at intersection of Case Blvd, Pennsylvania Ave, and River Rd at noon.  It drained the boat and waited for Jill to pick me up.  The 9 mile trip only took me 1 hr and 40 minutes which is at least 40 minutes faster than my normal time.  I'm going to continue to watch the gage at Stanton Station (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?01397000) for water of 4.5 ft or higher as this was absolutely the best trip that I have had on the South Branch of the Raritan.  Clear paddling!

Scott