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Trip Reports

Thornton at 10" - Sun, 14 May 2017 - Exciteme...
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Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf-fxSoaDkQ&t=6s
       Sorry to miss the fun on Passage Creek, but I'm very glad to have been on the Thornton with Bob & Paul (and Pete & Sheila, who hadn't been down there for 10 years.)  Paul and I had done it about 5 years ago with Hein & Noel - at a much lower level than yesterday's 10 inches.  The sixth was Joe Jones from Culpeper, who comes up to do Little Falls with us from time to time.  Good man, who proved his worth on the river.

      Thank fortune (and foresight) that our crowd - 6 head - was not on Passage Creek, for we too had our own share of mishaps - also got off late from what should have been an easy run.  We had 10 inches at Fletchers Mill - as predicted by Ron Knipling's figures and Stream-Finder (when the miserable AW, which goes by the Remington gauge, was telling the world the stream was too low.)

     Our string of adventures started when one member got dumped while trying a limbo move under a protruding branch - and lost his paddle.  Sheila gave him hers and continued by hand paddling in the icy water.  Searched the banks and sandbars as we moved down, finally discovering it on a gravel island after we'd had lunch and pretty well given up on the search.

     Next, a member almost washed into the maw of Prepare to Meet Thy God rapid backwards, but was extricated.  He later got seriously pinned in a set of rocks and was pulled out by a new member - Joe Jones - who had recently taken the Swiftwater Rescue course courtesy of TRR in Fredericksburg.  Pete Chapelle also was handy with a rope toss. 

    Another (Paul) flipped on a rock - all with the result of our exiting only at 3:30 PM after 4 1/2 hours from a stream that should be run at that level in 2 1/2 hours.  Like the Passage Creek trip, a long hard day - but a perfectly beautiful one.
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