I had heard that this wild section had been cleared, and yes, several of the downed trees on the tight bends were MIA, but have been replaced by many others, as low or lower, since this section is not serviced by a livery. I took photos of 14+ low, downed trees blocking the river, but there were at least twice that on our trip, which of course, is always changing! From the 9-Mile Bridge, it starts out slow, wider & gentle, so teases those who are less experienced, not prepared for the upcoming obstacle course. One of the most challenging is still "The Maze" (my name), which is early on, and now has a low tree blocking just upstream. As usual, Jocelyn was the "Limbo Queen", curling up in a ball to get under the trees that had less than 2 ft of clearance, just enough to get her Sandpiper under. Once the fast current kicked in, "Sturgeon King" Jack decided to follow, instead of lead, since it was his first trip in many yrs down the LM! Experienced paddlers like this section left this way for the challenge, since the current pulls you under the lowest part of the downed tree on a blind bend, where unsuspecting paddlers have to take a swim to avoid a head banger! So, gotta be prepared for lots of ferrying, eddying out & padding hard, if you want to stay dry! And, be self-reliant, not panic, since you need to spread out enough to keep from running into a paddler working out of a bad line, which is bound to happen, esp when the water level drops, and the gravel bars are only covered with a few inches of water. That's when the challenge really begins, since you only have a few feet of river width to make those tight turns, staring at those low trees dead ahead!
All in a day of wild & fast fun in high water for 4 green Wenonah solo canoes,
Sara & Jocelyn Trepte in their Sandpipers, John Walton & Jack Kurtz in their Argosys.
Report & Photos by Trip Leader, Sara Cockrell (For more photos, see separate Photo Page.)
John wanted a challenge!
Jocelyn, the "Limbo Queen"
Jocelyn paddling "S" turn in new rapid
An unidentified swimmer
"Sturgeon King" Jack coming out of "The Maze"
Sara's trash at lunch, very little on river, but may be more when the water comes down
(fishing hook tore her hiking shirt) photo by Jocelyn