Posted by Geoff on March 25, 2008 at 00:37:20:
In Reply to: Little Falls between 4 and 5ft? posted by ME on March 24, 2008 at 20:43:09:
Its pretty much like Charlie (by the way whats your last initial theres lots of charlies out there) LF changes dramatically and (like great falls and all channelized rapids at high flow volume - becomes seemingly exponentially larger and difficult, though not in a technical sence, more in an "holy $#&%" way and becomes a big water playground for some. its my favorite place to paddle at higher water levels. and i am seen there daily sometimes with my wildwater boat.
low water is characterized by cascading channels of water between bedrock islands with eddies behind rocks. the character changes a little over 3 feet becoming wavey and lower yough ish, current gets faster and waves get longer at 4 feet and running the virginia side involves either a tight angle, a hard ferry or a drop though some slots at the top. over 4 feet the lean in rapids become fast and fun, nice wavetrains. the rubble dam is a lot cleaner and a much more fun line, but it all looks the same and you have to know it well to stay off the junky rocks. I have mangled a wildwater boat up there even at 4 feet. z channel is pretty much the same.
the rapid isself dovelops widens at the top, consuming the "spade rock" on river left which comes in as a cool boof at some specific level. a long wavetrain at the bottom along the md shore, its all wide open and clean but its kinda big water now and don't expect to catch eddies unless you paddle rivers like the upper gauley. the rapid is longer, faster, but whats really cool is the river pushes the tide water out of the chain bridge area and dovelops another wavey rapid starting at the take out platform and getting longer at higher water.
above 5 feet it gets very big and pushy, i would say morseso than anything on the upper gauley. but again, wide open. i usually run left of center. stay away from the island in the middle at the top, enjoy the 8+ foot waves and the 2nd part of the long rapid, which at these levels dovelops some Iffy features, so eddy out behind the platform or stay rightish. low tide makes the waves steeper and less friendly. rubble dam is big too.
6.5 feet could be the 'hardest' practical level, for whatever thats worth. everything is under water and its just a battle with current. Low tide again can be scary. paddling out from z-turn you'll have to work to get river right of all the river shrub/bushes/trees growing in the high water channels. the run goes very quick.
so its a lot of fun if your a class 4 boater, but nobody should go fire it up just because they got beta from me on paddle prattle. i saw you wrote that you had scouted it (but not run it??) at four feet. if you decided not to run it at 4 then i would not advise you to go run it at 5... common sense. go scout it dude.