Four Mile Run,
|
|
Ohio Street to Arlington Ridge Rd
| Usual Difficulty |
III (may vary with level) |
| Length |
4.5 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient |
36 fpm |
| Max Gradient |
50 fpm |
Gauge Information
River Description
Ed Evangelidi testifies:
This creek is rarely run for a long distance due to the pain of numerous dangerous low water
bridges, many of which are found around blind turns. Most paddlers concentrate on sections that
contain Âinteresting rapids. The upper reach has a sloping rapid of at least 6 that funnels
into a mean looking hydraulic. The middle section has long stretches of nice rapids and above
Columbia Pike is an interesting set of rocky slalom routes that are fortunately well between two
low water bridges. Below Columbia Pike the creek is fairly channelized between flood walls but
still throws up occasional rapids. The creek is extremely flashy and rarely stays up for as long as
an hour. The stream has a junkyard quality to it with every type of debris lying about but it once
had a fancy swim club in the 1800Âs that used a dammed up pool (remnants still visible) in Glen
Carlyn Park.
StreamTeam Status: Not Verified
Last Updated: 2002-07-01 07:01:35
No guide books for this stream. If you know of a book that describes this stream please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. 
River Alert
User Comments
is!
one-inch rainfall. (We checked out but didn't run the class IV chute just above Ohio St.) There is
easy whitewater (class I-II) almost the entire way, with one tougher section that reaches 100
ft/mile for 1/3 mile from Glencarlyn Park (2.2 miles) to Columbia Pike (2.9 miles). The only place
we needed to scout was a class III+, 5-ft. ledge, that could be run in the middle. We had to
portage 6 low-water bridges from the bicycle path. The first two, above Glencarlyn Park, come upon
you around turns with little warning, while the latter four can be seen well in advance
(fortunately, as they have no eddies nearby). Lots of overhanging branches in the first mile, but
not much after that, and no streamwide tree strainers at all. Overall, it is an enjoyable trip, but
you should only do it at low water so as not to get swept into the bicycle bridges. And if you get
to the put in and find the creek high, just wait awhile, as it falls very fast; it went from 600
cfs (too high) at the gauge to 230 cfs (too low) in 2 hours.