Roaring Brook's Pipeline

Roaring Brook's Pipeline

Photo of Kevin by Jeff Ackerman taken 01/12/08 @ very fluid for the d

This rapid low is friendly, but at higher flows I would be very concerned with the river wide lowhead dam action that could form.

Continuous entry around bends to quickly reveal a tunnel with large wood pinned on the upstream side of tunnels. Difficult to get out in the shallows on river right as there are no eddies. Dangerous wood was present Jan, 2008. Soon as you clear the tubes try and grab a river right eddy or get ready to shoot though some holes. Difficulty will directly be related by water level and could easily jump a class. Our group portaged the tunnel (fairly easy) up over the train tracks except for Kevin and Sam that seal launched off the sketchy strainer into the tunnel.

Roaring Brook Put in Gearing Up

Roaring Brook Put in Gearing Up

Photo of guys and boats by Jeff Ackerman taken 01/12/08 @ very fluid for the d

Park putin @ Elmhurst. Park anywhere and put in at the edge of the park. Note there will likely be strainers to knuckle drag around very early on. Also there is a class 2-3 chunky pinch down that catches wood early in the run. Be alert in the first easy rapids.

Stumble into the center or right of Peewee and you will feel small getting tossed in a strong hole. Slide by on the far Left.

Sam running the Crucible

Sam running the Crucible

Photo of Sam by Jeff Ackerman taken 01/12/08 @ very fluid for the d

This solid class 4+ maybe 5 rapid has two big holes. The river left side of the 2nd big hole has an undercut that could come into play more easily at low flows. Sam's paddle (pic) is pointing to the rock slab that has water running under it as it slopes into the water. The undercut is at the bottom of the hole. If swimming, swim right and balling up though the 2nd hole could be very critical to skipping through unscathed.

Scout Crucible and Peewee at the same time.

From Elmhurst it takes 1 hour of constant paddling through mostly class 2 to get to this jewel.

Dam Portage Above The Gorge

Dam Portage Above The Gorge

Photo of Portage above the Gorge by Jeff Ackerman taken 01/12/08 @ very fluid for the d

After paddling up through the Lake created by the dam you will do best to portage on the Right. Walk down from the dam at least 100 yards.  

Alternatively It looks like an easy walk around on river Left but getting out of the water looked iffy from our river right choice.

Under a train bridge the creek necks down and drops roughly 10 feet. A mean ledge hole can kick up even at lower flows but our group didn't have much trouble.

Roaring Brook's Nay Aug Falls

Roaring Brook's Nay Aug Falls

Photo of Wayne Gman by Jeff Ackerman taken 01/12/08 @ very fluid for the d

We stayed far river right though the entry and slipped over the ledge into the main flow. That line feeds into the main flow on the Left of Center. Boaters setup on the rights side of the spout and boof towards the center as pictured. Guard against being on the Left or you might get caught in an ugly spot against the River Left wall. Rescue at the bottom of the falls is nearly impossible but it all seems straight forward.

Most continuous rapid that ends in quick moving water running towards the entry to the Big 20 ft Nay Aug Falls. Get out EARLY on River Left to scout the Big Drop. A serious drop without the ability for setting safety. 

Park and Huckers might make good use of Nay Aug Park. Here is a link (map) describing the location of a bridge that might be useful getting down to the river for a putin. I could see short laps of boulder dash through a hike out at the Portage Dam below Nay Aug Falls.  www.scrantonpa.gov/nayaug_map.html

Roaring Brook Below Big Falls

Roaring Brook Below Big Falls

Photo of Kevin and Wayne G. by Jeff Ackerman taken 01/12/08 @ very fluid for the d

Awesome Gorge with cut out walls overhanging boaters impressively. Through the pinch down and through some class 2-3 rapids the river continues.

There is a long walk back on the river Left side over the hill gaining 100 ft of vertical or more. Long but it seems doable for the very determined. 10 minutes of effort. There are very slim pickings on river right to get back up to the top of the falls for a 2nd run through the falls. Kevin did a sketchy wet/slimy 5.4 solo climb to watch over the group after his probe when this picture was taken.

Mega Seal Launch

Mega Seal Launch

Photo of Sam by Jeff Ackerman taken 01/12/08 @ very fluid for the d

Second Dam portage on the Roaring Brook. Low Flows allowed walking on river right to get down to 2 different seal launch spots. There is an option to take out on River Right at this dam if needed. 

High launch off a chunky formation led to ugly flops into the water. We lowered down the slippery rock further for a stable flat launching area and an 8 ft seal launch (gallery).

Below the portage Dam the river gets a concrete bottom and high walls moving through downtown Scranton. Getting out of the creak below the portage is difficult and few and far between opportunities.

There is an horizon line which indicates the steeper ramp down in the flume. Its concerning just paddling up on this area if you didn't scout before the run. The river's flow soon gets split with a wall running down the middle. A strainer in this area could be very troublesome but none were there. The water was very shallow on our lowish volume day. We were lightly scraping the bottom or nearly so most of the time in this man made area.

At the confluence with the Lackawanna you need to quickly get out on River Left. There is a 1 move dyno up and over the wall to get to the bowling alley/shopping mall parking lot with the Mc Donalds.

Other takeouts are likely available on the Lackawanna but we didn't search around for something easier.