Youghiogheny

This was the scene of a back injury at Swallow Falls.

Everyone seems to know about the strainer at the left boof below Muddy creek. It is quite visible. There is an insidious little strainer in a calm stretch below suck hole and the rock in the middle rapid but above the last slot move rapid. It looks innocuous but at about 300 CFS it is just the right level to grab a boat. Hope somebody takes it out.

Muddy Creek Scenery

So I visited the Top Yough for the first time in 14 years, and I didn't have perfect recall concerning the proper line at Suckhole. I tried the most obvious line, with a vague feeling of some partially-lost memory that there might be some hidden midstream rocks, but thinking that at this higher water level (250 cfs/2.8) than my 2 last times, maybe it would go. Well, I pitoned into some unseen, covered midstream rock(s), ricocheted over to broach on a rock on the right, and had an all-too-interesting recovery, blah, blah, blah, ferrying river left 5 feet above Certain Death, blah, blah, blah, etc. So on my second trip, while I was waiting for my partners who had somehow gotten left behind, and after throwing a rope to a girl who turned out not to need it (nice recovery, Flea), I spied a solo boater who seemed to know the True Line, and who paddled it confidently and with nice momentum, and I, not being an idiot, immediately decided to emulate him, 'cause I know a good thing when I see it! Consequently, I'm here going to describe the ideal line for you, in case you just have to run the hero route despite the presence of a perfectly good sneak route tight to the left. First, a digression: The first mistake that I made on my first run was to start right. This puts one at a bad angle upon entering the constriction at the main ledge. Everything after that is just trying to recover. So, then, the friendliest approach to the hero route starts tight left, drops over the small approach ledge, and then angles rightward across the main ledge drop at the constriction. From here, stay right of the unseen, submerged midstream rocks in the foamy, choppy water, and just left of the intermittently-covered flat rock on the right (where Flea messed up), and then cut a smooth arc back to the left above the ugly pillowed rock just above Suckhole, the left side of which is mildly undercut at this level, so try not to contact it. Your line should describe a backwards C, or a parabola (I think) for you engineering types. It's elegant and uncomplicated, and I hope that this will aid you so we can prevent the pile-up of boats and corpses at Suckhole. Yeah, I always hate it when I have to paddle past a big pile of smelly river-soaked corpses, so let's be safe out there.

On 7-1-09 our party had a boat stuck at the rock at Suck Hole. True to its name it sucked in the boat and it was jammed. It took us three hrs to remove it. Many thanks to the Harrington Manor for their assistance,Chris, Jeremy, and Tim you guys are awesome

Mike choosing his line for the last half of Suck Hole. One fun line is to go from where Mike is to the swirly eddy in front of the BIG rock on the right edge of this photo. Then, peel out and catch the eddy behind the 'divider rock' (the rock that is a little above center in this photo and is almost covered with water).