Old Georgetown Pike (Route 193) to Potomac R.Class III-IV(V+)
0.9 Miles
Avg Gradient 110 fpm
Max Gradient 110 fpm
Difficult Run
Difficult Run Photo taken 4/28/02 Gauge Information
Difficult Run
River DescriptionVirginia Whitewater, Roger CorbettNote: listed gradient is approximate. It's tough to read the topo map in that vicinity. David Mackintosh, on Boater Talk: It is possible to get out on river right after the last drop above the canyon (at moderate levels). You really, really wouldn't want to swim out of that one, and the portage on the right is poor. It's a sticky pourover hole with closed ends; the usual line is to boof hard right into the eddy. If not running the canyon, I strongly suggest getting out on the left in the little cove immediately above that drop. I've run from the 193 bridge down into the river around a dozen times. I always hike up first and scout everything; there's a good chance of new wood since it runs so infrequently. Even so, on one run the level had come up significantly between the time I scouted and when I made it back down to the gorge, and another line would've been better. There are three class 3+ drops above the gorge section, and a couple of good spots to take out on river left after these. There is a 4' drop on the approach to the gorge that can get very sticky, I've been surfed there once or twice. The gorge is nasty, and I wouldn't really "recommend" it to anyone. However, I'm not a cutting-edge creeker, and I've made it through about a dozen times. Not always pretty, though. It's more technical than any of the normal Great Falls lines, not really comparable since it's really a creek and Great Falls is much bigger water. Much more difficult than anything you're going to find on the Yough, more comparable to drops on the Upper B or Green Narrows (but uglier than most). I haven't seen anybody get shoved into the cave on the left, but it looks fairly terminal. Gordon Dalton: One more thing about "D.R." I've run this creek at several different water levels and the water quality is always heinous! A better name for this stream might be "Dysentery Run." As I make that final boof in the lasy big rapid i'm always clamping my lips and eyes together to try to minimize exposure to this nasty H20! I'd hate to roll in there.
Ed Evangelidi testifies: StreamTeam Status: verified
Last Updated: 2005-05-11 15:04:57
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DIFFICULT RUN NEAR GREAT FALLS, VA [ VA ] |
Current Conditions
Station Graphs |
| Level Legend: | Running | Below Minimum Recommended Flow | Above Maximum Recommended Flow | Unknown |
| State | River Name/Section | Class | Level | Rel. Level | Updated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VA | Difficult Run— Old Georgetown Pike (Route 193) to Potomac R. | III-IV(V+) | 1,440 cfs | med | 9/7 4:15 |
| AW Gauge ID: | 8491 |
| USGS Station: | 01646000 |
| HUC: | 02070008 |
| Latitude: | 38.9758 |
| Longitude: | -77.2461 |
| Class: |
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. User Comments |
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2006-09-10 16:02:29 (728 days ago)
Geoff Calhoun
I dislocated my shoulder running the middle to right line in said crux rapid at about 5 feet the other day. landed on my side in a high brace. ive got nerve damage in my lower arm and i'm going to need surgury for my shoulder. be careful. <br />
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2006-09-09 15:41:34 (729 days ago)
n/a n/a
Hear! Hear! The big drop on Difficult Run shall hense be known as 'Calhoun's' - As in Calhoun's Doom - due to a recent run by the young local that resulted, unfortunately, in serious injury. Care to comment Geoff?<br />
p.s. sorry buddy, had to be said! Edit
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2006-09-09 15:40:58 (729 days ago)
n/a n/a
Hear! Hear! The big drop on Difficult Run shall hense be known as 'Calhoun's' - As in Calhoun's Doom - due to a recent run by the young local that resulted, unfortunately, in serious injury. Care to comment Geoff?<br />
p.s. sorry buddy, had to be said! Edit
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2005-08-03 15:35:43 (1131 days ago)
John Alden
I've been paddling Difficult Run for years and it's always been fun, regardless of the level. There's many a good story that took place on this small creek, but I digress. What I recently discovered was how low, in terms of cfs, some of those runs were. These are levels at the gauge with their corresponding cfs:<br />
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3.5' 67 cfs<br />
3.8' 104 cfs<br />
4.0' 135 cfs<br />
4.5' 220 cfs<br />
5.0' 340 cfs<br />
5.5' 475 cfs<br />
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I once ran DR with Jerry Palushock at 3' on the gauge. It was low, VERY LOW, but it was channelized and still floatable. Enjoy.
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2004-07-28 21:28:12 (1501 days ago)
Pete Morey
There is an online USGS gage for this run. This is the same gage that is downstream of the Georgetown Pike bridge, on river right. Unfortunately, the online data is listed for the state of Maryland even though the gage is in Virgina (?). See <br /><br />
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http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?01646000<br />
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Can we get this gage shown on the page instead of the Seneca Creek gage?
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2004-06-07 16:53:15 (1553 days ago)
Mark Anderson
Another viable option is to boof the pourover among the main "gorge" drop and takeout river right. After some customary jawboning about running the V+, one can carefully seal launch below the drop. By carefully I mean avoid submerged rocks that are hard to see in the murky Virginia runoff that is Difficult Run.
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2004-06-07 16:49:41 (1553 days ago)
Mark Anderson
Another viable option is to boof the pourover above the main "gorge" drop and takeout river right. After some customary jawboning about running the V+, one can carefully seal launch below the drop. By carefully I mean avoid submerged rocks that are hard to see in the murky Virginia runoff that is Difficult Run.
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2003-12-28 17:55:09 (1715 days ago)
Brad Roberts
The view from the new guy in town. First the good news, there is a nice trail down the whole river left side. Its nicely maintained and goes down to the confluence with the potomac. If it were open you could probably drive a buick down to the confluence on the trail with no problems.
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All in all there are about 7 real rapids of varying difficulty, and the nasty looking class 5 drop. The trail on the left makes for easy scouting and relatively easy portaging. The class 5 drop will involve carrying your boat about 100 feet up and around the cliff on the left.
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When you see a large rock face/cliff on the left you are right above the big drop. The stream is fairly wide above and split by an island. The last drop is about a 4 foot tall pourover that makes a sticky looking hole, then the class 5 drop. Probably easiest to scout and portage by taking out above the pourover.
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Bradley
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No rapids entered. If you know names, and locations of the rapids please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. 
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