Robert Farmer---Sept 6,2008: Caught it at @3.7/535 cfs at Villa Nova. Until proven otherwise, I declare this to be the lower end of perfect. The rapids were great fun, no portages, and I could scrape over the double pipeline---however, this would change if someone were to remove the enormous amount of trash that causes a backup of the water there. (If you do decide to portage the main drop, scout from river left at Route 40 first, then portage the big ledge on the right; the left side is a cliff.) I hit @ 7-8 rocks, total---hardly any! Also, there is a new USGS gauge just upstream of Washington Blvd: the level there was @4.2 or so. I paddled down to the harbor and had a lovely dinner at Nick's Fish House, where I took out. It was a very nice day. Total time to takeout: @2 hours and 15 minutes. Also, the best put-in is off of Forest Park Dr.---Take Pickwick Rd. down to the park at Dickeyville on river right; put in below the drowning machine dam. This put-in results in at least one less portage. Takeout at Washington Blvd, unless you want to paddle down to the harbor and probably see more birds. P.S. I noticed that it comes up with about an inch of rain in 12 hours or so. Edit

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Robert Farmer-- I caught this the other day when the Villa Nova gauge (I found out later) indicated around 1.25 ft/ 50 cfs; this turned out to be an abusive minimum. Total time from Dickeyville to Wash. Blvd.: @3 hours. I paddled it once before at @70 cfs at VN; this was slightly less abusive. An acceptable level for many people might be around 100 cfs, but the gauge is far upstream, so this is only a rough indicator rather than a true water level. The stated minimum of 150 would be well-padded, but less frequent. I noticed a new visual gauge at Washington Blvd---the only visual gauge that I know of. The abusive-minimum level here is 2.2. A good minimum would probably be 2.75. 4.2 is very nice. Because the gauges are read only once a day, and the creek can easily rise and fall in 6 hours, the telemetric gauges are often not helpful, except for later reference, which is why the Wash. Blvd. gauge is very useful. Otherwise, the only good place to check the creek visually is at Windsor Mill Rd bridge, where the rapids can give one a rough idea of the level, although there is no gauge there. The best rapids are downstream of Dickeyville and the ledges section downstream of Route 40. The Washington Blvd gauge can be read online at: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?01589352. Edit

Caught Dead Run Sat, 9/02/06, at somewhere between 80-200 cfs and dropping sharply, according to the USGS site (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/md/nwis/uv?cb_00060=on&cb_00065=on&format=gif&period=7&site_no=01589330). <br /> <br /> It was slightly scrapy, but not too bad. Would have been better with 50 cfs more. The 2 scrapiest sections are within sight of the road. I put in behind the former seafood restaurant, below the dam, for maximum convenience; the owners were cool--they waved at me, although I hadn't asked permission. I took out on Gwynns Falls, below the parkway bridge. There is a sliding ledge hole below the last bridge above the confluence that was fun, but was also the hardest rapid on the run. I'll call the run Class 2-3, possibly easier with more water. There were numerous birds that I couldn't identify--my ornithological knowledge is severely limited--including a large raptor, possibly a sea-eagle or osprey. It was an enjoyable trip, but it often drops very quickly, so you've got to get there quickly, usually.---Robert Farmer<br /> <br /> Who the hell is philippe damiano? And why is his name appearing on this posting? Edit

At higher water levels, the ledge below Route 40 becomes Class 5-6 (at 5.0+ and 1000+ or so cfs). It was awkward hauling my boat up a jagged concrete pouring on the right to the railroad tracks. The day before, the body of a boy who fell in the creek was snagged/recycled here and recovered after a big rescue effort (it was on tv). Be careful of this drop. Also, I paddled down to the harbor, and I didn't think it was as bad as described above. I enjoyed it, but there was a lot of trash--some of it usable! As far as takeout parking, the Carroll Park Golf Course may have less crime than the Wilkins Ave location. Even safer would be to paddle down to the harbor (eg Harbor Hospital). While riding my bike here in 2007, I noticed that the pipeline immediately downstream of Route 40 is actually two pipes side-by-side horizontally; at 1000 cfs, I never saw them (well, they seemed like an old dam), but I would say definitely take out on river left above the rapids at the Route 40 bridge to scout or portage--these pipes could be extremely dangerous. The right slot has a good bit of debris hanging from it; the far left may be open (at least at below-minimum level); the center slot has the body of what appears to be a construction crane (amazing!) in it. There is a concrete support in midstream that kind of makes it look like a dam. Also, the trash on the banks has gotten much worse than before.