Musconetcong

Ran this section 7/14/20 on another cheap-boat-adventure. Gauge level was approx. 1.7 @ Limekiln Rd. (150 CFS) at the time, five days after 4 inches of rain fell in one day. Probably was just enough thin water going over Bloomsbury dam to run it, but wasn't sure my WMart kayak could take the 'kicker' bottom and opted to launch just below old mill bldg. Second (25 ft.) dam in Musconetcong Gorge is unrunnable, still diverting some flow to canal on left. Take out near canal gate and carry dirt road 300 ft. to path on right, down to base of dam. From there, boulders and chutes follow--every bit of Class 2+ and strainers mixed in, but runnable. To update Gertler guidebook--the 'eight-foot weir' (Hughesville Dam) in Warren Glen, just below Rt. 519 has been completely removed with stretch leading to it from the bridge restructured with two runnable boulder garden drops. (No water being diverted there for lower paper mill--which is now leveled.) Class 1+ riffles continue below Rt. 519; so do strainers/log jams. Gertler wrote of 'dangerous weir' under Finesville bridge, but that has been removed (2011) and that rapid is now runnable. Below Finesville, river occasionally braids with some channels blocked by wood debris--stay sharp. In particular, there is one point where river widens to several channels--but all are blocked by strainer jams. Boats can be dragged over sandbar/island to re-enter deepest channel on river-right. Strainers demand attention throughout this run, but I never saw any of the 'spikes' Gertler warned about in any of the weirs. Beautiful scenery, remote-feeling, bald eagle, osprey. Taken altogether, this is an adventure--come prepared.