Marsh Creek

Cunningham Road near Bus US 15 Southwest of Gettysburg, PA to Harney Road, MD

Reach banner

July 31, 2018

Trip Report

ReporterEarl Baer

A few of us ran Marsh Creek July 24, 2018 from Marsh Creek Road to Mason Dixon Road. The level was 7' on the stick gauge on Marsh Creek at the Mason Dixon road bridge, almost 4,000 cfs on the Monocacy gauge. At this level the run is quite exciting. The section just above Natural Dam is quite continuous class III-IV, chucked full of large retentive holes, boiling eddy lines, and fun wave trains. We ran Natural dam far right next to the bank. At this level several spots open up on the dam and appear runnable. If you run it elsewhere make sure to hit it with speed, get a good boof stroke, and paddle hard at the bottom as the dam forms a very sticky hydraulic. One of our crew ran the 'normal' line on the right and nearly got caught in the hydraulic. If getting on at this level a solid roll is recommended as swims can be fairly difficult and quite hazardous with all of the strainers.

Trip Report – Marsh Creek – Cunningham Road near Bus US 15 Southwest of Gettysburg, PA to Harney Road, MD | American Whitewater