Difficult Run
Old Georgetown Pike (Route 193) to Potomac R.
| Difficulty | III-IV(V+) |
| Length | 0.8 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 110 fpm |
| Gauge | Difficult Run Near Great Falls, Va |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 14 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | July 24, 2024 |
River Description
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
...River Features
Put In
1st Rapid
There is a long lead in to the first rapid which at normal flows requires a fair amount of manuevering in a boulder garden. The 1st rapid proper can be entered on river left which requires an 'S' turn around a large ledge hole, or right down the middle off of a smaller ledge.
2nd Rapid
This rapid primarily involves two ledges with some technical lead manuvering required. Since this photo was taken a few new rocks have appeared at the bottom of the first ledge so it is now best run on the left catching an eddy there to ferry out and run the second ledge (not pictured) on the right.
3rd rapid
This is a fairly long technical rapid requiring a series of moves and containing several ledges. At the end of the rapid is a final ledge (pictured) with most of the water squeezed between two bolders with a significant hole formed inbetween. After this rapid it is generally best to get out on the left in a medium sized eddy there to scout/portage the next two rapids (the second of which being the Canyon rapid).
4th Rapid (Leap of Faith)
This is a great drop of about 6'. This is also the entry into the gorge and the class 5 waterfall just downstream. This drop is also complicated by the undercut boulder at the bottom left of the drop where most of the water is pushing. Running this rapid commits one to either running the Canyon rapid or at least taking a more difficult rock scrambling carry around it) generally most get out before it to carry around on the left.
5th rapid (Canyon rapid)
This is a technical and fairly scary looking rapid complicated by the cave on the left at the bottom of the final drop and the significant hydrolic at the bottom of this drop as well. There's something of a sneak available in the approach at higher water on the right. The main line is starting left and working your way right through a series of ledges which are complicated by rocks in their reception and a strong current pushing left.
This drop is considered a mandatory portage by most.
6th rapid
This rapid offers a putin pool just above for this portaging/setting safety for the Canyon rapid. The river left slot has serious pinning potential and the right right slot has a series of shallow rocks that must be avoided. Best run far left of the river right slot.
7th rapid
This is a long shallow boulder garden best run on the left of the island (which gets far more water than the right side).
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportJust a couple of freind having a blast on Difficult run
Just a couple of freind having a blast on Difficult run
Just a couple of freind having a blast on Difficult run
sick nasty
This picture shows the size of the drop better. It's a really cool spot.
Living large at the Friday Afternoon Paddle Club.
The lead-in is a technical boulder garden with multiple options. There are always plenty of rocks just under the surface to lay waste to your plan. Enjoy.
This rapid is the entry into the gorge proper. Both lines are fun and neither is easy. The landing zone is full of boulders and the left side of the drop goes into an undercut.
Same boof as in the previous picture from another angle. Sweet.
Friday Afternoon Paddle Club agenda: two runs down Difficult Run in the creek boat, ninety minutes of surfing Rocky Island at 4.3' in the long boat.
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:
3.5' 67 cfs
3.8' 104 cfs
4.0' 135 cfs
4.5' 220 cfs
5.0' 340 cfs
5.5' 475 cfs
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.
For good high flow video check out (also includes neighboring Scotts Run): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V7aQYF93QQ
Recent floods have altered the stream bed and opened up the drops more. The right slot at Leap of Faith used to only come in around 5', it was running 3.8' in the photo. We all had similar lines and somehow no one pitoned on any of the submerged boulders in the LZ.
This rapid is a cluster at these levels. There is a strong likelyhood that you'll either piton on the rocks, or broach on the large boulder at the bottom right of the drop. Nonetheless, it is a fun, technical drop. This is the rapid that convinced me to wear elbow pads when creeking.
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.
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.
After a zesty surf session at Rocky Island, we headed down to DR for a little 'Old School' creekin'.
The trick at low levels is to avoid the undercut boulder on river left and the submerged rocks in the right side of the landing zone. At higher flows (above 4.5') the slot on river right opens.