Potomac, S. Branch

My dad and I paddled this stretch April 30, 201 | [RIVER LEVEL]: 3.9 (at put-in), 3.77 at take-out [PADDLER EXPERIENCE]: Bow (19 y/o f): novice; Stern (56y/o m): experienced paddler | [BOAT]: Dagger caption complete with front and rear flotation, kneeling pillars, thigh straps, and no camping gear. | [PERSONAL GEAR]: Full wetsuits, helmets, and water/tennis shoes. | This stretch was an absolute blast. 9 miles of nearly non-stop class 3 rapids (a few stretches of calm, but there were definitely more rapids than not). Great fun for the experienced. Guaranteed no boredom! [LANDSLIDE RAPID]: This rapid is the first one you'll hit right if you put in at the 220 bridge. At 3.9, this was a raging V. Experienced kayakers, have fun, but to anyone who's brainless enough to hit this in a canoe or as an amateur in a kayak, I seriously hope you've got your will in order. Hey, this is how natural selection works, right? When you see car-sized boulders, pull off to the right immediately (left is a sheer cliff) and portage around or at least scout it. There is a calm place to put in just downstream. The portage isn't the best (about 15 minutes through bramble-infested cliff trails). If you're on the fence deciding whether or not to shoot this, don't. This is not the place you want to have river rescue pull you out. The cliff by the road is high and impossible to climb and pulling out here would be impossible. There is no cell reception, so you'd have go to downstream to a quarter or a half mile to pull out and hope a car comes by to give you a lift. | ['SCHOOL BUS RAPID'] I don't know the official name of this rapid, but there is an old school bus on the left shore, which is why we refer to it as such. There is a sand-bar/island right by the bus. At 3.9 the river was a bit low on the right, so we went left. We got sucked in by the bank and flipped in a solid III. The channel here is narrow, but the water is deceptively deep. at 5'9', I couldn't touch bottom. The current here is pretty fierce and there's another solid III just a bit after which you definitely don't want to swim, so if you flip, get out asap. It's deep, but there are still lots of nasty rocks. My dad and I both came out bleeding from this one. | [LOW WATER BRIDGE]: There is a great stretch of III's right before the low water bridge. Warning signs to watch for are a sign to the left for Smoke Hole Cave (you'll just see the plaque, though), then a broken down RV (if it's still there, but it looked like it had been there for quite a while). You'll have to pull out in the middle of a long stretch of III's unless getting sucked under the bridge is particularly appealing or you. There is not good place to pull out. We ended up grabbing the left bank trying to stop. Good luck. [WHAT I WOULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY]: (1) Worn a light life jacket. My wetsuit provided some buoyancy, but with the current and depth, I would have appreciated an extra boost.
(2)Worn something over my ankles, considering I paddled this over two weeks ago and the four inches between where my wetsuit stopped and my shoes began are still a painful grey/blue from deep tissue bruising and complimented with some lovely battle scars.
(3)Gone with a decked canoe. Especially with higher water levels, there isn't a whole lot you can do in an open boat not to swamp against 3-4' standing waves.
| [ADVICE]
(1)Take this with a grain of salt as I'm still an amateur, but I lost one paddle, so I'd definitely bring an extra even if you're in a kayak, and two or three if you're with a partner in a canoe. You're toast if you're trying this with only one person paddling. Don't forget to strap them in!
(2)Don't touch this if you're not a good swimmer.
(3)Leave the kids at home
(4)Don't make this a training trip for new paddlers. I knew the basics of paddling and still got us capsized 4 times.
(5)Wear a full wetsuit even if the water is gloriously warm. No one plans on capsizing, but if you do, when you get out and see the knicks or tears in your suit, you'll be glad it wasn't your body.

Happy Adventuring!