Tygart Valley

I was there playing at low water--running the second drop, river right 'spout' backwards and such. I had no thought of any consequences at such a low level. I was wrong. I went too far left and upside down on dropping the spout on a third run. The boil pushed me and my boat up against the rock, preventing a roll and it wasn't letting go. I swam out no problem. However, the boil/hydraulic kept both my boat and paddle for about 30 minutes against the seemingly partially undercut rock face. (The paddle was not visible and only about 3-4 inches of the boat's edge was visible.) Since the boat seemed stuck for good after 30 minutes, I went to tell the park ranger that there was no body in the boat and no need for any alarm. Well it was at this time that the feature finally decided to spit the boat and paddle out—while I was 100 yards away. I had to retrieve it about 1/4 mile downstream pinned in a slot. And I never found the paddle.

While I still think there isn't any significant danger to your person at the really low levels, these falls aren't 'consequence free' at any level.