Clear Fork

This run was more of a lighthearted scout than a serious paddle—we left the boats behind and floated it on river tubes just for the fun of it. I hadn’t been down this stretch before, but I knew going in the water would be too low for a proper run. That said, we only had to portage a few shallow spots, which was a nice surprise. We took out at Gentlemen’s Swimming Hole. Now that I’ve seen it firsthand, I’ve got a solid read on the channel and features. I’m looking forward to hitting it again when the flow’s right for a full traverse.

Decapitation Rock is a very solid Class III at this level.
Decapitation Rock run at 2700 cfs.
This is the first half of a run down Decap Rock at 2500 cfs. The rapid is a solid Class III at this level.
This is the second half of a run down Decap Rock at 2500 cfs.

The high bridge at Brewster as seen from the river below.
This is a bend roughly halfway between Brewster Bridge and Decapitation Rock.
Luke Carter after a wintry run taking out at Burnt Mill Bridge.
Clear Fork in winter roughly halfway between Brewster Bridge and Decapitation Rock.
Looking upstream from beginning of Swimmers Rapid.
Looking downstream below start of Swimmers.

We did this reach (Brewster to Burnt Mill) as an overnighter for my friend's 35th birthday - 1/12/08 - 1/13/08. I was in a kayak and my friends were in a small raft. The level at Burnt was 700 cfs when we put on and 500 cfs when we took off. It felt slightly low on day one above the White Oak Cr confluence, medium low on day one below the confluence and low on day two. Regardless, they didn't have too much trouble getting their small raft, loaded with two people, two dogs and overnight gear for three, downstream. This is a scenic run with good wilderness quality. Recommended.

A US Park Service ranger pulled up while we were preparing to put on. He advised us to not leave our rig near the new high bridge at Brewster's. Aparently, local teen agers enjoy hucking stuff off of the bridge - TVs seem to be their favorite. Park outside of the drop zone!

Look at 'em Whitewater Women!