EXTRA! EXTRA! THE DOGG DESCENDS CUNNINGHAM FALLS, THE TALLEST CASCADE IN MARYLAND!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muaUORo_E6c&feature=related

This creek is very steep and very exciting. The action comes at you very fast and streambed is very rocky. Eddies are at a premium and trees are always a problem. You need to be at the top of your game on this creek. It throws a lot at you and you need lightning fast reflexes to make all the moves. I would rate it as a tougher run than the Upper Yough. This is one of my favorite streams in the whole state of Maryland! I always rush to it after a hard rain.

Hunting Creek is born high on the mountain and gradually collects itself before falling off the edge. It careens off the mountain at Cunningham Falls (a cascade of about 80 feet) and then hits Cunningham Falls Lake. After a gnarly spillway that cascades 40 feet(which I have run), the creek finally becomes reasonably boatable. You can putin right below the spillway or 1/4 mile downstream at Catoctin Hollow Road.

The first mile and a half of the stream flows swiftly over Class 1-2 rapids that gradually build to Class 2-3 rapids. By the time you reach the Rt. 77 bridge, the gradient has increased substantially and the creek is a raging torrent.

Below Rt. 77, you'll notice the creekbed start tilting steeply downhill. The rapids come at you very quickly. After two blind 4 foot drops, you'll want to hop out on the right and scout 20 MPH.

20 MPH (Class 5) - This rapid is marked by a 20 mile per hour bend in the road. It is a very steep rapid and is more challenging than any single rapid on the Upper Yough, closely resembling an Upper Blackwater rapid with its steepness and the maneuvering required. Most of the water goes down the right side of an island and then is split by a boulder. There is a tight 6 foot boof to the left of the boulder or a cascady rock drop

...