Anacostia, Northwest Branch

I've updated the put-in and take-out locations that had been wrong for years (see previous comments). I've also reworked the main description (keeping all the old info and adding to it) and adding individualized descriptions to the rapids.

Yeah the directions appear to be a bit off. Here is the dam

https://maps.google.com/?ll=39.030648,-77.005931&spn=0.003492,0.008256

Can the stream keeper please correct the map and directions? The map indicates the put in on Sligo Creek! If necessary please reply to nicoli282000@yahoo.com. Thank you.

This is a very disgusting section of water to paddle. ive scouted it at lower levels twice and the trash in the water is repulsive. It smells like sewer and as one of my non kayaking friends put it, 'looks like theres aids in the water.' However if you can put up with this it is worth a paddle (a vey short paddle) For starters run the colesville road damn a couple times (cheap thrill and best run river left.) Procceed under the bridge when ever your ready. There will be a 3 or four foot drop coming up ( i dont remember the best line, so be sure to scout) after that little drop the stram makes an abrupt change. The only way to get a sence of how weird a rapid this is, is to watch the video in the link from the other user.

Running one of the drops below the route 29 or colesville road bridge. More water is needed. way too low
fun. im coming back when the waters higher.

From the Luke Hopkins page:

http://www.theblurr.com/news.php?numshow=8&limit=16

From there we drove only a few exits away to the Colesville exit on route 29 and headed north. After about a mile, 29 will cross a creek, which is the North Branch of the Anacostia River. Once crossing the river, park in the parking lot on the right. This is the put-in and take-out for a really fun run that is a section of the North Branch called the Colesville Crusher. From the parking lot you can walk upstream and cross back over route 29 with your boat and continue upstream for another 100 yards or so.

This is the best part, here you can put in above the world easiest 20-foot high drop. Check out the video of this drop below, 'PutInDrop'. The drop is about 60 feet wide and is a man made dam that has a lip at the bottom that kicks you out and you will ski across the pool. Greg even ran the drop backwards. We ran the drop a number of times and it was really fun to say the least. After that drop the river goes under the rt. 29 bridge. The next drop is about a 100 yards past the bridge and is about 6 feet tall, and is probably best run on the left. Following that drop about 100 yards further down stream is the pinnacle of the Colesville Crusher run and is the only class V+ rapid. The rapid is about 50 yards long and starts with entrance splish splash and then a 4-5 foot ledge, which is then followed by a another ledge that is a couple of feet, and then the big squeeze move. This is where I got worked and Greg got pin balled. The level on the USGS North Branch gauge on the Anacostia was 2.0 feet.

The river necks down and drops about 10 feet through a slot that at the bottom and is only about 2 feet wide. I went down first and probed the right line. Half way down the drop I hit the main seam in the slot and mystery moved (disappeared) and came up at the bottom upside down. It wasn't over yet because then I hit the wall just down stream which the whole river plows into and got stuck there for a second. Then I came off that and rolled up. Pretty much I got a marginal crushing. After seeing that line Greg ran the rapid a little left of the seam that got me and deflected off a rock under the surface on the right and then soared over and deflected off the wall on the right, and then landed at the bottom. His line was like a pinball and probably was the best line possible. The video below called 'Colesville Crux' show my beating and Greg getting pin balled by the walls.

The last rapid we ran was a sweet 5-6 foot boof with a shallow landing. It was a fun rapid also. If you live in the DC area and the creeks are running this is fun place to paddle and the put-in water fall/dam is like an amusement park.

Teddy's After Party (rapid after the Crusher). About 200 cfs

Colesville Crusher at about 200 cfs

Best if run to the left or about where I am. The lip at the bottom kicks you out. I ran this three times.
dropo after the crux. (the water couldve been a little higher for this)

About 200 cfs. Crusher junior.

Countdown at about 200 cfs.