Youghiogheny

Taking advantage of the fantastic Thanksgiving weekend weather, a few of us made some 'low water' runs down the UY. The Friendsville gauge was 2.87' on Friday, and 2.81' (38 cfs less) on Saturday. We managed to stay in our boats Friday but were knuckledragging for a bit, especially on the flatwater between the put-in and Gap Falls. Saturday, we had to walk about 50 yards. I'd recommend 3.0' at Friendsville as the low water cutoff. There was a noticable difference in the flatwater between the two runs, and some minor changes to the rapids. Overall, we had fun, the trips seemed much more relaxed than a usual release, and it was nice to see clear green water with white peaks instead of the usual muddy brown stuff. On a side note, Deep Creek Hydro had Noon and Midnight releases 3 days prior to the holiday weekend. Why couldn't they have waited? :-(