The first taste of high water arrived June 7. We were expecting rain but who knew that the rain would be so heavy. And the water arrived in the statistical range of June 7 to June 11th. I didn’t expect it looking at the trends in the two prior weeks but the heavy rain changed the trend. If you are making plans for an outing and it involves the river you have to be ready for what the extreme case is. At Otter Rafting Adventures we are always watching the river for flow rates and rate of change. And another variable – the weather. This was quite interesting to watch as it unfolded during the week.
I have taken two photos of the river for comparison on June 3 and June 8. On June 8th, the river is just past it’s crest and debris has started to be dropped on the edge of the river. The photos on the left are from June 3 compared against June 8 on the right – big changes.
The volume of water has completely overpowered the rapids created by the rock ledge and created a recirculating wave that disrupts the flow. There are no neat wave trains behind this to ride. In a raft this would be a very fast , very dangerous, scary ride with little control. With the water so high it would be difficult to get to shore and land because of the trees at the waters edge that are flooded and the speed you are moving downstream. Not a good place to be. With the high water comes the floating hazards that you can see as well.
The chocolate milk color indicated the volume of materials being pushed downstream by the power of the water. There will be a lot of erosion of banks after this current as well as new gravel bars created and old ones washed away.
Check out our website!