Franch Broad Section 9

The Marshall gauge said 1520 but it has been steady for days so I am not sure it was accurate. We guessed the flow was 1200-1400.

The “store” at Barnard survived and is now full of supplies. Anyone can come and take what they need for free. This includes food (shelf stable), medicine and toiletries. A list of needs is at the bottom of this post. They are open daily from 9-5 and we saw people picking up items in the 15 minutes we were there. Cash is also accepted. I felt like they were helping people quickly and directly.

Below is text from Lee Thonus with a few comments from me

Put-in – the county put-in is a construction zone and closed. You can put in on river left near the snake mural. There is not a lot of parking over there and at least one spot is posted (honor this posted driveway). There are a couple parking spots near it next to the guard rail which protects the electrical switchboxes. I think that the best spot to park is 100-150 yards upstream on the river side shoulder of the road. The ground is firm and you could probably fit 7 cars in a row. If you go to FB9 carpool to the maximum extent possible

Takeout – the parking spaces over the RR tracks from the river are all intact but several were occupied by gravel piles. About half of the parking spots down the ramp and near the river are usable. Some of them have sand; if you attempt to use these, you should have awd or 4wd. Again carpool to minimize the number of spaces used.

The River – the lines haven’t changed much. There is wood in a couple places, there was occasional random wood before Helene. There is some plastic water line in a few places in the water. This water line is smoothe and has no branches so is much less dangerous than trees. (Note that as the river comes up more debris and trees may get loose so what is accurate today will almost certainly change)

Beginner Rapid / Barnard Ledge – line pretty much the same; rolling eddy is still there. Slides – line same. Maze some subtle changes in the lines. Turtle Rock – traditional line at Turtle’s nose OK; rightish creek line has some wood (it’s OK if you are on line but heavy penalty for being off line). Near the end of the rapid or river left is a splat / smear “Nascar Turn”; it’s very sketchy due to a huge log that is not going anywhere anytime soon. S-turn – S-Turn line, toaster slot, and the straight shot / pillowcase line are all still there. S-turn is a little more boily. Big Pillow – pretty much the same lines. Swimmer’s – small changes, same lines. Sandy Bottom – still a standing wave rapid with some wave holes, they’ve moved around a little. Ledges – the two most often run lines have only minor changes (main line has another hole after you split the top two that is not as big as the top two; right side sneak lines are a little different, but go. Left side creek line is pretty much unchanged. Pinball/ Pit Stop – the Pit Stop side of the island is pretty much unchanged, but there is a tree in the water as you go past the island to rejoin the main flow. You can see it from quite a distance and take appropriate maneuvering. On the Pinball side of the island Half-dome remains pretty much the same, perhaps a little cleaner and you can probably run it at slightly lower flows. Flume line not much changed. Pinball line past Decision Rock has somewhat changed, a few annoying rocks are gone, but the left bank has a lot of trees that were deposited there and a couple undercut rocks/boulders. If you are on line, no problem. If you get too far left or swim, it could be a significant problem. No significant changes to Rebar. Stackhouse changes are mostly on the right and most people run left. There was one line in the center that I used to run that now looks ugly, but you see the issue far enough in advance to make your own decision.

Mort’s commentary: if you were comfortable on FB9 before, you can run it but be careful and conservative. For example, there is black hose on the banks and around the bridge at the top. As it gets looses it could cause serious problems.