Nobody said no to the Eno
| River: | Eno |
| Skill: | Novice |
| Trip Date: | 06/09/2019 |
Level: 626 cfs (3.87 ft.) beginning; 524 cfs (3.63 ft) end, Eno River near Durham gauge
Paddlers and what they're paddling: Clarke X. Cooper (Zen), Rob Elder (Micro 230), Angela Wiseman (Zen), Frank Mueller (Rock Star), Mark Kennedy (Mamba), David Freeman (Agent 88), Nate Taylor (Super Hero), William Holman (Burn), Dave Johnson (Flying Squirrel converted to C-1), Anna Ploghoft (Ronin), Frank McMahon (Diesel 75) and Bob Brueckner (Diesel 65).
Well it started at the Quarry rock garden and they were still doing it just upstream of the takeout: Playing! Surfing! Ferrying!
And not just one or two deviant paddlers, but all 12 joined in. A few of them claimed that they were just "testing new boats." That's always a good excuse for fooling around, right Dave Johnson and David Freeman? (It's also unfair that their knees don't hurt when they paddle C-boats. Mine do! And ankle pain doesn't count!)
I almost needed a tow truck to pull this crew out of the play spots and off the surf waves. Maybe I'll put a winch on my boat next time.
For example, they were lined up to surf at a nice little V-wave I now call "No Fun At All," because nobody ever seemed satisfied with their last surf and went back for more. And it was a wonderful wave. If you found the sweet spot and leaned just a little forward, an arc of water would rise up and surround your bow like a small fountain. But it never lasted long enough.
Then there were the nice bow surfing waves that opened up in the middle of rapids or that big, deep wave that stretched halfway across the river.
The water level was ideal. Not enough to wash out the best rapids, yet high enough to provide a good run. The Eno has a relatively small watershed of just 141 square miles, according to the USGS. The 7:15 a.m. reading was 799 cfs. By the time we left the put-in at 11 a.m., it was down to 626. There's a narrow window of opportunity so you can't put off a run for a day.
If you run into any of these characters at Week of Rivers, be prepared for a long day on the river. They really know how to have fun.