Water on the Haw? Just enough for a fun day
| River: | Haw |
| Skill: | Novice+ |
| Trip Date: | 05/25/2019 |
River: Middle and Lower Haw
Level: 508 cfs (4.06 feet), Bynum gauge
Date: Saturday, May 25, 2019
Paddlers: Paul Ferguson (OC-1), David Freeman (OC-1), Angela Wiseman (K-1), Mark Kuttrus (K-1 inflatable), Bob Brueckner (C-1)
I went to bed Friday night promising to run the Middle Haw if the Bynum gauge reported at least 340 cfs Saturday morning. So I was pleasantly surprised when the first reading was 496.
Rain fell in the Greensboro area Thursday and spiked all of the upstream gauges in the Haw watershed by late afternoon and evening. The water reached the Middle Haw late Friday night and early Saturday morning.
On Saturday, I was able to assemble an intrepid and fearless crew willing to sacrifice their boats, paddles and pride in this low-water challenge. Paddlers had to jump out of their boats on a few occasions when they encountered more rock than water. I was suspended in mid drop when my Atom ground to a halt on the rocks. But we managed to slip past most of the obstacles without a great loss of plastic.
And there were no swims. Not even close.
While the Haw is normally muddy, opaque and caramel-colored after a good rain, it was clear enough Saturday to see the rocks you were about to hit! But we were fortunate because many of those rocks were padded with vegetation that softened the blow.
Most of the main routes on both the Middle and Lower were open although the rapids were often diminished.
And by the way, there's a large log resting on the riverbed on river left in the upper third of Gabriel's Bend. The end looks like a giant thumb telling you everything is OK. But don't believe the thumb. Go right.
The absolute, hardest part of running the Middle and Lower at this level is the stretch of dinky, Class I rapids between Moose Jaw Falls and Jordan Lake. (Not that you could run Moose Jaw at this level.) These are the inconsequential, cool-down rapids you don't notice at the end of a trip. Regardless of how you zig-zagged through the ledges and rock gardens, a rock would reach up and grab your hull.
The water level may have been a little low, but it was still a great day for boating.
Bob Brueckner