CANCELLED
I have been watching the water level and weather forecast all week. The beginning of the week, the forecast was high of 37 and sunny for Sunday. It's now projected to be about 30-31 degrees tomorrow at paddle time, with the winds about 10mph, occasional gusts to 30mph, cloudy and snow in the morning. This section is mostly located in a deep valley/gorge so take another couple degrees away for that. With the cold winter, water temp is still around 43 degrees. A couple years ago, 4 of us did this trip in similar situation, it was a very cold day even with Rich bringing us hot chocolate and fresh from the oven pizza half way. At best tomorrow, it's a long, very cold 8 mile paddle; but at worst, it has the potential to become dangerous quick, so I think it's best to cancel.
Grand River
Trip Leader Jessica Hoffart
When- Sunday April 8th
Where- Harpersfield Covered Bridge Metropark, 1225 Harpersfield Rd, Geneva, OH 44041
GPS- 41.756875, -80.943934
Time- 11:00 am
We know it is April when we head back north to paddle the Grand River. This year, there is a change in that we are definitely doing the upper section, instead of having a choice of the two sections. We will be doing the Harpersfield Covered Bridge Metropark(St Rt 534)to Hidden Valley Park (St Rt 528) section, which is a hair over 8 miles.
This section is a little calmer than the second with two good class I+ rapids. They are right by each other; the first is a straight forward paddle through it and go. The second is an S style rapid that can push you into the bank if you do not angle correctly and paddle. After that it is a nice paddle with lots of little ripples. Both the put in and take out are fairly easy, although neither is a paved ramp. The Grand River is very scenic and fun to paddle, but at high water can be very hard and technical and possibly hazardous.
If anyone is interested after the paddle, we can go view a scenic water fall that is approximately 10-15 minutes from the take out. The name of it is Paine's Falls and a link to the park is below. Let me know if you are interested in going to see it.
http://www.lakemetroparks.com/parks-...ine-falls-park
The reason we are doing this section this year (and likely next year too) is due to major construction on Vrooman Road. Vrooman Road is the road that Mason's Landing Park (the takeout for the second section) in on. The park is literally in the middle of the construction zone. The steep hill just north of the park has a failing retaining wall and has been closed permanently. The bridge just south of the park entrance is also in bad shape, but is still open, at the moment. They are soon going to start work on a brand new bridge upriver of the current one which will redirect the road away from the park. After that is completed, the main park is going to be moved to the opposite side of the Grand River and the current bridge will be removed and replaced with a pedestrian only walking bridge. Although they have not announced it yet, I expect at some point this summer and/or next year for the river in that area to be closed due to the bridge construction & demolition. If you plan to come paddle that section of the Grand River at any point, you may want to check and see what is going on construction-wise before heading up. In addition to the construction going on, Mike & I also found a tree down in this section when we did it on 3/18/18, which at high water will have to be portaged and is in a potentially dangerous spot, especially with a large group. I provided a link below if anyone is interested in the construction project going on.
http://www.wkyc.com/article/news/loc...4/95-531084475