On last week's scouting run, the concern was too little water. For this week's trip, it's the opposite. Ahhh, the joys of predicting water levels!
There is a lot of rain heading toward northeast Ohio this evening that could affect our paddling plans for tomorrow on the Cuyahoga. I will make final decisions on both sections of the trip by 7:30 Sunday morning and post them to this thread. The decision guidelines are:
River Bend to Tannery – If the reading on the
Old Portage gage is greater than 750 cfs or would likely be greater than 750 cfs by the time we would put on the water, this section of the trip is cancelled.
Tannery to Waterworks – If the reading on the
Old Portage gage is greater than 1,000 cfs or would likely exceed 1,000 cfs by the time we would put on the water, this section of the trip is also cancelled. At this level, the current picks up significant speed and negotiating some of the bends in the river could be tricky for some paddlers. Since safety is always first and since we could potentially have a large number of paddlers (31 at last count), we don't want to find ourselves chasing down folks who might be taking long swims in a fast current.
I will also consider the weather forecast in the decision, but my primary concern is water level.
If we have to cancel the Tannery to Waterworks section of the trip, the entire trip will be rescheduled.
I really want to do this run, but sometimes it turns it into a game day decision based on what Mother Nature throws our way. Thanks for your patience and understanding.
JP