3.28 to 3.4 Lock 10 to Center Chute.

Distance: 8.2 miles round trip. Time: 2.5 hrs total. 
We wanted to do an attainment, but the Anglers parking lot was packed. So, we headed down to Lock 10 and put in there. At this level range (over two weekends) we were able to attain all the way from Lock 10 to above Center Chute without leaving our boats - rapids are stubblefield, calico, center chute. Distance is 4.1 miles one-way; by comparison, Anglers to Rocky is 1.8 miles one-way. I had a pirrouette, Bill C was in his stinger, and Mark S had a greenboat. As a lovely bonus, we ran into Ursy and Carter coming down to Lock 10. Great 8+ mile workout!

3.8 - portage rapid attainment on VA side

All spring with levels above 4.0 Milan and I in the Topo Duo (Eskimo) have been able to attain all the way from Anglers to O-Deck without getting out of the boat to portage. We've been able to attain back channel (up by Sandy Beach), and also attain portage rapid on the MD side (river left). (note - our most terrifying challenge in those workouts has been the ferry beneath fishladder, which in a wobbly 2-person slightly-leaky boat has presented numerous challenges and failures at team-coordination, though we've always succeeded at least by the third try.) 

Today, with levels dropping to 3.8 we had two changes introduced into our normal attainment route. First, we were not able to attain back channel - no one could have, with all the new rocks showing and lack of 'navigable water'. Darn! Oh well, we used the portage as an opportunity to both hydrate and de-hydrate. 

However, we were able to attain portage rapid on the VA side (river right). Not the way you'd normally think, getting as high as we could behind the big rock and then ferrying like heck back to the MD side. Nope. We stayed on the VA side the whole time, attaining and jumping up through the rocky cluster and into a big eddy on the VA side. And, it’s not just a long-boat, or even a Milan-only move, because Andre did the whole thing in his Nomad creek boat along with us (although he also seems bionic in my opinion). Here is the scoop - on the VA side of portage rapid we attained up to the big (big) rock, and then where boaters would normally ferry back to MD, instead we went towards VA up to another small rock, and then from there across to the second (not the top) wave and surfed-ferried over to a big eddy against the VA shore. And, there you have it!  

On to O-deck.....