I love kayaking in floods. We got a lot of rain this week, and the last few days I'd been getting really restless, because my work commitments didn't allow me to get out on the Potomac river. I finally got out on the river this afternoon. Paddling into a flood is exhilirating - I know the river well, but the floods are a whole different experience.
It was raining when I put in, the parking lot covered in 2-3 inches of mud left by the high mark of the flood. To get to the river, I follow a stream through a tunnel under the C&O canal. The water was about 3 feet up, not enough room in the tunnel to use my paddle, so I pushed my way through, using the roof of the tunnel. The stream was a slack-water, flooded to the level of the river, and when I came out of the tunnel, the small stream I usually have to scrape through, following the deeper parts, was a broad channel, full to the banks.
I passed a heron, and behind him, on the bank, a doe and her fawn watched me, eyes wide, surprised to see me. The flood must have pushed them up into the hills, and they'd likely not seen many people the last few days. When I pulled into the river, it was broad and wide, moving flat and fast, orange-brown with dirt. I pulled in close to the bank, where the water moves slower, and nudged my way upstream. The sun came out a few minutes later, the world suddenly bright.
