Delaware River
Worthington State Forest to Belvedere
by Jim McLoone

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Weather Cloudy in am clearing by noon. High 84.
Level about 4.5 ft or 4,300 CFS compared with a normal 2,500 CFS

John organized this mid week trip and had a few folks show up at Worthington State Forest at 9:15. John, Jim, Ken and Stan were ready for the 17 mile paddle.

We got on the water around 11 and off around 5 with about an hour of rest stops. No one wanted to go swimming since the water was a bit chilly, probably about 72. Jim’s GPS equipped phone showed a top speed of 8.1 mph on at least one fast chute. Our average speed was about 3.4 mph

The scenery was pretty pleasant with a mix of wooded parkland and river front summer homes for the most part. I was particularly fascinated by the abandoned RR bridge at Columbia that uses arches secured on top of arches. It is the only one of that design that I have ever seen.

We snacked at 12:30 and held off until about 2 for lunch.

At the end of the day we got together for Pizza at the Log Cabin on 46 just south of Columbia.

Jim