Dark Sky

More rain is forecast for today and tonight with clearing skies and lower humidity for a few days to follow, and I will believe that when I see it.

Stream gauges around the Delaware River Basin have flatlined, probably due to the rain, but as of yet none are heading back up. Riegelsville gauge is around 12.29' and only a few inches lower than July 4.

The plan for today was to lead about 20 Girl Scouts (Juniors) down a short stretch of the Delaware in rafts. Juniors are ages 8-10 and just too small to handle one of those 80 pound livery canoes. Third week of July I have a week long trip scheduled with 14 Cadet scouts (14-16 yr. olds). This runs from Phillipsburg to Lambertville. My guess is that the river will not come back to a safe level by then (below 5 or 6 feet) and even if it does there may be a problem with accesses. Time to develop a contingency plan that allows the program to continue using the South Branch or Musconetcong, Round Valley Reservoir and perhaps the D&R Canal. Or perhaps cancel the entire affair.