A Gentle Storm..

Hannah turned out to be just what was needed to perk up the creeks, rivers and vegetation. The Delaware River at Riegelsville rose almost two feet and is already headingback down to a seasonably low flow. Most non-tidal tributaries were not significantly impacted despite predictions of small stream flooding.

As expected the storm (and dire forecasts) repressed turnout at the first ever Northeast Canoe and Kayak Symposium held at Spruce Run State Park near Clinton, NJ. The rain held off long enough for events to take place. Hopefully the turnout will surge today.

The Lake Hopatcong drawdown is underway and will help keep the Musconetcong until the end of October, depending on how much precipitation comes our way. Hurricane Ike will probably hammer the Gulf Coast, but we could get some rain out of it later this month.

Type your zip code into the widget and you will have instant access to all manner of info about water quality and environmental organzations courtesy of EPA.

Hannah cross is coming to town...

It looks like we'll receive at least a few inches of rain this weekend if Hurricane Hannah proceeds as expected. Although anything can happen - there is universal agreement among various models that it will roll up the coast and move through pretty quickly once the high collapses. The Outer Banks is the projected landfall location at this hour. That line keeps moving north?

The Tropical Wave Train foretells what could become a troublesome hurricane season. Fay-Gustav-Hannah-Ike-Josephine it's a veritable Conga Line and forecasters think most of the action will be in the Atlantic instead of the Gulf. As stated below, we need rain, but a few droughts have been alleviated by wicked storms that resulted in flooding for various watersheds from Bound Brook to New Hope.

This time next week we will probably have a good idea of what to expect at the tail end of the Conga line.

This weekend is the first Northeast Canoe & Kayak Symposium to be held at Spruce Run Reservoir. I'll be at the American Canoe Association booth on Saturday (during the monsoon?).

The Lake Hopatcong release has not started as of today. The Delaware River and Musconetcong River are both about as low as can be. I love paddling the Delaware at this level, but if I don't get out there befroe the weekend the river may never be that low again until the next dry summer.

Gustav and Hannah (and Ike?) (and Josephine?)

Be careful for what you wish for? Yes, we need a soaking rain.

But we've seen too many situations over the past few years where an extended dry period ends with a ripping tropical storm, like Floyd for instance.

Gustav is set to whack the Gulf Coast and possibly continue northeast. Hannah may become a hurricane and slam the southeast Atlantic coast. A wave train of tropical depressions may follow.

For now it's Gustav and Hannah, the former to possibly upstage the Republican National Convention where John McSame will be asked to carry the torch for the Oligarchs.

Gustav could develop into a Category 3, 4 or even 5 Hurricane.

Next tropical wave will become Ike and some forecasters project that this one could be the east coast storm we have all been waiting for.

A Taste of Fay?

A view of the Delaware River as seen from Bowmans Hill Tower. The river cuts through the hard diabase rock of Sourland Mountain, which looms above the river on the Jersey side. The Lambertville-New Hope wing dam and diabase boulders create the best whitewater on the main stem Delaware River. The tower offers spectacular views of the heart of the piedmont Delaware River watersheds in Bucks, Hunterdon and Mercer Counties.

Looks like we're in for a little rain thanks to the long-lived Fay; perhaps just enough to water the lawns and late summer vegetables. But we might end up with zero precip since the center of this thing seems to be west of the mountains.

Maybe Gustav will kick more rain our way late next week? It's headed somewhere along the Gulf Coast.

The Lake Hopatcong release is scheduled to start September 2, that will bring the Musconetcong River back up to near canoeable levels.

Delaware River in August...

Two tandem canoes on an unseasonably perfect August weekend. We paddled Bushkill to Smithfield Beach and shared the river with quite of few other paddlers, almost all in livery kayaks and canoes.

We didn't need to share the river with the Jet Skiers...they are not allowed anywhere upstream of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area and that is a beautiful thing.

Had the unusual experience of witnessing two inebriated canoers be "assisted" by NPS Rangers after they rolled over their heavily loaded canoe for no apparent reason. Apparently they were heavily loaded too, for we later learned they were charged with charged with DUI's, and indeed we saw one of the rangers bring the red livery canoe downriver on his motorboat - absent the pickled paddlers.

We had an uneventful trip, but it was a swell day on the river, and it was great to see so many people enjoying the river, many campers and many more paddlers. And no jet skis makes the 2 hour drive all the more worth it. How to get them banned on the rest of the river?

Dry days...

I led a group of Heritage Conservancy staff down the Musconetcong River. It was an interesting trip as I have never been on the river at that low of a level, and saw things that are usually underwater. The gage was around 1.30' at Bloomsbury, but fortunately the 2-mile stretch of the river we paddled is atypically narrow and devoid of the broad shallow areas found along most of the river below Beattystown.

Rolling out a new blog that gives voice to political issues and will keep this river journal free from the politics.

Welcome to Blithering Idiots

Fay Update...

A swell Canadian high will push in Wednesday and might be strong enough to block Fay from heading our way. Check the latest speculation.

The watershed can absorb a major rainstorm as dry as it's been this summer. Torrential rain could cause flooding in first and second order streams. The Delaware River at Belvidere is a few hundred cfs higher than normal for this time of year (which is normally low). Based on the stream gauges along upper Delaware tribs, more rain has fallen up there. In the lower Delaware watersheds of NJ/PA the tributaries are all running low, some below normal

This Wednesday I'll be leading staff members from the Heritage Conservancy on a short trip down the Musconetcong River, and this will be the lowest flow I've ever done on that happy river. I expect to be dragging the canoe through the riffles.

Ominous warning...

Meteorologists are raising the possibility of a significant hurricane coming our way next week, based on a system coming together near the Virgin Islands. If it develops we''ll have Tropical Storm Fay.

From AccuWeather's Joe Bastardi (not the most coherent post I've seen - he's absolutely agitated by this potential storm)

"The system continues to improve, and I will keep this short. I believe a major, perhaps devastating (worst, southeast U.S. hurricane is in the making and, while the track will be close to the coast of Hispaniola, a turn to the north through the Bahamas by Monday, just east of Florida, with a hit midweek in the Carolinas, is where I am going with this. The track after the Carolinas... well, the the [sic] of it breaking the ridge and coming all the way to New England is there, and the blocking and turn west-northwest into the Carolinas is also."

He goes on to say that it's much too early to tell, but what the hell. And he says they were wrong about the last prediction.

Out of touch...

What river? Well, the above picture was shot during the Delaware River Sojourn, where I served as sort of an honorary safety. That was months ago.

Here it is late August and the paddling life lies dormant, but soon to pick up with a few trips here and there on the Delaware. In October I'm leading a series of river trips on the Musconetcong for my former employer Musconetcong Watershed Association. That starts off October 4 with an indoor class at Merrill Creek Nature Center featuring my "virtual tour" of the river and all manner of issues to be discussed concerning the river as a destination for paddlers.

Meanwhile, world events and the countdown to the end of the Bush Fourth Reich have taken a toll on my spirit. Republicans need to shut the fuck up and get out of the way. Slither back to your suburban enclaves and gated communities, or defect to some other party if you have even an ounce of integrity. It doesn't mater where or who, just do it.

You're leaders have lied, plundered, raped, stolen and murdered their way through the past 8 years. Time to give Planet Earth and your fellow countrymen-women a break. Not that I am so confident that Obama and the Dems will be able to undue the massive damage inflicted upon us by Republicans. They could not do worse, that is for sure.

God's Own Party must perish for the rest of us to survive. Prez Wannabee Senator John McBush (Idiot, AZ) is such a sorry-assed NeoCon jerk - desperately trying to get traction with the war hysteria surrounding Georgia and Russia, a situation that was orchestrated by one of his own handlers. The bogus "Maverick" and "Straight Talk" bullshit artist is a loyal soldier of the Military Industrial Complex. DDE, the last decent Republican president warned us and here we are: an Empire of Knuckleheads on the Verge of Collapse.

Here is an entertaining presentation on McBush's voting record (he doesn't show up to vote very often).

How much money did McBush's chief foreign policy advisor earn as a lobbyist and consultant for Georgia's President? (nearly a million).

Check this out.

I am working on the Manifesto for a swell new political party and also my new blog, the later titled "As the Empire Crumbles." The party? Ron Paul meets Ralph Nader. I'm not joshing. More later.

Back to the river...
I've failed to deliver on my promise to write the definitive essay about the Delaware River flood histrionics. I repeat: any day now. If only someone would pay me I'd do it. That's where it's at.

Quote of the day (from last century):

"REPUBLICANS STAND FOR RAW, UNBRIDLED EVIL AND GREED AND IGNORANCE SMOTHERED IN BALLOONS AND RIBBONS. - Frank Zappa

Land of Canaan...

Blackwater River Canyon, Blackwater Falls State Park

Went on the yearly pilgrimage to the high country of West Virginia for the Parsons Family Reunion. Crossed many rivers along the way and stopped to linger by the Cheat River in Holly Meadows, where the Parsons family settled centuries ago.

Most of the action was in Canaan Valley and the nation's 500th National Wildlife Refuge, where my 96 year old Aunt Virginia and cousin Sharon still reside. It's been the site of the reunion for decades. The reunion has always been a study in eating disorders, although the quality of the food has improved radically with the generational shift. No more multiple versions of meatloaf, fried chicken and baked beans. Those days are gone, thankfully.

We hiked some wonderful wilderness areas along the Blackwater River, which is one of the headwater tribs to the Monongahela River (via the Cheat). Canaan Valley is the largest alpine valley east of the Rockies.

Returned home to a muddy Delaware River that also spiked up several feet while we were away. August is the time for some local paddling and relaxation before an insanely busy September and October, where nearly every weekend will be consumed by various river-related activities including two courses I am developing and will be teaching for the Musconetcong Watershed Association and Delaware River Greenway Partnership. More to follow on that.

Great Blue Morning

A ride along the towpath at 6am is a peaceful and solitary experience. Carp, turtles and the occasional heron. This pic was shot with the cell while sitting on my bicycle.

A cleaner 6 miles...

Photos by Leona Fluck

Forty-five volunteers pitched in on a hot and humid day to remove over a ton of trash from the Delaware River during Operation River Bright, which was held Saturday, June 28 and covered a 6-mile stretch of the river between Easton/Phillipsburg, NJ and Raubsville, PA.

Unfortunately, this stretch of the river receives a steady supply of trash and litter of every imaginable type from local residents who frequent favorite fishing spots, as well as in-flow from the Lehigh River and upstream urban areas.

Cleanup participants used canoes and kayaks to transport the trash to the Delaware Canal State Park Locks 22-23. A baby stroller, rugs, mattresses, tires, a lawnmower and bicycle, and thousands of unsightly plastic beverage containers, tarps and bags were removed from the river banks and islands.

Operation River Bright was sponsored by the Delaware River Greenway Partnership and the Lower Delaware Wild & Scenic River Management Committee. Participating organizations included the New Jersey Youth Corps of Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (Delaware Canal State Park), National Canoe Safety Patrol – Lower Delaware Chapter, and the Delaware Valley Division of the American Canoe Association. Lazy River Adventures of Phillipsburg provided canoes for the NJ Youth Corps volunteers, and ShopRite of Flemington generously donated supplies including trash bags, gloves, water and snacks.

A special thanks to the National Canoe Safety Patrol - Lower Delaware Chapter for providing a safer and more efficient day on the water, and for shepherding and mentoring the New Jersey Youth Corps of Phillipsburg. And kudos to the New Jersey Youth Corps whose members worked hard, learned something about the river, and made their own community a better place.