Day After Christmas Paddle
The Story
On the day after Christmas about 35 paddlers converged on the brand new launch at the point where Hebron Parkway crosses the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. The new launch was amazing except that the turn from the path onto the bridges to go to the peir were difficult to navigate with any boat longer than 10 feet. My 17 ft Tempest was not happy. I had to have help to lift it high enough to clear the obstructions to make the turn. Otherwise the new rolling launch shoots allowed a completely dry launch and recovery and were set up to handle disabled paddlers as well. We paddled north to the shale bank where many stopped to have lunch. Some stopped there completely because of the swift water in that area, but my group easily paddled through the swift water to the calmer water beyond, then up to the logjam where a fallen tree blocked the river. We had been working on the logjam, so it had gone from impassable to just irritating. Most paddlers were able to get over the lower center of the log jam with a little speed and some serious ooching. Some decided not to try. If the water had been just a little higher everyone could have easily passed. 235cfs was a few inches too low, but 300cfs would probably be fine. Some folks went north until the faster currents of the northern part of the Elm Fork below Lewisville Dam forced them to turn back. Most others headed back to the launch area. When my group got back to the launch area we decided to paddle south for a few miles, turning around when we got to the drainage area (my usual lunch spot when traveling north from McInnish Park. The we turned around and returned. A lovely day on the water. The return to the launch was also easy and dry with the rollers and rails allowing us to simply pull out boats up on the dock and disembark on dry footing. Byt the time we were done the wind had picked up and we were glad we had been protected by the banks of the river.
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Trip Date:
Dec 26, 2020
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Submitted by:
Teresa Patterson
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Put In Location:
Hebron
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Take Out Location:
Hebron
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River Flow:
235
Air Temperature:
40
Water Temperature:
50
Wind Speed (approx):
Weather (cloudy, clear, raining, etc):
Launch Site Conditions:
70
Take Out Site Conditions:
-
Weather:
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