• 09/11/1999
• 08/08/1999 2
• 08/08/1999 1

See Last Year's Trip Updates!

• 09/08/1998

• Philadelphia Canoe Club
• Pennsylvania Current Streamflow Conditions
• ACA - American Canoe Association National Web Site - Membership organization.
• American Rivers - National conservation organization dedicated to protecting America's rivers.
• American Whitewater - American Whitewater Web Site - Orgs and members - Access & Conservation.
• Canoe Camping - Top 40 U.S. Trips - Descriptions (with pictures and links) of over 40 of the best canoe camping rivers in the U.S. where you can enjoy a float trip of a week or more!
• Paddling.net - PA Outfitters - Canoeing and Kayaking Guides, Outfitters and Rentals in Pennsylvania
• Outdoor Resources Online - Resorces for hiking, biking, backpacking, etc.
• Canoe and Kayak Ring - Seems like a nice enough place. They have a pretty big list of members. Supposably there is a standard necessary for entry.
• National Wild & Scenic Rivers System - Home Page for US National Wild & Scenic Rivers. Wild & Scenic Rivers are similar to National Parks, but do not enjoy the same level of funding. If you would like a better explanation, the National Park Service has a FAQ page that explains what a National Wild and Scenic River is.
• National Park Maps - This site provides access to downloadable versions of National Park Service maps for many National Parks in pdf and high resolution formats.
• If you need gear you're going to need a place to get it. REI has tons of stuff for paddling, and it's all available for online shopping. If you need outdoor gear REI will almost definitely have the item you want. If you want to pay a little less, Dick's Sporting Goods has a pretty good selection. Unfortunately Dick's Sporting Goods did not buy www.dicks.com . That url hosts a completely different site (as I found out when I was looking for the sporting goods site). The following are links to dry bags that I'm considering for this year's trip: REI Drygear Super Sack - Extra Large 3200 ci, $23, REI Drygear Riverpack - 3.8 6200 ci, $50, Seal Line Baja Dry Bag 1900 ci, $15, Seal Line Baja Dry Bag 3300 ci, $22. Some other good places to get gear are Campmor , and Eastern Mountain Sports .

• Allegheny Islands Wilderness - Supposed to have water when other PA rivers do not. Lots of public islands for camping. Some whitewater depending on water levels.
• Allegheny River General Canoe Trip info - Links and descriptions of Allegheny River trips.

• Delaware River General Canoe Trip info - Links and descriptions of Delaware River trips.
• Delaware River Trip Reports - Good description of DWGNRA.
• Upper Delaware River Liveries, Campgrounds, and Lodging
• Upper Delaware River Map Set - The Delaware River Basin Commission offers a set of recreation maps for the Delaware River that covers the 200-mile, non-tidal reach of the river from Hancock, N.Y., to Trenton, N.J. The maps are made for outdoor use, and come in a zip-lock bag.
• Upper Delaware: Planning Your River Trip - Tips on things to bring, regulations, table relating river stage at Barryville to canoeing conditions, and a table describing ratings for whitewater. The following is an exerpt from the Barryville river stage table.

  2 1/2 - 4 feet

  790 - 2,530 cfs avg. = 2 mph

  Average Water Level Some exposed rocks in rapids; some waves up to 3 feet. Good water level for boating!

• Barryville Water Level - Water level at Barryville can be compared to the table above. Data is pulled from The Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center . The MARFC is affilliated with Penn State University in some way. They provide River Stage info for many (possibly all) PA rivers. So far the Delaware seems to be in good shape at 3ft or higher.
• The following links provide weather reports from Weather Underground , and The Weather Channel regarding weather near Dingman's Ferry, PA.

• Shenandoah River Outfitters - According to Dave canoes are $48/day. They do not rent wet-bags.
• Front Royal Canoe Company - Rental and Outfitter. This is where we're getting canoes this year (2000).
• Streamflow data for Front Royal - Direct link to Front Royal Streamflow Data provided by USGS.
• Front Royal Weather Forcast - Provided by weather underground. Keep an eye out for Hurricane Isaac.
• Shenandoah River Canoe Trip Review by David Conger - A nice description of a trip down the Shenandoah near Luray. Includes pictures.

• Trip Reviews:
  10/02/98 Two day trip from ? to Duncannon along the Susquehanna River Trail
  10/09/99 Two day trip from Millersburg to Marysville along the Susquehanna River Trail
• I've been told that we could not do a Susquehanna trip this year (99) due to low water levels. That stands to reason. We haven't had much rain this year. In fact, this summer we are enduring what has been called "the worst drought in 100 years". As to whether or not that's true, I don't know. But it sure has been dry. In an effort to better understand the current Susquehanna River level, and how it relates to canoeing I made up a little histogram chart from USGS data. Basically what I wanted to do was establish a baseline stage or discharge rate at the time of our October 1998 Susquehanna River Canoe Trip . Unfortunately, I could not get the data for the first week of October 1998 (We were on the water October 3rd and 4th 1998). So I used the next best thing: data from the week before! Unfortunately, I didn't know how accurate that would be. The discharge rate may change alot in a week. I didn't know. So I included both weeks for several years to establish the amount of change I should expect from week to week. The result is shown below. What it means to me is as follows. The change from week to week is pretty significant some years, and pretty mild others. Why is that? Who knows. Based on a short history it doesn't look as if the river could go much lower than the September '98 level. So Let's say that the discharge was not less than 4200 cfs in October. Seems like a safe bet. Unfortunately it could have been higher. I don't remember if it rained or not, so I can't rule out the possibility that the level may have been as much as 5000 cfs greater than the 4200 cfs discharge of September 98. Although I would guess that it takes a lot of rain to cause such a large change. As such I would guess that the level may have changed a few thousand cfs at most. As such, I estimate that there is a good chance the Susquehanna River Trail will be navagable when the Discharge at Harrisburg is at or above 6000 cfs . Unfortunately the current discharge at Harrisburg (09/03/99) is 4090 cfs .

• Between Millersville and Harrisburg there is an organized Susquehanna River Trail that includes islands suitable for overnight camping, and a navagable route that extends over 30 miles.
• If you need to rent gear or get shuttle service Blue Mountain Outfitters is conveniently located in Marysville, PA.
• The following links provide weather reports from Weather Underground , and The Weather Channel regarding weather near Dingman's Ferry, PA.