There's nothing paddlers like more than rain — but how much is enough? That was the dilemma confronting Michael Carter, Michael Williams and Ernie Chilcott this afternoon as they contemplated running the raucous 1.3-mile stretch of the Haw River between the U.S. 64 bridge and Jordan Lake.
So did these guys ...
By 2 p.m., when the trio gathered, Hanna was gone after dumping 3 to 5 inches of rain on the region. Still, under blue skies the Haw continued to rise, at the time flowing about 26,000 cubic feet per second at the USGS gauge upstream at Bynum. By comparison, paddlers are generally content to paddle the Haw between 1,000 and 4,000 cubic feet per second, according to Paul Ferguson, author of "Paddling Eastern North Carolina."
Ferguson said most local rivers — with the possible exception of the dam-controlled Neuse — were too dangerous to run today, in the immediate aftermath of Hanna. Sunday, though, could be a different matter.
... run this river today? Check back later to find out.
Check back a little later — say, after midnight — and I'll let you know what Paul says the local paddling prospects are for Sunday and into the coming week.
