toejam

If that rescue was anywhere near where I was it must have been really ignorant and inexperienced people, because the river levels weren't fluctuating that much. My trips were on the section between Possum Kingdom Lake and Lake Granbury. The first one was the prettiest section just below the PK. We put in at the Hwy 16 crossing and took out at Hwy 4 (Rochelle's Canoe Rental). We did it the week before Rochelle's opened up for Spring Break to avoid marauding hordes of drunks. Last weekend we put in at I-20 and took out at Tin Top (Hwy 2580). The second trip was 30 miles and it was me and another guy in kayaks. I just find a convenient gravel/sand bar to camp wherever I feel like stopping.

Last weekend the river rose 3' during the night due to water being let out of the dam a couple days before. It got close enough to my tent to freak me out in the morning. This morning the water is 10' higher than that due to 3" of rain the other day. The water levels are changing dramatically lately because the PK dam hydro generators are broke, so now the dam either releases nothing or too much. Normal flow is ~100 cfm. When they open a gate on the dam it's around 20,000 cfm and the water can rise over 10' in a real short time, but they usually send people down the river to warn anybody out there before hand. Of course rain makes a big difference. Last year the the river rose 25' higher than normal on a couple of occasions at Dennis, near where I camped last week.

So if you are planning a trip on that part of the river, make sure you check the levels & flows on the BRA web site, be aware of the weather upstream, and don't leave your stuff too close to the water.