North Branch of the Casselman

2008

Dung Hill Road to
Casselman River Access nr Rte 40 Bridge

6 Miles

Class I-III+

Gauge: Casselman River at Grantsville, MD

5/18/2008
Level: 11:15 AM 2.99 ft, 724 cfs
Craft: ThrillSeeker

After a wet spell, a night of rain and heavy showers in the morning, we decided to get on a new creek. It was one that Kevin and I had considered for some time. Gertler’s book, Maryland and Delaware Canoe trails has the description about right. After putting in, Christian and I decided to run the center culvert. Kevin Choose the left. The right one had a tree branch at the end of it. The run started off with just flowing water (class 1). Soon, there were some trees to be portaged. We decided to take a break after one of the carries. After putting back in, we encountered a steel wire stretched from side to side. The water wasn’t moving too fast here; so, it was easy to get under near either bank. We continued downstream and still weren’t seeing much action. Eventually, small rapids started to develop. Then, after coming to a fork in the creek, we took the right channel. This was the top of the first gorge. We eddied out top right, just above where things started to drop out. Christian had a big smile on his face and said “look at it”. This was the most gradient we saw up until this point. This rapid was class 3. The line was pretty straight but snaked around a little. It was a sight watching Christian descend in a 16 ft canoe, especially since the streambed was about 25 feet wide. Flowing water followed. This continued after we passed the Durst Hill Road Bridge, where we took a second break. There was talk about keeping our eyes open for more wood and wires. Some more trees were encountered but we didn’t have to leave our boats. Soon, we reached the second gorge. It was better than the first. After starting into the first drop, things got steeper and the view got obstructed as the course went right. We decided to have a look. Christian’s choice was to take a slot on the right that was just wide enough for his boat to fit through. During his approach, he had to put the long boat completely sideways without much room to spare. Kevin and I had good lines far left. These required skirting a hole to the left and going between rocks at the bottom. Just below were a couple of more drops before a flat flowing pool. This section was good class 3, maybe 3+. I wished I had a camera when we took time to look upstream at the cascades. It was a sight! From here, things looked tighter and steeper than they felt. Boogie water was next! It was a nice long section of it. It ended after a kennel of barking dogs. This was followed by a crazy braided section, where decisions had to be made quickly. Christian made good choices until he went right of an island. I think he made this choice because he thought that a tree was blocking the left. He signaled us that the left was clear. For some reason the right was no good and he had to carry across the island. The rest of the run was tame to the take out. We came close to a doe guarding a newborn fawn. The river remained narrow after it met with the South Branch. It twisted with good flow. There was a low lying farm area that was flooded out. Some fun was had paddling through a pavilion. The Casselman slowly became more like a river and the scenery was quite nice. Some summer homes were nestled in the woods. A few easy rapids were passed before the take out at the Route 40 Bridge in Grantsville, MD. Overall, it was a fun scenic trip. Wildlife was encountered. Some geese were seen that were most likely guarding eggs. It was debated that piles of debris seen along the banks were signs of beaver. Water level was a healthy minimum. The braided section had just enough flow to navigate smoothly. If you want to take out to avoid a lot of scenic flat water at the end, take out at the bridge near the confluence of the North and South Branch.