The Upper Gunpowder at high water -- about 6 feet on the Falls Road gauge, on December 11, 2003. Pictures were taken from river right, starting just below the 90-degree right-hand bend that marks the beginning the of the most interesting drops, and are in order headed downstream. Hiking the river-right trail at this level was difficult because parts of it were underwater, sometimes in substantial current.

Overall difficulty was II-III, but due to somewhat continuous nature, irregular rocks, the occasional sluice/undercut/strainer, this would not be a good place for people without class III or high-water/small-stream experience. A couple thousand CFS in a riverbed that normally carries 250 does not make for a novice trip.

Note sizable standing wave where there normally isn't one.

First set of sizable waves; see next photo.

Nice surfing wave/hole.

Same feature as previous shot, but viewed from downtream.

Note chute around river left of first rock where normally there isn't one.

Same location as above, just a little further downstream. This hole was looking very sticky, with a boil line several feet downstream.

Same feature as above; gives another look at the hole.

There's a nice wave on the left (river right) side of this photo.

The hole on extreme right is normally a little diagonal wave.

A look back upstream at all this.

A deceptively ugly spot. Look closely. See the diagonal strainer sticking out from river right? It extends all the way out to that tree in mid-stream. Think you can miss the whole thing by running left? Think again. Just under that diagonal wave that takes up the whole left side is another strainer.

Taken from below the Falls Road bridge. The big flat rock across the river that's nearly underwater is the one with the staff gauge on it.