The USGS Moretown gauge recorded 4 inches of rain in the first 12 hours of the day-long Tropical Storm Irene event, and certain elements of the VPC thought paddling the Lower Mad would be a sensible idea. On a river that is high and obviously rising, when the NWS has issued flash flood warnings, you approach your outings with trepidation. Cameron had some trouble in the first rapid in his ME, and using the "discretion before valor" motto he accepted our help getting his canoe up to the road so that he could head for home and arrive in one piece.

From that point on, the farther downstream we got the more wood the river seemed to be transporting toward Lake Champlain. Jamie did the whole goddam run in a playboat, but always managed to roll back up when one of many diagonal curling waves (dumping into one of many never-before-witnessed holes) flipped him over.

When we arrived at the Horseshoe to scout, the big island in the middle was nowhere to be seen, and the two remaining rocks exposed at the far left (usual carry route) disappeared underwater during the 10 minutes we spent sizing it up and sneaking it left of center (and myself far left). I took dead aim at Washing Machine, and in the maelstrom realized that this was the biggest feature I had ever deliberately paddled into east of the Mississippi. I came out the rinse cycle upright, spic and span!

Except for one hiccup in an eddy, Dan styled every drop, on top of which he rescued Chris from the island on which he found himself stranded at the top of the final rapid before the confluence with the Winooski. Jamie did manage the boat retrieval at the confluence, which surely took some effort.

A Waterbury Fire and Rescue unit kindly pulled over at the US2 bridge to inquire as to our safety (and sanity?). In all the river claimed one paddle and one wetsuit bootie, but otherwise we came through the afternoon unscathed. I wish I could say the same for the rest of Vermont. Chris, BTW, still had the energy to head out paddling on Lake Champlain in a gale at "sunset".