Horner Run, Ohio, US

Cook Road to I-275

Usual Difficulty	III-IV (for normal flows)
Length	1 Miles
Avg. Gradient	120 fpm
Max Gradient	120 fpm

River Description

Strainers can appear quickly on this creek, so be careful! I ran it on 5/7/02 and 3 new strainers were there in the first 1/3 of a mile. The third one was very bad and required portaging. It was laying at the bottom of a good rapid. The next day I ran it again and the first two strainers were gone.

Two forks come together at the put-in, and both of them sport 4 foot ledges. Soon the creek starts to drop down fun, easy class II-III drops including fun little 3 to 5 foot ledges. Within a quarter mile you'll reach the first of two riverwide five foot ledges. Below them is the best multiple ledge rapid on the creek, and a smaller one after that with a strainer at the bottom. It can be run carefully on river left.

After that you'll come to the first big drop. A ten foot not quite vertical cascade. Run this one to the left. There is a big tree laying across the creek just above this drop, blocking the left side approach. It can be paddled under on the right into a micro-eddy, after which you must make a serious ferry move to get to river left. Or it might possibly be paddled over or around on the left at higher water, but I'm not sure yet. You will see the tree and the horizon line ahead of you so there is time to get out and scout it. River left is easier.

The creek eases up for a hundred yards of class II boogie water, but it is non-stop. Shortly after a tributary enters on river right with a three foot ledge, there is an island with strainers nearly blocking the right channel with a full tree pulled away from the bank and honeysuckle bushes hanging down into the creek. A large stump looks as though it is blocking the left channel, but sneak behind it and down the left channel.

Then a few class IIs leads you to Backyard, a double waterfall which drops about 10 feet. You can tell it is coming up when you see a house right there on river right. GET OUT AND SCOUT THIS DROP! TWO REASONS!! FIRST, this rapid has a siphon hole in the center of the river that can fit a body into but probably not through it. AND, BECAUSE you will need to locate a good eddy below the drop because you've got to GET THE HELL OUT OF THE CREEK as soon as you can just below this drop. About 50 yards downstream the creek goes into a dark, extremely long tunnel under I-275.

This tunnel looks like a dangerous place to go. Right now the way out is up to the expressway, OR hike back up the creek on a fairly nice trail, which is maintained by a man dressed in green and speaking in an Irish accent.

Directions: Horner Run is located in Mulberry, Ohio, just outside Milford.

The put-in is on Cook Rd. and the take-out is on I-275. To get there:

Heading north or south on I-275, exit at Rt 28, Milford. head east on Rt. 28, but get over left and turn onto the Rt 28 business district. Go a few hundred yards and turn left onto Cook Rd. Follow it til it drops over the hill to the creek. check level, Drop boats and run shuttle.

Shuttle: to run shuttle, go back south on Cook Rd. to Rt. 28 business district, turn right. go to new Rt 28., turn right, immediately bear right onto I-275, heading north (or west) and look for a deep valley about 3 miles ahead on your right. Drop a vehicle and look down at the final drop. Stay north on I-275 to the next exit, Wards Corner. Exit, and bear right on Wards Corner Rd. to Branch Hill-Guinea Pike. Turn right and follow it to Cook Rd. Follow Cook Rd back to the creek.