Lamington, New Jersey, US |
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| Usual Difficulty | III-IV (for normal flows) |
|---|---|
| Length | 5.8 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient | 71 fpm |
| Max Gradient | 100 fpm |
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamington (Black) River near Pottersville NJ | ||||
| usgs-01399500 | 160 - 500 cfs | III-IV | 00h22m | 56 cfs (rc= -0.3 ) |
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The onsite gauge is the staff gauge of the USGS gauging station (on Black River Rd.). It is on river right, at the crest of the gauging station weir. You may have to bush wack through about 5' of brush to get a look at it.
Ed Gertler's book lists 2.3' (on the gauge on Black River Rd. upstream from Pottersville) as minimum. I've run it at that level and I would list 2.4' (160 cfs - ed.) as minimum, with 2.5-3.0' (200-400) as optimal and over 3' very exciting.
I ran it at 3.3' (800cfs?) and the constricted mini-gorge at the end was "interesting". Scout on the left.
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| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamington (Black) River near Pottersville NJ | ||||||||||||
| usgs-01399500 | 160 - 500 cfs | III-IV | 00h22m | 56 cfs (rc= -0.3 ) | ||||||||
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| When | River/Gauge | Subject | Level | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black River [NJ] |
There are drops too
|
2.6' | Stephen Strange | |
| Lamington [NJ] |
SmallFalls on the Lamington
|
2.4? | Stephen Strange | |
| Lamington [NJ] |
Rain Gauge for the Black R.
|
n/a | Stephen Strange | |
| 1y297d13h19m | @Lamington Chester to Pottersville [NJ] |
Finale Falls
|
n/a | Stephen Strange |
| 2y97d11h01m | black river [NJ] |
Account of 11/07/09
|
n/a | n/a |
| 4y301d19h35m | Lamington [NJ] |
Prelude
|
450 cfs | Mark Zak |
| 6y315d19h35m | Lamington [NJ] |
High Water on the Black R. in NJ
|
3.3' | Stephen Strange |
| 6y316d00h35m | @Lamington Chester to Pottersville [NJ] |
High Water in NJ
|
high runnable | Stephen Strange |
| Mile | Rapid Name | Class | Features (Legend) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.3 | Prelude |  | |
| 0.3 | 6 foot falls |  | |
| 0.5 | Kay Falls |  | |
| 0.6 | Eddy Hop | | |
| 0.7 | Big Rock | | |
| 0.8 | Bridge | | |
| 0.9 | Suck Hole | | |
| 1.3 | Picnic Rapid | III+ | |
| 1.4 | Right Slot | IV | |
| 1.4 | Left Slot | III+ | |
| 3.0 | Nasty | IV+ | |
| 3.1 | Finale | III+ | |
PreludeA 2 foot ledge which drops from river right to river left. It comes up a short distance below a hikers' foot bridge and signals the beginning of the whitewater.
SmallFalls on the LamingtonOther than the dam (Kay Falls), this is the highest individual drop on the run. It's a straight forward slide/falls into a pool. The pool below is the beginning of the pond (from the Kay falls dam) and it collects wood at times. Scout.
Kay FallsThis is an old stone dam. At the right water level you can run it in the center. Scout on the left.
Headless BradJust after the ripples below Kay Falls Dam, you get to the top of Eddy Hop. Scouting may be a little easier on the left, but either is possible. Because the pond above catches much of the lumber, this usually isn't as strainer laden, but still, scout.
Another Rapid on the BlackAfter a messy little rock pile ledge, the creek goes around a large rock (10' high?). The creek goes left around the rock. The photo shows the smaller ledge which precedes Big Rock in the distance. The big rock is just left of the photo.
There used to be a dam below Big Rock and above the bridge. consequently, the banks are steep dirt (sediment), and there is a rocky rapid/riffle just upstream of the bridge. This is also a location which has picked up wood at times.
Shortly after the bridge, the creek drops over a small (3') ledge into a pool. The ledge is at a constriction of the creek with a boulder on river right and the river bank on river left. The pool is man made ( it was originally for swimming) and has a short (3' ?) dam at the end of it. This is all well and good, except that there is a hole in the bottom of the dam. If it's clear (sometimes it's blocked) and water is draining through it, it's about the right size for the first half of a swimmer to go through and then get stuck. Try not to swim here.
picnic rapidThis rapid is named for the picnic table on river right. When the river disappears to the right behind a big rock, get out on the right to scout.
the slot (slot machine?)This side of the island is a little steeper because of wood forming a dam between the rocks. It's also a little tighter. Scout from the island or the top of the big rock (if you can safely get onto it).
the slot, left of islandThis side isn't as tight or steep, but has been choked with wood at times in the past. Scout from the island.
the real nasty rapid, sorryYou'll know when this is coming up as you'll see a small red house perched above the creek on river right. Take out on river left to scout. This Rapid is actually pretty cool, but there's a nasty looking rock on the left in the finish drop, hence the name. You won't see it very well unless the water is fairly low.
Finale Falls This is a nice finale to this pretty little run. After you run (or carry) Nasty, the river turns left away from the road, then right, then left again (parallel to the road). Get out on the left to scout. Finale is a simple drop, but the two rocks on either side would make the hole hard to get out of at certain levels.
reach
state
reachlink
Chester to Pottersville, Lamington New Jersey, US (mobile)
User Comments
under many logs as well as humping over others. All the drops were open except for the 1st big
drop. It was a hairy deal but I put in a complete run. Looking over the comments nobody has given
this run any tlc with a saw for some time.
Black was at 1,750 cfs. Trout Brook is basically a death trap at that level, but Reinhart Brook was
a sweet class III-IV. Good luck catching these runs though. Black river road was flooded out and
impassable to give you an idea of the level.
put in at the fishermans access just below the pond. The level was around 260 cfs and we were more
than pleased, maybe even a bit lower would have been nicer for our first time on the reach. The
small dam outlet to the pond looked sketchy, maybe some debris or metal so we skipped it and went
on. Every drop on the Black was run! Unfortunately the pool below six foot falls had two large
trees which made for awfully nasty swim when it was run by an unnamed member of our party who had
just gotten back from the Big Sandy. Please use extreme caution running six foot falls, if you swim
the hole will eject you into the trees leading to an underwater body pin forcing the swimmer to
climb his way to the surface through underwater branches (super ugly). The Kay falls were runnable
center left, nasty rapid was bad ass and finale falls was clean and sweet. Again, awesome reach and
as of 4/8/2007 everything was runnable except six foot falls, and of course there were around 10
portages in the boogie water because of strainers. One of the local landowners strung what appear
to be dear attractants across the river downstream of the State Park, I guess to prevent the deer
from destroying the spackel buckets its in. I don't know, but either way exercise caution in the
boogie water after the park.
to paddle it. We put in at the fishermens pond and had 6-7 riverwide strainers before we got to the
Park. Both big drops at the top are unrunnable....which was disapointing. At least Nasty Rapid was
clear (except for wood on river left at the top...easily avoidable). This run needs some TLC. It
could be a blast at high water.
my lax games.
River Road, just a few yards before the gauging station (which is on river right, a few feet from
black river road)there is a rope or wire going completly across the river with a NO TRESSPASSING
sign on it.Physically, even at high water, Idought it would be a problem but perhaps someone dosn't
think you belong there? Also anyone this river for the first time you would want to get out a
little after that gauging station once you see house on river right because there is a falls,make
sure you scout this. I got heart but I wouldn't do it, not yet that is.I would venture to say you
realy need to know what you are doing to make it down safly. I plan on taking out before the falls.
gauging station is the same one which has been there for years. It's indicated on my guide map, but
isn't in-play and can be ducked under unless the water is extremely high. (If it was low enough to
decapitate people, it would have disappeared years ago, thanks to my hacksaw) As for the
"falls" after the house on river right, unless there's been some major geologic activity
that I'm unaware of, this rapid consists of a 2-3'ledge with a small eddy below it on the left,
followed by a 4'ledge, immediately followed by a slide to the left which drops about another 3-4',
which pools/pillows back to the right (now downstream) and drops another 3-4' feet or so. I refer
to this rapid as "Nasty Rapid" on my map because of the upleasant looking rock at the
finish in low water. It is best to scout it from river left. I have run every inch of this run a
number of times and though I wish there was a 20ft falls, I haven't found it yet.