Middle & Lower Haw 03/18/2026
| River: | Haw |
| Skill: | Intermediate |
| Trip Date: | 03/18/2026 |
It was the coldest day of the week but the water level looked adequate so Alton Chewning & I hatched a plan to run Middle & Lower yesterday. The last and only time I’d done these sections was October 2024 as part of an ACA L3 River Instructor Course so I was grateful to have Alton leading as I was unfamiliar with the lines through the features.
We met up at Robeson at 11am and after checking out the take-out facilities (floating ramp now replaced with metal staircase) we headed up to Bynum for the launch. We put in below the old bridge at the new parking area on river left (off Bynum Church Road). This was a much easier carry than the dam put-in that I remembered from last time! As a bonus there are clean restrooms and the boat ramp with matting is perfectly set up for an easy put-in and no mud to deal with. It was a cold start (about 40 degrees) so dry suits and layering were the order of the day, but the sun shone brightly throughout the trip.
Just before setting off we checked rivers.run for the Bynum gauge water level and it showed 1350 cfs, on the way down from about 1400 earlier in the day. We got going on the dot of noon.
As we approached Thunder Falls I had a flashback of my first encounter with this feature on the aforementioned ACA Instructor course. I was relying on Anna Ploghoft to show me the lines and let me know what to expect coming up. So when she said “next up is Thunder Falls” I had one of those heart-stopping moments envisioning some horrendous drop beyond my capability. But she assured me that it did not live up to its name and sure enough it was a fairly straightforward run with just a few rocks to dodge.
Onward through the flatwater section with a slight headwind and I could see the US64 bridge in the distance. We came upon S-Turn and opted for a straight run rather than the left/right S-Turn itself as there appeared to be quite a bit of wood in the channel. Looking back upstream we could see it was narrow but probably doable with caution.
Under the US64 bridge we passed the take-out and ran Lunch Stop. We eddied out mid-way for a leg stretch and snack break. Then it was on to Ocean Boulevard. We headed over toward river left and opted for the wave train but then paddled around to check out Three Foot Falls. I didn’t bring a measuring tape but it looked more like Two Foot Falls at this level with a large submerged rock right in the middle of it.
Gabriel’s Bend was a straightforward run starting left of the rock at the top. We could see the tree strainer on river right blocking the hero eddy. Some nice waves on the way through but neither of us attempted any surfing (something I intend to work on this summer!).
Next up Moosejaw Falls and after talking through some options we decided to run the narrow channel on far river right. This involved dropping through the slot and sharp left and right turns trying to avoid the nasty looking rocks at the bottom. However I think I added a few new war wounds to my boat on that one!
Now we’re at the lake and heading to the Robeson take-out. It was a great day and even though the water level was a little lower than optimal, I got a good refresher on the features and their sequence. Sincere thanks to Alton for the company and the guidance! Looking forward to the next run with a little more water.