I saw in the I falls to GP thread that chessie had a comment of "some folks say to not to attempt at <100cfs" and GrandmaL followed with "currently know as the Pigeon River Rock Garden". So in the spirit of not hijacking that thread, how bad does it get?

We ran it last year in late Aug at 180 cfs, and lined our way through English rapids + 2 or 3 other sections. We're looking to run the same route this year at about the same time.

Would we need to portage those sections in the river bed now at 76 cfs instead of line/wade them?

I expect those sections would be longer.

Would there be a lot more sections needing lining/ portaging or only a few?
Would those sections be a rock bottom, sand, mud?

I don't mind added difficulty as that's just part of the variability of nature being the trip partner that throws a wrench in all your planning. But, I think I would draw the line somewhere short of pulling the canoe through an 11 1/2 mile swamp.

Did anyone run the river when the CFS was in the 50's in 2010?

My son just traveled the Pigeon on the 27th of July. The level was below 90 cfs. He said it was not an issue for them to line (though they are experienced at it). He said they only noted one noticeable difference from the notes they brought along from previous guides. They were told the moving water sections requiring some mild maneuvering would end around the islands where the Swamp River enters, but they had additional sections after that.

I don't have any info at <50cfs. However, there has been a notable shift in the weather patterns up there. While the area is still way behind, they are starting to get more regular rain fronts coming through versus the week after week of zero moisture in June and July.

Having done the Pigeon 5 times - with 18' being the lowest (not as low as this year however) it seems the English Rapids sections where lining or walking the canoes through is just slightly longer. In my experience - the sections that require lining/walking are going to have to be done in 90% of the years anyway- just slightly longer above and below.