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| Ayers Island Dam |
The
forecast was for clearing skies, but I was beginning to wonder as I headed north to NH. The rain started
as I entered MA, and continued all the way up to the NH border. Fortunately, as I crossed over into NH, I could see blue sky to the north. By the time I reached the put-in,
the sky was bright and clear and the day was beautiful – maybe a little
windy.
I
was heading up to NH to paddle the Bristol section of the Pemi with Joe and the
NHAMC. We had 3 kayaks (Marcy, Pete and Eric) and 2 canoes (me and
Joe). We put in
below the Ayers Island Dam (off Ayers Island Road – go left at the recycling
center and down the hill on the dirt road next to the transfer station), and took out below the park and play
hole off Coolidge Woods Road.
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| Marcy running Wourthen's |
This
is a short section of river that is best to run a couple of times to make it worth the trip - at least for me. It’s about 1-1/2 miles long with a
couple of nice play spots. The level was 1,500 cfs on the Plymouth gage, which
was a little pushy. Combined with
the wind, it was a quick run downstream.
The
biggest rapid on this section of the river is called Wourthen’s, and is located
about 1/4 mile down from the put in. A ledge protrudes from the left bank (Wourthen's
Rock) forcing the river to the right. The usual line is to the right, although at lower levels you
can run the drops in the middle. We
went right.
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| Joe approaching Coolidge Woods Road |
The
rapid continues for about 1/5 of a mile, and is followed by a couple of other
class II rapids. The last rapid sweeps gradually to the right as it passes
through a couple of ledges along Coolidge Woods Road. Unfortunately, there was too much water for me to do any
playing at the play spot.
I
would have like to do another run, but no one else was interested, so it turned out
to be a long drive for a short trip. Oh well..
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