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| Typical section of the Connecticut River |
Bill arrived at my house at
around noon for the drive up to the Connecticut River in Vermont. We had been planning this trip for
months, but the weather didn’t look promising. Oh well…
The Connecticut River is the
longest river in New England flowing south for approximately 400 miles from the
Canadian border through four states before emptying into Long Island Sound. We
would be paddling the section of the Connecticut River Paddlers Trail from Bloomfield,
VT (North Stratford, NH) to Lunenburg, VT (South Lancaster, NH). From the
put-in near the mouth of the Nulhegan River to the convergence with the Upper
Ammonoosuc near Groveton, NH we would also be paddling a section of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail.
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| At the Old Man of the Mountain |
As we drove through the
Franconia Notch, we decided to take a break and check out the Old Man of the Mountain. I can remember stopping to see the “Old Man” as a kid. It was
actually a series of five granite cliffs on Cannon Mountain that appeared as the
profile of an old man’s face when viewed from the north. The rock formation was
1,200 feet up, and came crashing down on May 3, 2003. It’s still a pretty view.
We arrived in Lancaster, NH
at around 5:00, and stopped at a local pub for dinner. On the way to the campsite, we stopped
to check out the Wyoming Dam Portage in Guildhall, VT, and Tommy and Mena
pulled up behind us. We followed them up Route 102 in VT to the Belnap Campsite
where we would be spending the night
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| Belnap Campsite |
Belnap Campsite is a small campsite
at the convergence of the Connecticut River and the Nulhegan River. The
Nulhegan River arises in Brighton, VT, and flows generally northeast across Vermont to its convergence with the Connecticut River in Bloomfield village.
There is a whitewater run on the Nulhegan, but it probably above may skill
level.
We parked at the Northern
Forest Canoe Trail kiosk, and carried our gear to the site for the night. No campfire this night. We set up camp and chatted in the dark enjoying the stars
until it was time for bed.
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| Breakfast with Bill |
I woke up early on Saturday,
made a cup of coffee, and walked over to the bridge over the Nulhegan River to
watch the sunrise. The morning was
cloudy so the sun was mostly obscured. By 7:00, everyone was up and we were having our breakfast and making plans for the
day.
We would put in at Debanville
Landing – a grassy landing across the street from the campsite (mile 348) - and
shuttle down to the Mount Orne
Covered Bridge (mile 307) in Lunenburg, VT - a trip of 41 miles. This section of
the river generally follows Route 3 in NH and Routes 102 and 2 in VT.
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| A well loaded boat |
By 9:30, we had run the shuttle and we were anxious to the trip
underway. On this day we would
paddle 13 miles to the Samuel Benton Campsite (mile 334). Once
Bill and I got our gear to the put-in, we wondered if it would all fit in the
boat. It did, but just barely.
The river
was wide, but very shallow at the put-in. With our heavy load, Bill and I had to wade out quite ways to find water
deep enough to float the boat, and we still put in a couple of good scratches
in the hull.
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| Heading downstream |
We headed out under mostly
sunny skies, but clouds rolled in as the day progressed, and we got some
scattered rain in the afternoon. With
our heavy load, Bill and I had to be careful to avoid the many rocks and sandbars. The foliage was just about peak, but
with the cloudy skies it wasn’t as bright as I would have liked.
After 13 miles we arrived at
the Samuel Benton Campsite (mile 334). The campsite is situated in a grove of trees on a sandy bluff at
the edge of large hay field. The nice grassy site gave us plenty of room to
spread out. We quickly settled
into to a familar routine – set up camp, gather firewood, cook supper, and
gather around the campfire for the night. The sun setting over the mountains was spectacular.
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| Breakfast at the Samuel Benton Campsite |
We got up on Sunday morning to fog and mist. The morning routine
was similar to the evening – make coffee, get a small fire going, eat breakfast,
break camp and head out. A light
rain at about 7:30 got us moving quickly, and we were on the river by 8:30
heading downstream.
The river continued to be shallow, but was not a boney as the
previous day. Throughout the morning showers passed, so it was rain gear on, and
rain gear off. As we passed the
confluence of the Upper Ammonoosuc River,
the river opened up a bit.
After 11 miles, we approached
the Maidstone Bridge and the Wyoming Dam Portage. The old Wyoming Dam is a hazard due
to rebar jutting into the river. Even without rebar, it looked too boney to run at
this level anyway. Fortunately the rain
let up as we hiked the portage trail. After a quick lunch we continued
downstream to the South Guildhall Campsite.
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| Rain gear on |
As we headed out, the wind picked up and rain came down in
sheets. It looked like it would be
long 5-mile slog down to the campsite. Fortunately, the rain and wind passed as
quickly as it started, and we had clear blue skies as we pulled into the South
Guildhall Campsite (Mile 317).
The South Guildhall Campsite is a wooded site up a steep bank
with great views of the White Mountains to the south. We lugged our gear up the stairs and followed our usual
routine - set up camp, gather firewood, cook supper, and then gather around the
campfire for the night.
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| The crew - Erik, Bill, Tommy and Mena |
I turned in at around 9:00, and woke up the next morning at around
5:30 to Tommy taking down his tent. The sky was cloudy, and it was pretty clear that it was going to be a
rainy day, so he wanted to keep his tent dry. I figured I would have time for a cup of coffee, and I was
right, but just barely. I had to race
to get my gear packed before the skies opened up. We loaded the boats, took a picture of the group, and were
on the river by 7:30.
Monday would be a short day (10 miles) down to the take-out at
the Mount Orne Covered Bridge (mile 307). The river was wider and deeper in
this section. It twists and turns
through corn fields that seem to go on forever. The wind was calm, but the rain got heavier as the morning
went on. We passed the confluence
of the Israel River, which runs general northwest across New Hampshire before
emptying in to the Connecticut River in Lancaster. There is also a whitewater run on the Israel that I would
like to try.
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| Mount Orne Covered Bridge |
We arrived at the Mount Orne Covered Bridge at around noon. We
were wet and tired, but excited about a great trip. We retrieved our cars,
packed up our gear and said goodbyes before the long drive home in the holiday
traffic.
