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| Doane's Falls |
The
day started with an early morning stop at McDonald’s to meet Paul for the drive up to the Upper Millers in north central MA. As we approached the put-in, we took a short diversion to check out Doane’s Falls on nearby Lawrence Brook in the Tully Lake Recreation Area. If the water flowing down this waterfall was any indication, it was going to be a great day.
I first ran the Upper Millers with Mike and Tommy back in 2007, and it has been a favorite ever since. The water on this section of the river is controlled by releases
from the Birch Hill Dam. With the exception of a couple of railroad bridges,
there is nothing to break the wilderness feeling of the river.
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| Above the first railroad bridge |
We met up with a group from the CT AMC – 16 boats with 14 kayaks and 2
canoes. The day was sunny and warm, and the water level was perfect (4.5 feet,1.500 cfs). In fact, the Ranger
that controls the flow from the Birch Hill Dam stopped by to tell us that he
had increased the flow for the day – nice!
The
fun began immediately with a long wave train just below the put-in. From there,
the river alternates between quickwater, rock gardens and long wave trains. At this level, most of the rocks were buried
just below the surface. I came close on a couple, but made it through. We worked our way downstream running
waves, catching eddies, and generally having a good time. By the time we
reached the take-out I was pretty tired, but it was great to get changed
and pack up our gear in the warm sunshine for the trip home.
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| Smiling on the Upper Millers |
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