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| Clouds and rain on the trip to the put-in |
“Is it worth it?” my wife asked as we talked about the
3.5-hour drive and likely rain for Saturday’s trip on the White River in
Vermont. “Is it really worth it?”
“Yes” I said, “it definitely is”.
It was cold and wet when I left my house at 6:00 a.m. for
the drive up to the White River. The drive to a new
trip usually includes a mixture of excitement and apprehension, especially when
it involves crossing four states. This trip was no exception. It rained as I crossed into MA, and continued raining as I crossed NH
and entered VT. The clouds were hanging
low in the valleys of the Green Mountains when I met the crew from the NHAMC at
the Hancock Overlook on VT-100 in Hancock just south of the Granville town line
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| At the put-in |
The White River arises in the Green Mountains and flows south and then east across the state to empty into the Connecticut
River at White River Junction. There are two sections of the White River that are popular for spring
trips – the lower Gaysville section from Stockbridge to Bethel, and the upper section from Granville to Stockbridge. Our
original plan was the paddle the lower Gaysville section, which has a few more
exciting rapids. Due to high water levels, though, the trip was changed to the
upper section.
This would be my first trip on the White River, so it really
didn’t matter to me which section we paddled. I met the group at the put-in at 10:00, and began to unload
my gear. I’d be paddling tandem
with my friend Jonathan. The group
included one other tandem, four polers, and four solos – all canoes. The river
was at a nice level – 7 feet, 4,000 cfs on the West Hartford gage. We ran the shuttle and got on the river at around 11:00.
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| Paddling tandem with Jonathan |
The trip was around 14 miles and wound through pretty farms
and fields in Vermont's dairy country. The run was mostly quickwater with a couple of easy class II rapids. We
worked our way downstream enjoying the rapids when we found them. It rained on and off until around 2:00,
but that didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s spirits. At around 2:00, the clouds
finally lifted, and we even saw some blue sky. We made it to the take-out in Stockbridge at around 4:00.
With a long drive home ahead of me, I packed my gear
quickly, said my goodbyes, and got on my way. The rain started up again when I was half way home,
but at that point, I didn’t care.
And yes – the trip was definitely worth it!
And yes – the trip was definitely worth it!
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| Mutt and Jeff take a break for lunch |
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