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| RICKA crew - Erik, Jim, Bill, Chuck and Milke |
It was a long, dark drive up to Errol, New Hampshire. Chuck,
Mike and Bill had left earlier in the day so they could scout out the river. I
had to work, and didn’t leave Waltham, Massachusetts until after 6:00 p.m. -
right in the middle of rush hour traffic.
It was already dark when I got through the Franconia Notch.
I followed Route 3 north toward Groveton, and then I took Route 110 along the
Upper Ammonoosuc River toward Errol. It was getting late, and I was anxious to
get to the hotel. For several miles, I was stuck behind a van going very
slowly, even for this remote area. When we finally hit a straight section of
road, I sped past – big mistake.
I wasn’t more than a quarter-mile down the road when
something big ran out in front of me. I slammed on the brakes and laid on the
horn. Fortunately, I stopped in time. In the middle of the road in front of me
stood a large female moose. After a few seconds she lost interest and trotted
off into the woods. Now I know why that van was moving so slowly.
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| Erik |
For the past couple of years, Chuck, Mike and Bill have been
paddling their way though sections of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail. Covering
740 miles, the Northern Forest Canoe Trail links rivers and lakes across
northern New York and New England from Old Forge, New York to Fort Kent, Maine.
I had been invited to join their trips several times in the past, but always
had a conflict. When they told me that their next trip would be the
Androscoggin and the Upper Ammonoosuc in New Hampshire, I decided that I had to
go. The Androscoggin was the first whitewater river that I ran with my father
in 1990.
My first day started early – breakfast with Bill at 7:00 AM.
After breakfast, Jim Cole and Tommy Taylor met us at the hotel. We got on our
gear and headed off to the river. We would be paddling 16 miles down the
Androscoggin River. The Androscoggin starts in Errol and runs 178 miles across
New Hampshire and Maine until in empties into the Kennebec River. The section
we would be paddling includes the Thirteen Mile Woods – one of the prettiest
sections of the river.
We shuttled our cars and put-in below the dam in Errol
around 9:30 a.m. The river starts off with some class II rapids, and then
alternates between flatwater, quickwater and easy whitewater down to the
Pontook Dam. For much of the morning it was pouring rain – I mean POURING - but
that didn’t dampen our spirits.
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| Jim and Bill |
The rain came and went, and we had a great time. Along the
way we saw lots of wildlife including osprey, loons, heron, and even a bald
eagle. I must admit, on such a cold rainy day, it was nice to go back to the
hotel for a hot shower after the paddle. That’s what I call roughing it.
The second day of our trip was a 9-mile run on the Upper
Ammonoosuc. We shuttled our cars down to the take-out in the village of Stark.
Stark sits at the base of a steep granite cliff called The Pulpit. With its
picturesque covered bridge over the Upper Ammonoosuc, it is one of the
prettiest New England villages that I have seen.
The Upper Ammonoosuc is much smaller than the Androscoggin.
It twists and turns through cow fields and woodlands across the top of NH until
it ultimately empties into the Connecticut River. The previous day’s rain had
brought the level up nicely.
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| Mike |
The river was mostly quickwater with lots of maneuvering
needed to get through the twists and turns. The day ended with a couple of
class II rapids as we entered the village of Stark. We had a good time playing
in the rapids, and only had to pull our boats on shore to be home for the night
at the Stark Inn Bed & Breakfast.
Unfortunately, this would be the end of my trip. I needed to
leave early to be home for Saturday. As luck would have it, Chuck, Mike and Jim
had to leave the next morning as well, leaving only Bill and Tommy to finish
the trip.
By the time Bill and Tommy put-in on Saturday morning, the
river had dropped a foot from the previous day’s level, but there was still
plenty of water. From Stark to Groveton, the river was a mix of quickwater and
class I rapids with two dams – one they ran, one they portaged. Their day ended at another picturesque
covered bridge in Groveton.
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