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| Milana |
It’s been 4-years since I took a trip out to the Crystal (Collinsville to Unionville) section of the Farmington. When I saw a trip posted by New York-Northern New Jersey Chapter on the AMC website, I decided it was time for a return visit.
The Farmington arises near Otis, MA and flows generally south and east for 47 miles through Connecticut until it flows into the Connecticut River near Windsor. There are several sections of the Farmington that are popular for whitewater boating – New Boston (class III/IV), “Tville” or the Tariffville Gorge (class (II/III), Riverton/Satan’s Kingdom (class I/II), and of course Crystal (class II).
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| Neil |
The river was dropping on Friday as final plans were being made, so we met at the commuter lot off Route 8 in case we needed to change to a different river. As it turned out, rain on Friday night brought the river back up to a nice level – 6.2 feet, 800 cfs.
We had eight boats for the trip - six canoes (me, Neil, Paul, Charles, Stephan and Mary Ann) and two kayaks (Oleg and Milana). It was raining when I left Rhode Island, but sunny and warm when we put in at the river.
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| Oleg |
We put-in just below the Collinsville Dam and began our run. This section is about 3-miles long and includes a series of class I/II rapids that get more difficult as you move downstream. The first major rapid is the site of the Punch Brook Slalom, and the gates were being installed as we paddled through. I was able to hit most of the gates, but it wasn't easy, and I certainly wasn’t fast.
From here, the rapids continue as a series of rock gardens and wave trains. The largest is the ledge above the Route 4 Bridge that we ran to the right. The run took us about 4-hours. We took-out at the bike trail parking lot below the Red Barn.
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| Charles |
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