Connecticut River Camping - Orford to the Wilder Dam - October 18-20, 2019

The put-in at Orford

The rules are simple – cocktails at 5:00, dinner at 6:30, no one goes to bed before 10:00 (we break that one a lot), first one up in the morning starts the fire, and everyone needs to be packed up and ready to go by 10:00 (we break that one a lot too – sometimes earlier and sometimes later). Why work hard when you don’t have to!

For the past couple of years, Bill and I have been camping our way down the Connecticut River Paddlers Trail along the NH and VT border. 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. Its tough for me to get away to do long camping trips, so Bill and I and a few friends have been doing 3-day weekends.

Covered bridge at Clay Brook

We started in Canaan, VT near the Canadian border, and have been slowly working our way south. So far we have done the sections from Canaan, VT to Blooomfield, VT; Bloomfield, VT to Lunenburg, VT; day trips on the reservoirs from Lunenburg, VT to Woodville, NH; and Woodsville, NH to Orford, NH. On this trip we would be paddling the 20-mile section from Orford, NH to the Wilder Dam in White River Junction, VT with Jonathan and Conrad.

As hard as I tried to get Friday off from work, I still ended up with an 8:00 meeting in Waltham. Fortunately, it only took an hour and I was soon on my way up to VT. I met the crew at 11:30 at the Wilder Dam to run the shuttle up to Orford. We had two tandem canoes, and a ton of gear. We are not known to travel light.

Breakfast at Roaring Brook

We loaded our boats at the Orford Boat Ramp and headed out for the 5-mile trip downstream. The sky was cloudy, but it never rained. We paddled past the Edgell Covered Bridge at Clay Brook and the Birch Meadow Campsite before arriving at the Roaring Brook Campsite.

Roaring Brook is a popular grassy campsite on the VT side where Roaring Brook joins the river. It is close to the road and the railroad tracks, so there can be a lot of traffic noise, but it was big enough for us to spread out a little.  

Bill takes the stern

After a short break, Jonathan did some work rebuilding the fire pit while the rest of us spread out to collect firewood. The area was pretty picked over, but we soon had a pile that would last us through the night and into the morning. With that done, we set up the tents and started thinking about dinner.  

Jonathan would be cooking fried fish and “Maine Guide” potatoes. He originally planned to cook on the fire, but it ended up being easier to cook on the stove. As it was, it was dark before we sat down to dinner. After that, we settled in around the fire for the night.

Taking a break at Patchen's Point

I finally headed into my tent for the night at around 10:00. We didn’t have a hard frost, but temperatures were in the 30’s. I buried myself in the sleeping bag and tried to stay warm. I should have put on another layer.

We woke Saturday morning to cloudy skies and a beautiful sunrise. Bill got up first and started the fire. I followed and started the coffee. Soon everyone was sitting around the fire. I cooked breakfast – omelets, home fries and bacon – and then we broke camp for the 10-mile trip down to Patchen’s Point.

A well loaded canoe

This section of the river is wide with lots of boat docks and vacation houses. We stopped for lunch near Wilson’s Landing before continuing down to Patchen’s Point.

Patchen’s Point is a pretty site on the VT side below a stand of huge pine trees. Surprisingly, there was no picnic table or fire pit, but there was a privy. We made due. We went through our usual routine – gather firewood, set up camp, cook dinner and settle in around the campfire for the night. Bill cooked spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, and it was great. I called in a night at around 9:00 - yup, broke that rule.

Ledyard Canoe Club

The night temperatures were again in the 30’s, but this time I added a second layer, so I was much warmer. We awoke the next morning to mist on the river. Once again, Bill started the fire, and I got the coffee going. Breakfast was pancakes and sausage, except for Jonathan who had fried eggs and tomatoes. We packed up camp and headed downstream for the last 5-miles of our trip. 

This section passes though Hanover, and Dartmouth College’s famous Ledyard Canoe Club. As we paddled by some Dartmouth students were heading out for a trip in 8-person Clipper canoes.

At the take-out

After passing through Hanover we stopped to check out the Gilman Island Campsite before continuing down to our take out at Wilder Dam. It is a nice, big campsite maintained by the L.L. Bean Outdoor Discovery Schools.

As always, it was a great trip, and we have many miles to go before we hit the ocean. Time to start thinking about a trip for the spring.

Camping on the Connecticut River from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

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Connecticut River Paddlers Trail