2021 Year End Review

Upper Winni - New Year's Day

With the COVID-19 pandemic at its peak, the year started off with a walking shuttle on the Upper Winni on New Year’s Day, and a couple of bike shuttles along the bike path at Crystal (January, Frebruary, March). Otherwise I stayed close to home – River Island Park (February, March), Martin Street Bridge and the Branch.

That started to change after I got fully vaccinated. I did my first car shuttle  on the Pemi in April, and paddling returned to a more normal schedule. I didn’t do a lot of whitewater, but I did get back to some old favorites - Otter Brook, Tville, Knightville and the Upper Millers.

Riverton section of the Farmington

I did a couple of trips that I hadn’t done in years with Bob Rankin and the Hackensack River Canoe & Kayak Club – Housatonic – Cornwall to Kent and Farmington - Riverton. It was also nice to get out on some new trips – Dedham Loop on the Charles, the Quinebaug - Danielson to Canterbury (low water, high water), the Housatonic – Sheffield to Falls Village and the Lakes Region on the Charles.

I only did two Blackstone Valley Paddle Club trips – Riverview Landing on the Quinsigamound, and the 20th Anniversary at Sycamore Landing. I did a virtual Flatwater Leader Training for RICKA in April, and I led RICKA trips at Bold Point in Providence, Point Judith Pond, Alton to Bradford on the Wood/Pawcatuck , Natick to Framingham on the Charles and Sheffield to Falls Village on the Housatonic. I also helped Bill with his Sudbury/Concord trip.

Brown's Ledge at Tville

I did 55 trips, which is two less than my 12-year average of 57 trips. I had two swims – one on the Pemi and other at Tville. If we count Umbagog Lake as ME, I also paddled in all six New England states. Here are some of my more significant trips:

• January - Winnipesauke - Tilton, Farmington - Crystal
• February - Farmington -Crystal
• March - Farmington - Crystal, Branch River Icebreaker
• April - River Bend Farm, Pemi – Thornton to Campton
• May - Otter Brook, White – Hancock to Stockbridge, Housatontic – Cornwall to Kent, Farmington - Tville, Quinsigamound – Riverview Landing
• June - Umbagog Lake, Charles - Dedham Loop, Farmington - Riverton
• July - Providence, Westfield – Knightville, Point Judith Pond
• August - Blackstone – Manville to Albion, Charles – Medfield to Natick, Wood/Pawcatuck – Alton to Bradford, Sudbury/Concord – Lincoln to Bedford, Quinebaug – Danielson to Canterbury (low water)
• September - Quinebaug – Danielson to Canterbury (high water), Millers – Athol to Royalston, Quinebaug – East Brimfield Lake to Holland Pond, Wickford Harbor
• October - Housatonic – Sheffield to Falls Village, Blackstone Gorge
• November - Wallum Lake – RICKA Turkey Paddle, Charles River Lakes Region
• December - River Island Park, Blackstone - Albion to Manville, Martin Street Bridge

Here is my favorite trips video from RICKA Movie Night.


Favorite Trips 2021 from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

I paddled almost every day of my summer vacation on Great Island, including a RICKA trip during the Blessing of the Fleet in Galilee.


South County Vacation from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo. 

I did get out for a spring camping trip with Bill and Earl on Umbagog Lake.


Camping on Umbagog Lake from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo. 

In the fall we used Taconic State Park as the base camp for day trips on the Housatonic from Sheffield to Falls Village.

Housatonic Foliage Weekend from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo. 

Hiking at Noanet Woods

I did a few hikes, but COVID put a bit of a damper on that as well. The year ended with a nice hike at the Hodges Village Dam.

• Noanet Woods
• Diamond Hill
• Wachusett Meadows
• Rocky Narrows
• Hodges Village Dam

With COVID, my resolutions for 2021 were more aspirational than realistic. I did get vaccinated as soon as possible, and I did do some camping. I didn’t take a whitewater class, get back to the Dead or practice rolling. 

Turkey Paddle at Wallum Lake

In terms of resolutions for 2022, they are a lot like 2021.

• Do some paddling in southern Maine - I got the perfect paddling guide from Justin for Christmas.
• Keep camping - hopefully the Allagash in the spring, and I would love to do a guided trip on the St. Croix.  Who knows, maybe Michelle and I could get out with the new sleeping pad that I got from Justin for Christmas.
• Paddle more whitewater – I’m still feeling rusty, especially with the new boat.
• Get back to the Dead – always a great trip
• Practice rolling – I’ll keep including it until I do it

Fortunately, there are still plenty of rivers to paddle, plenty of trails to hike, and plenty of places to go camping. Happy New Year everyone

Hodges Village Dam - December 31, 2021

Where are we?

Instead of paddling, I ended 2021 with a 5-mile hike at the Hodges Village Dam in Uxbridge on what All Trails calls the Hodges Dam West Loop.

The Hodges Village Dam was built by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1959 in response to flooding in 1936 and 1955 which caused considerable damage downstream in CT. The site includes 1,200 acres along the French River with over 18-miles of hiking trails. A pool is impounded behind the dam only during flood control activities.  

The three amigos

We started at the Hodges Village Dam OHV Parking Lot off Clara Barton Road in Uxbridge. We headed south on the OHV trails along the French River before crossing over and heading back along the Midstate Trail and over Rocky Hill. 

Some of the trails were a little soggy, but we also got to see some pretty waterfalls along usually dry streams as we hiked the Midstate Trail. Nice way to end 2021 - now I'm ready to start 2022.

Waterfalls on the Midstate Trail

Links:

My Pictures

Midstate Trail
Hodges Village Dam

Day after Christmas - Martin Street Bridge - December 26, 2021

Christmas is always a time when I get some new paddling gear. This year I go a new liner for my drysuit from Mom, some nice fleece socks from Michelle and a paddling guide for southern Maine from Justin along with a double camping pad for base camping. I went to try out my new drysuit liner and socks down at the Martin Street Bridge today - they worked great. No snow, and not very cold, but still a winter wonderland in my mind. 

 

Martin Street Bridge from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Albion to Manville - One Year Later - December 19, 2021

Albion Dam

It will be a year tomorrow since my father’s passing. Coronavirus has upset our lives in so many ways, but none more than in the people it has taken from us. I often heard people say of their loved ones “I think of them every day”, and wondered how that could be true. It is true – I think of him every day.

It was spring 1987 when my father bought his first canoe - a Wenonah Spirit II. It was sometime early that summer when we did our first trip together – Albion to Manville on the Blackstone. This was long before the bike path was built. We put-in on the mill trench across the street from the Albion Mill and paddled upstream to the Manville Dam. I remember wondering about the concrete piers in the river, and my father worrying about scratching his new boat in the shallow, rocky water below the Manville Dam.

Manville Dam

Little did I know on that trip how many times I would end up paddling this section of the Blackstone, or how much I would enjoy boating later in my life. This was just a nice summer trip out on the river with my dad. I paddled this section last year on the day he passed, and it was cold and raw. It was cold and raw again today, but still good to be out on the water. 

Rest in peace Dad - thinking of you always.

Links:

My Pictures

River Island Park - December 5, 2021

Take-out below the power lines

It has been a while since I’ve had my whitewater boat out, so I took it out yesterday down at River Island Park. This has been my go-to park-and-play spot for as long as I have been paddling. The river was at an easy level – 2 feet, 600 cfs on the Woonsocket gage.

I put in behind the Bandstand at River Island Park and warmed up with some ferries in the quickwater before checking out the pour-over on the other side of the island. Underneath the Bernon Street Bridge are the remnants of the old Bernon Dam. There were some nice easy waves, so I surfed for a while. The section just below Bernon Street was boney, so I skipped it and paddled past the Bernon Mills to the Court Street Bridge.

Portage back to the car

I skipped the small waves directly above the Court Street Bridge and eddied out from the right behind the big rock in the center of the river. From there it is easy to move out on to the surf wave below the bridge. Downstream from the Court Street Bridge but before the Providence & Worcester Railroad Bridge is big ledge in the middle of the river. At most water levels, it just creates a big eddy that I usually catch from the right. I also caught some of the easy surf waves on the left.

Below the railroad bridge it is mostly quickwater with a couple surf spots. The best is created by a pipe running across the river. I eddied out behind the rocks and spent a little time shedding back and forth across the wave at the pipe. I paddled backwards down the boney rapid below the powerlines before lugging my boat up the flood control levee for portage back to my car.

Links:

Woonsocket Gage