Open Boat, Moving Water - A Paddler's Journal

Six Bridges – the Assabet River through Maynard – January 28, 2012

2012-01-28T20:41:00.013-05:00

It was an absolutely beautiful day, so Andy and I decided to check out the class I/II section of the Assabet that runs through the old mill town of Maynard. We put-in off Taft Road just below the Ben Smith Dam. The river was as a nice level – 4', 600 cfs on Maynard gage.

We surfed the waves below the dam before heading downstream. Six bridges cross this 1½ mile section of the Assabet as it flows through downtown Maynard.

Great Road Bridge – ran to the right through a 2’ drop
Mill Street Bridge – ran through the center, but the right arch is also an option
Florida Road Bridge – flatwater under the bridge, but there are some nice waves just downstream
Main Street Bridge – some easy waves leading up to it, but it can be run anywhere
Walnut Street Bridge – fast moving current under the bridges pushes right, some nice wave below the bridge
Acton Street Bridge – ran in the middle since the left and right arches were blocked by construction steel

The river also runs by a collection of restored mill buildings now known as Clock Tower Place. At one time, this was the world headquarters of computer pioneer Digital Equipment Corporation.

We took out at the Elks Hall on Route 62 and shuttled back to Taft Road for another run. Good time, but I wouldn’t want to run it any lower.

Andy running the drop below the Great Road Bridge

Links:
My Pictures
River Description from American Whitewater
Maynard Gage

Lonsdale Drive-in Part 2 – Muskrats on the Blackstone - January 14, 2012

2012-01-14T18:27:00.005-05:00

The Muskrats - Erik, Cheryl, Frank, Jim and Kent

I was back at the Lonsdale Drive-in today to paddle with a small group from RICKA - Jim called us the Muskrats. The day was bright and sunny and the temperature was around 33°, but it seemed colder because of the wind.

When I arrived at the put-in, Cheryl, Kent, Frank and Jim were already there. I got my gear on quickly and we headed down to the river. Last week I noticed a lot of trash in the area, so today I brought a trash bag and picked it all up. Suasco Al – the Trash Paddler – has become a good influence on me.

Frank breaks the ice

Last week, I paddled upstream to the Pratt Dam. Today we decided to paddle downstream into the Valley Falls Pond. It was a pleasant trip down with the wind to our backs. I knew it would be a different story on the way back up.

We paddled across the Valley Falls Pond to explore some of the coves on the far side. Frank was our icebreaker as we entered the first cove on the Valley Falls side. The ice was about ¼ inch thick.

Cheryl, Jim and the swans

We headed back out and paddled over to a cove on the Cumberland side. Once again, Frank led the way through the ice. This time we ended up in a small ice-free pond along with two mute swans. They weren’t very happy to see us, but we left them alone, and they did the same.

We headed back out and began to paddle back to the put-in. With the wind and current against us, it was a tougher trip. We stopped about half way up for a warm drink, and then paddled on. We had talked about paddling a little further up stream, but everyone decided to call it a day while we were still warm.

Heading back - Cadillac Mill and Cumberland City Hall in the background

Links:
My Pictures

Blackstone - Lonsdale Drive-in to the Pratt Dam - January 7, 2011

2012-01-08T06:58:00.001-05:00

We almost hit a record yesterday. The high was 61° in Providence - just 1°off the record high for the day of 62°. I had a bunch of stuff to do, but I was able to get out for a couple of hours in the late afternoon. I did the section of the Blackstone from the Lonsdale Drive-in to the Pratt Dam. The water was really moving, but there were no signs of ice.

Willimantic – January 2, 2012

2012-01-02T19:54:00.017-05:00

Heading downstream

I started off 2012 on a river that I haven’t paddled in several years – the Willimantic. I pass this river frequently on my way out to the Farmington, but the last time I ran it was with RICKA in April 2007. It was great to paddle it again today.

The Willimantic River is located in northeast CT and flows south along Rt. 32 from Stafford Springs to Willimantic where it joins the Natchaug River to form the Shetucket River. It takes its name from a section just upstream from its confluence with the Natchaug where the river drops of ninety feet in a mile. This section was named "Wilimentuck" (land of swiftly moving waters) by the Native Americans who fished there. Almost the entire river (24 miles) can be paddled, except for the dammed section in the city of Willimantic, which has been proposed as a future whitewater park.

A typical section of quickwater

We had a nice group of paddlers - two canoes (Erik and Tommy) and five kayaks (Earl, Frank, Al, Brian and Natalie). We met and Nye-Holman State Park at 10:00 to run the section from Plains Road to Merrow Road - about 8 miles. After running the shuttle, we got on the river around 11:00. The level was OK – 4.2’, 400 cfs on the Coventry gage. This is a fun level, but just about the minimum for a fluid run. We had to be careful not to get hung up on the many rocks lurking just below the surface. It would have been a great level for poling.

The river starts off narrow and rocky as it twists and turns through a pretty hemlock forest. Small riffles and easy rapids alternate with quickwater for most of the run. Below the Nye-Holman State Park (where we stopped for lunch) the river widens out, but is still shallow. There are a couple of easy surf waves below the Route 195 Bridge, and we did our best to take advantage of them. We arrived at the take out at Merrow Road at around 3:00. Nice run – great way to start off the new year.

Surfing a wave below the Route 195 Bridge

Links:
My Pictures
Al's blog entry from Trash Paddler
Paddling on the Willimantic from the Willimantic River Alliance
April 2007 RICKA Trip on the Willimantic
Coventry Gage

2011 - Year-end Review

2011-12-31T18:36:00.018-05:00

For me, 2011 was another great year for paddling. I try to do at least one big trip each month, and here are some of the more significant ones:

January – New Year’s run on Fife Brook
February – Crystal section of the Farmington
March – Otter Brook
April – Quinapoxet, Quninsigamond
May – Knightville section of the Westfield, Quaboag
June – Sudbury
July – Fife Brook again
August – Easy Whitewater Trip in the Lower Deerfield
September – Lower Millers
November – Nashua, Lower Millers again
December – Crystal again, Plummers Landing, Clear and Branch, Assabet

With last winter’s snow, I was also able to get in a little snowshoeing in 2011:

I added a few new videos to my collection of Blackstone River videos. I now have the river pretty much covered from Riverbend Farm in Uxbridge down to the Slater Mill in Pawtucket. I also included a couple of sections of the Clear/Branch Rivers.

I had a great vacation in Narragansett – my first attempts at ocean paddling.

As for last year’s resolutions, I did OK. I did get out to paddle with SuAsCo Al – three times in fact:

I still need to work on my C1 rolling, and I need to do some overnight camping trips. It’s good to have some goals for next year.

Overall it was another great year, and there are still plenty of rivers I would like to paddle. Happy New Year everyone.

Assabet - Acton to Concord - December 31, 2011

2011-12-31T17:06:00.004-05:00

Al running the broken dam

As 2011 came to a close, I got out for one last run with Al, Tommy and Jeff on the Assabet River. We ran the section from the Acton to Concord. The level was great - 3’, 300 cfs on the Maynard gage.

On the way to the put-in, I checked out the class II section of the Assabet that runs through Maynard. It starts below the Ben Smith Dam just upstream of where Route 117 splits off of Route 62. There are a few features by the big clock in Maynard center (Walnut St.). The last bit and the gage can be seen from the parking lot where the river goes under Routes 62 and 27. The take out is at the Elks Hall on Route 62. Minimum lever for running this is 250 cfs. It looked fun at 300 cfs. It's a short run, maybe a mile. The Boston AMC use to do their Spring Ice Breaker run here.

Tommy practicing peal-outs

We put in at the Acton Canoe Launch which is on Route 62 (Powder Mill Road) near Moscarriello's Equipment and the intersection with High Street. The day was cloudy and damp, but it never rained. It was colder than I expected, and we found 1/2 inch thick ice on some of the standing water.

The river starts off as flatwater with the occasional riffle until we reached the broken dam at Damondale. This is a class I drop with a big big rock in the middle and a big eddy on river left. Jeff and I ran it first followed by Tommy and Al. Everyone made it through without difficulty.

Approaching the Old North Bridge

We continued downstream passing by the Leaning Hemlocks and the Memorial to George Bartlett (who arranged many outings on the SuAsCo rivers in the 19th century) before reaching Egg Rock where the Assabet River converges with the Sudbury River to form the Concord River. We paddled up to the Minute Man National Historic Park before taking out at the Calf Pasture on Lowell Road in Concord. Great day.

Links:
My Pictures
Al's Trash Paddler blog entry
Assabet River Gage in Maynard
Minute Man National Historic Park

Upper Nipmuc - December 28, 2011

2011-12-28T21:16:00.009-05:00

I got an early morning call from Paul today looking to run the Upper Nipmuc. Level was about 4.25' - just about the minimum for this trip. Paul says that 4.5' is better. We put in at the Round Top Fishing Area off Brook Road in Harrisville and took out at the gage behind Paul's house. We could have continued down all the way to the Harrisville Fishing Area on the Clear River (Sherman Farm Road - Rt. 96). Paddled over three beaver dams. Portaged around six blow-downs. Very pretty little river - great run.

Links:
Fishing Areas and Boat Launches in the Town of Burrillville

Crystal Section of the Farmington - December 22, 2011

2011-12-24T04:00:00.005-05:00

Scott

It’s been a while since I paddled with my good friends Matt and Scott, so I made it a point to get together with them yesterday to paddle the Crystal section of the Farmington River.

Over the years, I’ve made this trip many times. I did my first trip with Matt and Scott on the Riverton section of the Farmington in November 2006. Since then, we’ve done many runs on the Riverton and Crystal sections, and many park and play sessions at Satan’s Kingdom.

Matt

The drive to the Farmington takes about an hour and a half (Rt. 6, to Rt. 101, to Rt. 44, to Rt. 74 to Rt. 84, to Rt. 4, to Rt. 179). It always amazes me how many great river there are along this route. About a half hour away is the Quinebaug River. I pass right by the canoe launch in Dayville which is the take-out for the run from Putnam. About 45 minutes away is the Natchaug off Rt. 198. In addition to Diana’s Pool, there is also a nice poling run through the Natchaug State Forest. Finally, about an hour away is the Willimantic – a fun quickwater run. It’s been a while since I have paddled any of these rivers.

It was poring rain as I left Rhode Island, but the sun was out by the time I passed through Hartford. I met Matt, Scott and Charlie at the ball fields off Wannowmassa Lane around 10:30. We ran the shuttle and were on the water by 11:00. With the rain the previous night, the river was at a great level – 1,800 cfs on the Unionville gage. Air temperature was is the mid-40’s. Water temperature was 43°.

Erik

We put-in off Rt. 179 near Collinsville. In the snow, there is a great seal launch hill here, but nobody tried it yesterday. The run is about 5-miles long and includes a series of class II drops and pools – nothing difficult, but lots of great places to play. The first major rapid is the Crystal Rapid which is the site of an annual spring slalom race. Its about a quarter mile long and terminates in a nice surf wave. Below Crystal is the ledge at the Rt. 4 Bridge. In lower water, this ledge is run on the right. Yesterday there was enough water to run the ledge on the left. After a short section of flatwater comes the Boateater Rapid – a long series of standing waves which is run to the right.

The run took us about 3 ½ hours and included two swims – not bad for us. I swam at the bottom of Boateater trying to find a place to take a picture. The other swimmer will remain nameless, but he knows who he is.

Surfing below the Crystal Rapid

Links:
My Pictures

Paddling in a Winter Wonderland

2011-12-20T10:15:00.008-05:00

Wind is down, are you listenin’

River's free, no ice glistenin’

It’s a beautiful day, let's get out and play

Paddling in a winter wonderland

Drifting off, with the flurries.
We sing this short song, as we go along
Paddling in a winter wonderland

On the river we watch the snow fall
And bend in folds and twists as we go by
High up in a tree we hear a crow call
And overhead we see an eagle fly

Later on we’ll conspire
And wrap gifts by our fire
But now we’re outside, riding the tide
Paddling in a winter wonderland.

Saw this poem at the PenobscotPaddles blog, and had to save it for next year.Gone away are our worries

A Paddler’s “Night Before Christmas”

2011-12-20T09:49:00.025-05:00

T’was the night before Christmas and out on the water,

Not a creature was stirring, not even an otter.

The dry bags were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas would drop paddling stuff there.

When out on the river there arose such a splatter,

I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.

The moon on the water looked the whiteness of snow,

It shone like mid-day on the river below.

When what to my wondering eyes did appear,

But a big red canoe without a single reindeer.

But a spry old paddler, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

Off the river and into the air he did fly,

In a beautiful silhouette against the night sky.

And then from the rooftop there came a great sound,

The sound of a canoe running aground.

As I grimaced at the noise thinking there must be a hole,

Down the chimney came St. Nick and he snapped up with a roll.

He was dressed in a drysuit from his head to his foot,

And the gortex was tarnished with ashes and soot.

But his eyes how they twinkled! His dimples how merry!

As he stopped for a swig of his Sailor Jerry.

He was a happy ol' paddler, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him in spite of myself.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

After filling the drybags he turned with a jerk.

Then laying a finger aside of his nose,

A brace he did do and up the chimney he rose.

He sprang into his canoe and with a blow of his whistle,

He shot off the roof like water-borne missile.

And I heard him exclaim, as he paddled out of sight,

“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night”.

Based on a Kayaker's Night Before Christmas by Terry Gowler, Mount Vernon, WA

Blacskstone River - Plummers Landing to Route 16 - December 12, 2011

2011-12-12T15:38:00.012-05:00

Rice City Dam and the Hartford Avenue Bridge

I’m trying to use up the last of my vacation time, so I was glad when Paul said he would be able to paddle this morning. We decided to paddle the Blackstone from Plummers Landing (Church Street in Northbridge) the Stanley Woolen Mill (Route 16 in Uxbridge).

We met at the take out on Route 16 across from the Stanley Woolen Mill at 9:00 and ran the shuttle. It was a nice sunny day, but a little cool. There was a thin layer of ice on the Blackstone Canal, and an occasional icicle on the river - winter is coming. The river was at a nice level – 4.5 feet, 600 cfs. on the Northbridge gage.

At this level, this trip is mostly quickwater with some flatwater through the Rice City Pond and one portage around the Rice City Dam at Hartford Avenue. We cruised downstream with little effort allowing the current to do most of the work and having a good time maneuvering though the frequent “S” turns.

We finished up around 11:00 – just in time for me to get to the Museum of Work and Culture for rehearsal.

At the put-in at Plummers Landing

Links:
My Pictures
Blackstone River Gage at Northbridge
Plummers Landing from the BRVNHC
River Bend Farm from the BRVNHC

Blackstone River Videos

2011-12-04T06:21:00.004-05:00

This year, I added a few new videos to my collection of Blackstone River videos. I now have the river pretty much covered from Riverbend Farm in Uxbridge down to the Slater Mill in Pawtucket. I also included a couple of sections of the Clear/Branch Rivers. Anyway, here they are:

Riverbend Farm – Canal/River Loop (new)
Uxbridge – includes Rice City Pond, Goat Hill Lock and the Stanley Woolen Mill
http://vimeo.com/25340897

Route 16 to the Blackstone Gorge
Uxbridge, Millville and Blackstone – mostly the Millville Rapid
http://www.vimeo.com/12182627

Blackstone Gorge to the Millville Rapid (new)
Blackstone and Millville – includes the Millville Lock and the Triad Bridge
http://vimeo.com/25607298

Blackstone Gorge (new)
Blackstone – no narration, just views of the rapids
http://vimeo.com/20446912

Canal Street to the Blackstone Gorge
Blackstone and North Smithfield – includes the Branch River
http://www.vimeo.com/13609047

Branch River (new)
Forestdale to Slatersville – includes the Slatersville Mills
http://vimeo.com/25907741

Branch River
Harrisville to Slatersville – whitewater paddling
http://vimeo.com/8208159

Saint Paul Street to Canal Street
Blackstone - Poling
http://www.vimeo.com/12702312

Cold Spring Park to the Woonsocket Falls (new)
Woonsocket – paddling in the rain
http://vimeo.com/27409569

River Island Park and the Woonsocket Falls
Woonsocket - Poling
http://www.vimeo.com/13968407

Manville Dam
Cumberland and Lincoln
http://www.vimeo.com/12515578

Albion to Ashton (new)
Cumberland and Lincoln
http://vimeo.com/26225004

Canal River Loop – Lonsdale to Ashton (new)
Lincoln – includes Blackstone Canal and Ashton Dam
http://vimeo.com/22232656

Lonsdale to Manville
Cumberland and Lincoln through Ashton and Albion
http://www.vimeo.com/11954675

Valley Falls to Lonsdale
Cumberland and Lincoln
http://www.vimeo.com/15111785

Valley Falls to the Slater Mill
Cumberland, Central Falls and Pawtucket
http://www.vimeo.com/13233037

I still need to get the upper sections of the Blackstone from Worcester down to Uxbridge – maybe next year.

Sure beats working - Clear and Branch Rivers – December 2, 2011

2011-12-03T06:27:00.003-05:00

Paul below the Harrisville Dam

It’s been a beautiful week, and I have some vacation time that I need to use, so I sent an email to Paul to see if he would be interested in an afternoon paddle. We ended up on the Clear/Branch River yesterday.

The Clear/Branch is a fun run that I haven’t done in a couple of years. It’s about 7.5 miles with a little bit of everything – a lot of flatwater, some quickwater and a couple of easy rapids. It’s the only river in Rhode Island listed in American Whitewater.

Erik below the Whipple Drop

It was sunny and warm when we got on the river at around 1:00 in the afternoon. The river level was 3.5 feet, 300 cfs. on the Forestdale gage - OK, but another foot of water would have been better. We put in below the dam in Harrisville at the East Avenue Bridge (Route 107). The first rapid is directly below the bridge where two rows of boulders make for a difficult line through a small drop. We both took the bumpy route, but made it through fine, and headed downstream.

After about a short section of pleasant flatwater, we came to the next rapid – Whipple Drop. This is an old broken dam that creates about a 2-foot drop with a large rock just downstream. In high water, the current tends to sweep boats into this rock. At yesterday’s level it was an easy run just left of center. We played in the waves for a little while before continuing downstream.

Old Oakland Mill

After a couple miles of easy flatwater, we came to the first portage at the Oakland Dam. Remnants of the old Oakland Mill still stand on the left. We portaged on the right. Below the Oakland Dam, the river is mostly quickwater.

About a mile downstream we came to the Glendale Rapid. In high water, this is a rocky class II rapid. At yesterday’s level, it was boney, but not particularly difficult. I got hung up on a rock in the middle, got swung around, and finished the rest of the rapid backwards. Paul made a clean run down the middle.

Paul below Atlas Pallet

We played in the waves below the Glendale Rapid and enjoyed about a mile of quickwater before coming to the next rapid – the broken dam at Atlas Pallet. This is a short class II rapid with a couple of large boulders to avoid, and some easy surf waves at the bottom. We both ran the rapid clean, and after surfing in the waves, headed back downstream.

We portaged the Nasonville dam on the right and paddled the easy flatwater down to the take out off Nasonville Road. By this time, the sun was low in the sky, and both of us were starting to get cold. I blasted the heat as I shuttled Paul back to his car. Another great day.

Links:
My Pictures
River description from American Whitewater
Branch River Gage at Forestdale

Day after Turkey Paddle – Lower Millers – November 25, 2011

2011-11-26T07:11:00.004-05:00

After eating way too much on Thanksgiving, it was good to get out yesterday to burn off some calories. We ran the lower section of the Millers River in Erving, MA – 2 canoes (Ed and Erik) and 3 kayaks (Andy, Brian and Glenn).

This was my second time on the Lower Millers, and it is a great run. The river was at 4.3 feet which turned out to be a nice level - nothing technical, just lots of long wave trains. The most difficult rapid on this section is called the Funnel, and we looked at it long and hard before we decided to carry. The holes weren't as big as last time (4.7 feet), but there were a lot more rocks exposed. I swam this rapid last time, and had to hike downstream about a half mile to recover my boat. I didn’t want to do that again.

Surfing a wave below the Funnel

Links:
My Pictures
My Video
Erving Gage

Nipmuc River - November 20, 2011

2011-11-20T17:13:00.008-05:00

I had hoped to do the Branch River today, but it didn’t work out, so I headed up to the fishing area in Harrisville to paddle the Nipmuc River. I’ve done this trip several times before, so I knew there would be beaver dams and downed trees. The river was at 3.7 feet, 30 cfs. - not a bad level.

As I approached the first beaver dam I could see it was in great shape. It had a fresh layer of sticks and mud, and was holding back 2 to 3 feet of water. The beaver lodge just up stream also had a fresh layer of sticks and mud, and had a large collection of sticks nearby – perfect for a winter snack. The beavers had been busy.

I paddled upstream, thought the fields and into the marshy woods. This is where we usually end up turning back due to fallen trees, but I decided to keep going upstream. I paddled around a couple fallen trees, and had to get out and carry over a few more.

I continued upstream to the USGS gage where the river enters a beautiful hemlock forest. The river was shallow, and eventually, I had to get out and walk. I walked upstream another mile, wading around boulders and up several small rocky drops. It was beautiful, but unfortunately, I forgot my camera back at the car.

I’d definitely like to do a run down this section of the river when there is more water. Paul says that the put in is off Brook Road in Burrillville and that it is good above 4.5 feet.

Links:
Nipmuc River Gage near Harrisville

Nashua River - November 6, 2011

2011-11-07T04:46:00.003-05:00

Had a good time yesterday on the North Branch of the Nashua River. We had 7 boats – 5 canoes (Tommy, Mike, Jim, Doug and Jeff) and 2 kayaks (Bill and Scott). I brought my poling boat, but ended up paddling tandem with Jeff in his Appalachian.

It was the first time for me on the Nashua River. We paddled the section from Leominster (Searstown Mall – Rt. 2 and Rt. 13) to the Lancaster (Ponakin Bridge - Rt. 70 in Lancaster just north of Rt. 117). The river was at a nice level – 380 cfs, almost 4 ft on the Leominster gage. This section of the river is especially nice where it runs through the Johnny Apple Seed State Park and the Lancaster State Forest. It is mostly flatwater with some quickwater and a couple of broken dams. The first broken dam was probably a class II yesterday with a 3-foot drop into a large hole at the bottom.

The second at the power lines was probably class I with a nice surfwave.

Captain Mike at the Power Lines

Links:
My video
My pictures
Tommy’s pictures
Doug’s pictures
Scott’s video
North Nashua River Gage near Leominster, MA

Lower Millers - September 11, 2011

2011-09-12T05:43:00.012-04:00

Had a great time yesterday on the Lower Millers in Erving, MA. We had 8 boats – 3 canoes, 4 kayaks and one cataraft (cool boat).

Seth in his cataraft

I've done the upper section of the Millers a couple of times in the past, but this was my first run on the Lower Millers. The Upper Millers is very different – not as continuous with lots of rocks to dodge. The Lower Millers is mostly long wave trains. I’d rate the lower section as a class II+ (maybe III in places) with the exception of the Funnel which I’d definitely rate a class IV.

We put in at Arch Street and took out off Dorsey Road (under Route 2) in Erving. The river was at a great level – 4.7 ft, 2,000 cfs on the Erving gage. The wave trains seemed to go on forever – long runs with short sections of quickwater in between.

Paul in the Farley Flats

This section starts with easy rapids as the river runs along Route 2 through the Farley Flats. As the river leaves Route 2, we ran a series of progressively more difficult rapids leading to the Funnel.

The Funnel is by far the most difficult rapid on this stretch of the river – easily a grade above everything else. Paul, Tim and Alan had all run this section before, but none of them was quite sure where the Funnel began, so we unexpectedly entered it without scouting – big mistake.

Middle section of the Funnel -
I hit the rock on the lower right

Tim went first, followed by Seth in his cataraft. I went third. I was told to stay to the left to avoid a strainer that we thought would be on the right side. As I followed Seth into the rapid the river narrowed and the gradient increased dramatically. I saw Seth disappear into a huge hole and thrust himself out the other side – his huge cataraft must have been 6 feet in the air. I knew I was in trouble.

Since I was running down the left side I missed the huge hole in the center, but ran head on into a large rock on the left side. I tried to grab my boat, but lost it as we went over the huge pore-over at the bottom of the rapid.

Andy near Millers Falls

I got to shore easily, but watched as my boat disappeared downstream. Fortunately, Paul was able to chase it down and push it ashore about a quarter mile downstream. Of eight boats, we had five swimmers in the Funnel. Alan flipped and broke his paddle trying to roll. Jeff flipped in the middle, but was able to self-rescue. Andy and Ed were helped ashore by Tim and Seth.

The rest of the trip was uneventful as we enjoyed the wave trains down to Millers Falls, and the quickwater below that to Dorsey Road. Another great day.

Links:
My Pictures
Erving Gage
Lower Millers from American Whitewater

Slatersville Reservoir - August 16, 2011

2011-08-16T06:04:00.004-04:00

Had a nice night with the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club at the Slatersville Reservoir.

This reservoir was originally the power source for the Slatersville Mill Village just downstream. The first dam was built on this site around 1807. Eventually, a complex system of three dams was built to contain the 140-acre Slatersville Reservoir.

We put in at the state boat ramp off Route 102 and paddled to the southwest end of the reservoir. While there are houses on the east side of the reservoir, the west side is largely wooded with tall spruce trees – it looks like we could be in Maine. With all the recent rain, we were able to paddle up the Branch River as far as the Route 7 bridge.

Looking back in my old pictures, I remembered that this was the first trip that I did with the Rhode Island Canoe & Kayak Association back in 2004 with my daughter Julie. Thanks to Cheryl for snapping this picture.

Paddling on the Slatersville Reservoir in 2004 with my daughter Julie

Links
Slatersville from Woonsocket.org
Cheryl's pictures

"Easy" Whitwater on the Lower Deerfield - August 14, 2011

2011-08-15T19:03:00.007-04:00

When it comes to cancelling a trip for bad weather, it’s often a crap shoot. Do you run the trip and hope for the best, or cancel? I usually run the trip. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. Fortunately, it worked out yesterday.

Approaching the first rapid

Once each summer, RICKA runs and “easy” whitewater trip for experience flatwater paddlers on the lower Deerfield River. We usually run the section from the Zoar Picnic Area down to the Charlemont Academy – about 7 miles. It’s a pretty section of river with lots of quickwater and a couple of easy class I/II rapids.

The forecast called for rain with a chance of thunderstorms. Rain doesn’t bother me, but thunderstorms sure do. It’s a 2 ½ hour drive out to the Deerfield. Driving all that way only to have the trip cancelled because of the weather would be a real bummer. I called Andy, and we decided to run the trip anyway. We did have a couple of people cancel, but that's understandable.

Andy

When I arrived at the put in at around 12:30, everyone was already there. We had 10 boats – 1 canoe (guess who) and 9 kayaks. We ran the shuttle, did a short safety talk, and got on the water around 2:00 - 3 hours after the start of the 850 cfs release from Fife Brook Dam upstream.

Most of the class I/II rapids come early in the trip. There are three rapids in quick succession just downstream from the put in. All three can be run easily straight down the middle. By the time we completed the third rapid, everyone was feeling comfortable, so we stopped at a wave to do some surfing.

Surf city

For the next few miles, the river is mostly quickwater with a few easy riffles. We spread out and enjoyed the views as we approached the last major rapid. Everyone made it through without difficulty and we paddled the last mile to the take out.

As it turned out, the predicted thunderstorms stayed well to the south. Except for a short sprinkle, it didn’t even rain while we were on the water. It turned out to be a great day on a beautiful river – lucky for us.

Happy Erik

Links:
My pictures
Mike V's pictures
Susan's pictures

Cold Spring Park - August 7, 2011

2011-08-07T16:34:00.002-04:00

I was out this morning in the poring rain paddling the section of the Blackstsone River from Cold Spring Park the the Woonsocket Falls Dam. Not a particularly scenic section of the river, but there is a lot of history.

Second time’s the charm – August 2, 2011

2011-08-03T05:01:00.003-04:00

At least it was last night at the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club trip at Wallum Lake. We weren’t on the water more than 15 minutes when we heard thunder in the distance. By the time everyone got off the water, the rain started. At times, there were torrential downpours.

Some people packed up their boats and called it a night, but the rest of us hung out under whatever cover we could find – trees, the small shelter by the boat ramp, Louise’s umbrella – as we waited for the storm to pass. It did fairly quickly.

By 7:00 (a half hour after we heard the last thunder) we were back on the water. We got caught in one last downpour before the sky cleared and the dark storm clouds were replaced with big puffy clouds. The sunset was beautiful.

It could have been one of the shortest trips in paddle club history. Instead, it turned out to be a nice night on the water. Just goes to show you – good things come to those who wait.

Links:
My pictures

It must be summer because I went poling – July 31, 2011

2011-07-31T14:27:00.008-04:00

The Blackstone has reached its summer level (1 foot, 150 cfs) so I decided to go down to Rivers Edge Park and pole up to River Island Park. There are five drops along the way – the power lines, the railroad bridge, the Court Street Bridge, the Bernon Bridge and River Island Park - but they don't look like much at this level. I made it up to the Woonsocket Falls without too much difficulty. Back to work tomorrow.

Woonsocket Falls through the South Main Street Bridge

Links:
My pictures
August 21, 2010 Poling Trip on the same section
May 30, 2010 Poling Trip on the same section

Upper Point Judith Pond – July 29, 2011

2011-07-29T20:30:00.003-04:00

This morning was cloudy with a little drizzle, but I was up early to paddle the Upper Point Judith Pond.

I put in at the boat ramp at Marina Bay and paddled around the west side of the pond toward Short Point and Harbor Island. As I rounded the end of Harbor Island, the wind picked up. It was my intention to paddle down to Ram Island, but I decided against it. This was my last day of vacation, and I didn’t want to work that hard.

Six days paddling – all on salt water. It’s has been a great vacation.

Links:
My pictures

Back to Pier 5 – July 28, 2011

2011-07-28T19:54:00.016-04:00

Since a thunderstorm interrupted my attempt last Sunday, I headed back to Pier 5 (South Pier) this morning. I launched at around 6:00 from the State Boat Ramp and paddled south toward Indian Rock.

Summer cotages

It was high tide with 1 to 2 foot swells. I stayed outside the break zone and enjoyed the view of Ocean Road’s turn-of-the-century summer cottages sitting high above Narragansett’s rocky shore.

I had hoped to do some surfing, but the waves were breaking too close to shore, so I snapped a few pictures and headed back to the boat ramp.

My canoe at the boat ramp

Links:
My pictures
My website on Narragansett

Around Great Island – July 27, 2011

2011-07-27T19:52:00.001-04:00

I got up early and headed over to the Galilee Boat Ramp to paddle around Great Island in the Great Salt Pond. It was high tide as I arrived, and lots of power boats were putting in at the boat ramp as well.

Charter boats in Galilee

I stayed out of the traffic and paddled over toward Snug Harbor. From there, I got some great views of the fishing boats in Galilee, the Breachway, and the lighthouse at Snug Harbor. As I headed up the west side of Great Island, the wind was in my face kicking up small waves, but it was still easy going.

I paddled round the tip of Great Island, and pulled my boat out on to Ram Island to enjoy the view. As I paddled down the east side of Great Island into Bluff Cove the wind died down. There were lots of houses along the shore, and I was surprised that no one was out to enjoy this beautiful morning.

Lighthouse at Snug Harbor

Links:
My pictures
My website on Galilee

Harbor of Refuge – July 26, 2011

2011-07-26T19:19:00.008-04:00

This morning I decided to put in at Camp Cronin and paddle around the Harbor of Refuge in Galilee. Construction of the harbor's seawall began in 1890, but wasn’t completed until 1914. It protects the Salt Pond Breachway and the Port of Galilee.

Cormorants on the seawall

There were a couple of fishermen on the east jetty, but otherwise everything was quiet. I was able to get a couple of pictures of the Point Judith Light (c. 1817/1857). It is now part of the Point Judith Coast Guard Station.

I put in around 6:30 at what appeared to be high tide. As I paddled into the passage between the east and center jetties, I was surprised how much bigger the waves became. Fortunately, my canoe handled the swells well, and I was soon behind the center jetty.

Break in the seawall

The center jetty was in much worse condition than the east or west. Huge boulders were pushed aside leaving large gaps in the seawall. I can’t imagine the power of the water that moved those rocks. As I paddled by, hundreds of cormorants and other shore birds rested on the wall, and a couple of sailboats bobbed in the water behind the seawall.

By the time I reached the west jetty, it was past 7:00 and the charter boats were pulling out. These boats created huge wakes as they pulled out of the breachway and sped out to the open water. I bobbed in the waves and waited for the parade to end before crossing the channel near the Salty Brine Beach. From there, it was a pleasant paddle back to Camp Cronin.

The schooner Brilliant moored in the harbor

Links:
My pictures
My website on Galilee

The Narrows – July 25, 2011

2011-07-25T19:00:00.005-04:00

Egrets at Pettaquamscutt Cove

After getting a taste of ocean paddling yesterday, I got up early this morning and headed down to the Narrow River to paddle the Narrows. I put in at the concrete bridge on an outgoing tide. I was amazed at all the shore birds on the river – egrets, herons, cormorants, seagulls, and many others that I couldn’t identify.

As I approached the narrows, I could see a fisherman working the main channel. We exchanged greetings as I worked my way out into the surf. The waves appeared to break twice – once out by the rocks, and again closer to shore. I paddled hard to break through the waves, and filled up my boat in the process - good thing I brought my bailer.

Fisherman in the channel

The waves seemed good, so I decided to try some surfing. I paddled hard to get on an approaching wave, only to catch my bow, get spun broadside and almost flip. Fortunately, a brace into the wave kept me upright.

It would be fun to come here again on one for the RICKA surf/play days.

Early morning waves at Cormorant Point

Links:
My pictures

Sunrise at Pier 5 – July 24, 2011

2011-07-24T18:24:00.021-04:00

Fishermen on the South Pier

I was anxious to try my canoe in the ocean, so I got up early and headed over to Pier 5 (South Pier) in Narragansett. There were lots of fishermen there, and I was lucky to get the last parking spot at State Boat Ramp.

It was just after sunrise, and the sky was streaked with pink and purple. Out on the water, I was paddling through 1 to 2 foot rollers. It was a little disconcerting at first, but my canoe rode the waves nicely. I was no more that a quarter mile out when I saw lightning strike to the north. I knew I didn’t want to be out in a thunderstorm, so I snapped a couple of pictures of the sunrise, and headed back to shore.

Sunrise over Narragansett Bay

The downpour started just as I reached my van. I hung out under the open tailgate as the fishermen scrambled for cover. The rain stopped quickly, but the rumblers continued, so I know that my paddling was over for the morning. I decided to walk up to the Narragansett Pier to get some pictures of the Towers.

The Towers date to 1885 and Narragansett’s glory days as an exclusive summer resort. It was originally attached to the Narragansett Casino – the center of social life in late 19th century Narragansett. The Casino was destroyed by fire in 1900, and only the Towers remain.

The Towers at Narragansett Pier

Links:
My pictures
My Narragansett website

Reconnaissance – July 23, 2011

2011-07-23T17:38:00.011-04:00

It’s vacation week - no gym, no internet. I still wake up early, so after a cup of coffee, I decided to check out some potential paddling spots near our cottage in Narragansett.

Seawall at Camp Cronin

I started close to home at Camp Cronin at the tip of Point Judith. It has great views of the Point Judith Lighthouse and is at the east end of the seawall that forms Galilee’s Harbor of Refuge. From here, I could paddle around Sand Hill Cove, or out to Point Judith.

Next, I headed over to Pier 5 (South Pier). It was low tide and the water looked relatively calm. From here, I could paddle down to the Narragansett Town Beach and get some great views of the Towers.

Marina Bay on Point Judith Pond

Next, I headed up Route 1A to the Narrows. As I walked across the old Concrete Bridge, I was surprised to see Mike and Susan snapping pictures of an osprey nest near the bridge. They would be doing the Narrow River trip with RICKA latter in the morning. From here, I could paddle down the Narrows to the ocean, or up to the Narrow River and into Pettaquamscutt Cove.

My last stop was Great Salt Pond or Point Judith Pond. I could put in at the boat ramp in Galilee and explore the harbor, or put in at the boat ramp at Marina Bay and explore the upper end of the pond.

So many options, so little time.

Point Judith Lighthouse

A Great Summer Day on Fife Brook - July 17, 2011

2011-07-18T05:20:00.005-04:00

Jim running Hangover Helper

Had a great day yesterday on the Fife Brook section of the Deerfield. We had six boats – 3 canoes (Jim, Ed and Erik) and 3 yaks (Andy, Hector and Elaine). Release was 900 cfs which is OK – maybe a little low. Weather was absolutely perfect – sunny and in the high 80’s. Great day for swimming.

We put in at around 11:30 and began working our way downstream. We ran Hangover Helper, and had a good time surfing at Carbis Bend and Freight Train before we stopped for lunch. Racers from the ACA Whitewater Downriver Nations came though after lunch. It wasn’t a big group, but they were moving. We played in Pinball for a while, but then had to pick up the pace after that so we didn’t run out of water.

Elaine at Freight Train

By the time we reached Zoar Gap the river was already down a couple of inches. Three of us took the sneak line to the right, including Elaine who had a great first run through the Gap. Ed blasted down the middle. Only Andy tried the more difficult line to the left. He flipped at the top and a bounced down the rest of the rapid. Oh well – it was a good day to swim.

We took out at around 4:30 – the last group on the river – as usual. I got to paddle a Blackfly Option at the take out. Now that is a cool boat.

That's me running Zoar Gap

Links:
My video
My pictures

Albion to Ashton - July 9, 2011

2011-07-10T06:49:00.000-04:00

I spent a couple of hours yesterday paddling a short, but pretty section of the Blackstone - Albion to Ashton. This section of the river follows the bike path, but has very little development otherwise. I was glad to see that a new put-in with nice granite steps has been installed below the Albion Dam. This will make portages much easier.

Blackstone Gorge with BVPC - July 5, 2011

2011-07-06T04:56:00.004-04:00

I led the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club trip last night at the Blackstone Gorge. We had a good group with 20+ paddlers. It was suppose to be a joint trip with RI Blueways, but no one from Blueways showed up. That’s OK, they still do good work, and have a great website.

The Blackstone is dropping to its summer level with water just barely making it over the Rolling (definitely not Roaring) Dam. The river was 7 feet, 200 cfs on the Rt. 122 gage. I did a short talk on Blackstone Valley history along with the safety talk, and then we headed up stream. I was happy that about half the people actually got out to check out the old Millville Lock, and about a quarter actually made it up to the Millville Rapids. The night ended with ice cream at Sandy’s Softserve in Blackstone. Life if good.

Water trickles over the Rolling Dam

Links:
My Pictures
Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park

RICKA Flatwater Training - July 3, 2011

2011-07-04T06:51:00.002-04:00

We had a nice group yesterday at RICKA's Flatwater Training - 8 students, 5 instructors. As usual, I had the only canoe, but I always make it a point to practice wet exits and recoveries. It took me two attempts to get back in my own boat, but was able to get Tom back in his boat on the first try.

Bill demonstrates a brace

Links:
My Pictures

Branch River - Forestdale to Slatersville - July 2, 2011

2011-07-02T20:19:00.010-04:00

I decided to try something different this morning, so I headed over the Branch River to paddle the section from Forestdale to Slatersville.

1826 Slatersville Mill

I wasn’t sure where to put-in, but as I drove up School Street in Forestdale I saw two guys carrying a boat down the river at the old Forestdale Mill site, so I put-in there. The Forestdale Pond was dotted with white, pink and purple water lilies. Once I got past Village Haven, the river was too shallow (2 ft., 42 cfs) to paddle, so I hiked up the river to Slatersville. I should have brought my poling boat. Across from Village haven would be a good place to put-in for poling.

The Village of Slatersville was established in 1803 and became the model for industrial development in the Blackstone River Valley. Unfortunately, you can’t see much of the village from the river. There are some nice views of the 1826 Mill, the Providence Pike Bridge and the Lower Dam. The short section from Slatersville to Village Haven would be a fun section to paddle in higher water.

Links:
My Pictures
Slatersville from woonsocket.org
Slatersville from nps.gov

Manville Dam – July 1, 2011

2011-07-02T06:22:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was my birthday, which was nice because we got out of work early for the 4th of July weekend. I took my whitewater boat down to the Manville dam for a couple of hours. River was around 2ft., 500 cfs. – not bad.

Blackstone Gorge - June 25, 2011

2011-06-25T19:51:00.003-04:00

I took a little time today to paddle up the Blackstone River from the Blackstone Gorge to the Millville Rapids. There's a lot of transportation history on this section of the Blackstone - canal and railroad. It was a cloudy/hazy morning, so some of the clips are a little blurry - sorry about that.

River Bend Farm - Canal and River Loop - June 19, 2011

2011-06-20T05:20:00.002-04:00

I did and early morning run on the Blackstone Canal and River yesterday. I paddled up the Blackstone Canal to the Rice City Pond and Goat Hill Lock, and then down the Blackstone River to the Stanley Woolen Mill. It was a nice way to start Father's Day.

A soggy run on the Sudbury – June 11, 2011

2011-06-12T06:02:00.012-04:00

The rain started early, and at times was a torrential downpour, but 10 hearty RICKA paddlers (4 canoes, 6 kayaks) still completed a soggy run on the Sudbury River from Wayland to Concord.

A light drizzle was falling as we put in at Sherman’s Road Bridge in Wayland and headed out into the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. That light drizzle turned into heavy rain by the time we reached Lee’s Bridge on the Concord line. The downpour continued as we stopped for a cold, wet lunch on Brooke Island in Fairhaven Bay.

Fortunately, the rain let up shortly after lunch leaving a pretty mist hanging over the river as we paddled under the stone arch bridges in Concord. We posed for a couple of pictures at Minute Man National Historical Park before taking out at the Old Calf Pasture on Lowell Road.

It was nice to have Suasco Al along, and I wish I could have stayed longer to paddle up the Assabet with him. Hopefully another time.

RICKA crew at the Old North Bridge

Links:
My Video
My Pictures
Sudbury River Boater's Trail

Flatwater Leader Training – June 4, 2011

2011-06-09T05:23:00.001-04:00

When I arrived at the Museum of Work and Culture, there were already a few cars with boats on them in the parking lot – that was a good sign. I was running a “Trip Coordinator” training for the RICKA Flatwater group. We would start with a one-hour discussion in the Union Hall at the museum, and then head down to the river to run the section of the Blackstone from River Island Park to Manville.

For the training session we had a nice mix of leaders – some experienced, some brand new. We had a good discussion, and my one hour presentation took two hours as experienced leaders added their ideas and new leaders asked plenty of questions. That was a relief.

After the session, we unloaded our gear at River Island Park and ran the shuttle down to Rivers Edge Park. With construction at the Woonsocket Falls Dam, water levels in the river had been fluctuating, but the level was fine when we did the run – probably 800 to 1,000 cfs. Everyone made it through the easy rapids with no difficulty. We paddled down to the Rt. 99 Bridge before turning back to Rivers Edge.

Links:
My Pictures
My Slides from the Training Class

SuAsCo River Paddling – June 3, 2011

2011-06-05T06:57:00.010-04:00

Suasco Al - the Trash Paddler

I took the day off last Friday and headed up to Wayland, MA to paddle the Sudbury, Assabet and Concord Rivers with Suasco Al – the Trash Paddler. I’ll be leading a RICKA trip there next Saturday, and Al was nice enough to help me scout the trip.

We put in on the Sudbury River at Sherman’s Bridge Road in Wayland (N 42 degrees 23.803', W 071 degrees 21.867'), and paddled down to the Old Calf Pasture on Lowell Road in Concord at Egg Rock (N 42 degrees 27.893', W 071 degrees 21.496') where the Sudbury converges with the Assabet to form the Concord. For much of the trip, the Sudbury meanders through marshland that is protected as part of the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge – there were birds everywhere. We stopped for lunch at an island at Fairhaven Bay.

Four bloggers - Al, Jackie, Sue and Erik

After lunch we continued downstream into a strong headwind which kicked up small waves and made the river look like it was flowing upstream. I was glad to get into Concord, MA where the river is more protected from the wind. At Egg Rock we met up with fellow bloggers Sue (Water-lily) and Jackie (Saratoga Woods and Waterways), had a nice chat, and posed for a quick picture. Once back on the river, we paddled a couple of hundred yards up the Assabet River just so I could say that I did. Then we paddled down the Concord River to the Old North Bridge in the Minute Man National Historical Park.

Minute Man statue

Being a history buff, it was cool to see the restored Old North Bridge from the water. There were a lot more people at the park than I would have thought. We pulled our boats ashore and checked out the 1837 Monument and the famous Minute Man statue before walking up to the Visitor Center. We snapped a couple of pictures of the Old North Bridge from the water before heading back to the take-out at Egg Rock.

Sure beats working – great day. Thanks Al.

In front of the restored Old North Bridge

Links:
Al’s blog – the Trash Paddler
Lisa's blog - Waterlily
My Pictures

River Bend Farm to the Millville Rapid – May 30, 2011

2011-05-30T16:13:00.006-04:00

Ran the section of the Blackstone River from River Bend Farm down to the Millville Rapid. We had 7 boats and 8 paddlers - 2 canoes and 5 kayaks. It was nice to have two younger paddlers in the group - Tim and Doug. Don and I paddled tandem.

Day started out cloudy and rainy, but cleared up by mid-day. River was at 3.5 ft, 525 cfs. on the Northbridge gage. There is lots of quickwater on this trip, but the highlights are the broken dam near the Stanley Woolen Mill (Rt. 16) in Uxbridge and the Millville Rapid.

Surfing at the broken dam

It was a nice way to spend Memorial Day.

Links:
My Pictures
Northbridge Gage
River Bend Farm to the Blackstone Gorge from BRVNHC

Knightville Section of the Westfield - May 22, 2011

2011-05-22T04:55:00.006-04:00

Finally got my new boat out yesterday on the Knightvlle section of the Westfield River. This section has it all - class II/III rapids to get the blood pumping, quickwater in between when you need to take a break, and nice scenery in the Gardner State Park. I did the trip yesterday with a group from NPMB - 12 kayaks, 1 canoe. River was running between 900 and 1,000 cfs which is a normal release level.

We put in at the picnic area at the base of the Knightville Dam, and took out at the gazebo on Route 20. The river was mostly class II rock dodging until we entered the gorge in the Gardner State Park. There are two gorge drops in this section. The first is about 25 yards long that I ran to the right. The second is a 4 foot ledge known as the Gorge Drop. It can be seen from upstream by a big rock in the middle of the river. I ran this just to the right of the rock, and moved left to avoid the huge haystacks below. From the Gorge drop down to the take out there are some nice rock gardens separated by sections of quickwater.

My new boat felt a little twitchy at first, but I got use to it. No pictures - my camera is being repaired :-(

My new boat is ready - May 8, 2011

2011-05-08T12:05:00.003-04:00

Actually, its an old boat – older than two of my three kids.

I bought my first Dagger Encore a few years ago. Unfortunately, it got stolen last December from one of my local park-and-play spots when I left it by the side of the road and walked back to get my car. I won’t make that mistake again.

I was happy to get this one from Tommy. For a 20-year-old boat, the hull is in great shape. The outfitting was set up for someone smaller than me, so I ripped it all out and replaced it - Mike Yee outfitting with a 10” pedestal. Tommy would call it a “tower of terror”, but I like it. Its like paddling a Barcalounger.

Now all I need is some time to paddle it. Unfortunately, won't be today.

Links:
My Pictures

I finally ran the Quaboag - April 30, 2011

2011-05-01T06:16:00.007-04:00

Mouse Hole

For a couple of years now, I have wanted to run the Quaboag River in central MA. Its not far away – about an hour – and its suppose to be a fun class II/III run. Well, I finally ran it yesterday with a huge group from NPMB. There were 16 boats in all – 2 canoes, 14 kayaks.

The Quaboag flows west from Quaboag Pond in Brookfield to Three Rivers where it joins with the Ware River to form the Chicopee River. There's a nice flatwater section from the Quaboag Pond in Brookfield to Lucy Stone Park in Warren – about 9 miles. We did the section from Lucy Stone Park in Warren to Route 67 in Palmer – about 5 miles.

Trestle Rapid

The first half of the trip was uneventful with easy class I/II rapids. The level was about 4.5 feet, 500 cfs – a low but runnable level. At this level, the river is more technical, but I didn’t find it too bad – definitely easier than New Boston.

The first difficult rapid is Mouse Hole which I ran a little right of center, and did fine. Shortly after Mouse Hole is the Trestle Rapid. I caught the eddy under the trestle on the right side, backed into the eddy on river left, which set me up to catch the eddy in the middle of the rapid. From there, its and easy run through the rocks at the bottom.

The Broken Dam

After a few more class II+ rapids and a portage around a large dam, we ran a large broken dam. I ran it just left of center. Most of the yaks ran it a little further to the right and boofed of the rock at the bottom.

Below the broken Dam is the Angel’s Field Rapid – nothing difficult, just big waves. After the Angel’s Field Rapid we entered the Devils Gorge. The Gorge has three distinct rapids. The first is the most difficult and terminates with a 3-foot drop known at the Quaboag Drop which is run on the right. From there its an easy run to the take out. For directions to the take out use 733 Boston Road, Palmer, MA.

The Quaboag Drop

Links:
My Pictures
Quaboag River Gage at West Brimfield
River Description from American Whitewater

East Branch of the Pemigewasset above Loon

2011-04-26T19:50:00.003-04:00

Another river to add to the list - Tommy and Ken ran the East Branch of the Pemi from Lincoln Woods to South Peak in New Hampshire's White Mountains. The level was just under 500 cfs - very boney. Tommy says that it is easier at 600 to 700 cfs.

Links:
Tommy's pictures
Ken's video

Paul swims the Quinn - April 17, 2011

2011-04-18T05:11:00.023-04:00

I finally ran the Quinapoxet River yesterday. The "Quinny" or "Mighty Quinn" is a class II/III run that can be tough to catch. The minimum level for this river is about 8.5 feet. Many people say 9.5 feet is a good level. We ran it yesterday at 11 feet (800 cfs). To say the river was cranking would be an understatement.

Paul and I did the 3-mile section from River Street in Holden to the Wachusett Reservoir in West Boylston. The Mass Central Rail Trail runs along the river for much of the run. The trip starts with quickwater and some easy class I/II rapids. Paul took a swim in the opening rapid, and its the only part of the trip that I caught on video.

About 2 miles downstream the action picks up with a class III rapid at the old Springdale Mill. At this level there were a couple of huge holes at the top, and a couple of huge waves at the bottom. There was also a large eddy on river left that would be the way to go if you could catch it.

Paul went first and tried to run the rapid straight down the middle. He flipped in the big holes at the top. I was at the bottom with my throw bag and threw him a rope, but it was a lousy throw and he couldn't reach it. When I last saw him, Paul was still in the water about a quarter mile downstream chasing after his boat. I headed downstream after him, and finally learned from one of the walkers on the Rail Trail that Paul was out of the river and heading downstream after his boat on foot.

When I got back to my boat, I wimped out and portaged the Springdale Rapid. I scouted the 3-foot drop just downstream of I-190, and decided to portage that as well. At this level, the river was unforgiving, and I didn't want to lose my boat as well. I was able to run the rest of the river without incident. I arrived back at the car to find Paul's gear, but no Paul. He had walked back upstream looking for me.

When he arrived back at the car, Paul was interested in another run, but I thought it would be better if we didn't push our luck.

Links:
Description from American Whitewater
River Street put-in from Google Maps
Quinapoxet Gage at Canada Mills near Holden

Blackstone Canal/River Loop - April 10, 2011

2011-04-11T19:25:00.002-04:00

It was another busy weekend, but I did get out for a couple of hours yesterday on one of my local runs - the Blackstone Canal and River from Lonsdale to Ashton. Lots of people on the nearby bikepath, and lots of fishermen in the river with the start of fishing season.

Quinsigamond River - April 3rd

2011-04-03T19:52:00.026-04:00

I spent yesterday doing work around the house, but I had time today to do some paddling. Unfortunately, I slipped getting out of my boat last week on Otter Brook and hurt my knee. I would have loved to paddle the Quaboag with the RICKA WW crew, but I decided to give my knee a rest and go poling instead. I did the RICKA Flatwater trip on the Quinsigamond River.

Although the Quinsigamond has many small tributaries and drains a large area, the river itself is only 5 miles long. It flows south from Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, through Snow Marsh and Lake Ripple in Grafton, and into the Fisherville Pond in Fisherville where it merges into the Blackstone River.

I had paddled the Quinsigamond before with the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club, but we had always put in at the town-owned access behind Riverview Apartments on Route 122. From there, you can paddle upstream to the dam at Lake Ripple, or downstream to Fisherville Pond.

On this trip, we put in at the Ekblaw Landing off Route 122 and paddled upstream under the Mass Pike and into Snow Marsh – a 59-acre marsh protected by MassWildlife and Ducks Unlimited. We then paddled down into Lake Ripple. The level was low - 1.5 feet, 30 cfs on the North Grafton gage. It wasn’t the best section for poling, and I didn’t go all the way down Lake Ripple, but it was still fun.

Up on the rails

Links:
Mike's pictures
Susan's pictures
Quinsigamond gage in North Grafton

Lower Otter Brook – March 27th

2011-03-27T19:29:00.012-04:00

My original plan for today was to paddle the Middle Saco with the NHAMC, but that trip got cancelled. Fortunately, some folks from NE River Runners were doing a trip at Otter Brook, so I hooked up with them. Six open boats - Rod, Deb, Emily, Barbara and Dan. The release was about 300 cfs which was a nice class II. It was a little cold at the put in, but it was nice on the river.

Emily running Otter Ledge

Links:
My Pictures
Lower Otter Brook from American Whitewater
Otter Brook Gage

Souhegan River - Greenville to Wilton

2011-03-20T06:53:00.009-04:00

Another river that I would like to try – this run was last Thursday at about 1,200 cfs on the Milford gage. Toughest rapids are in the first mile, and I’m not sure Ken included them in this video.

Comments from today's trip:

We had around 6.3 ft / 1100 cfs for the run - good data point. The only excitement was on the upper 3. The middle 2 was a sunny, relaxing float - good early season warm-up for some of us. Seemed to me to be a sweet level as the upper 3 had enough water to give route options but not be terribly pushy. The middle 2 section was also easy enough to pick routes but was a little washed out. The lower 3 was great fun.

Links:
Upper Section – Route 31 to Route 101 from American Whitewater
Lower Section – Route 101 to Wilton from American Whitewater
Souhegan Gage – Milford
Ken's videos

Quinapoxet River

2011-03-18T04:55:00.005-04:00

This is one of the rivers that I really want run this spring. A couple of different groups ran it last Sunday, but I was on a plane to London. Oh well...

Here's what Tommy said:

You guys missed a good day at a sweet 9.4 on the gage. I paddled the Encore instead of the Cascade. I was nervous, never having done it above 9'. But there was a bald eagle soaring over the pool beyond the dam, and folks I know pretty well were gung ho. Turns out in some ways it was easier. Certainly more fluid.

Video from Ken: - looks like fun:

Quin March 12, 2011 from Ken Glusman on Vimeo.

Here are the directions:

River Street is closed between the take out and put in.
From Rt 190 exit 5 take Rt 140 south.
Take a right Laurel St.. Laurel St turns into Manning.
At the end of Manning take a left on Wachusett.
Bear left to stay on Wachusett when it leaves Rt 31.
Then take another left on River St.
The put in is just before the intersection of River and Harris

Links:
Springdale Mill Rapid on the Quinapoxet from Ken
Quinapoxet Helmet Cam Test from Ken
Description from American Whitewater
River Street put-in from Google Maps
Quinapoxet Gage at Canada Mills near Holden
Ken's videos

No interest in the Gorge – March 5th

2011-03-06T05:33:00.000-05:00

After last week’s hike, I tried to get a group together yesterday for a run at the Blackstone Gorge. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot of interest. With dirty water, sharp rocks, and a long walk back to the cars, I can’t imagine why no one was interested in a short, low level run at the Gorge – just a typical trip on the Blackstone ;-)

I did manage to get out for a couple of hours with Andy at River Island Park. Level was 4’, 1500 cfs. It was pushy with a couple of big holes, but most of the features were washed out. Here’s the only picture I took – Andy below the dam.

Hopefully something better will be running next week, and hopefully I’ll be able to paddle.

Spring Planning - Blackstone Valley Paddle Club trips for 2011

2011-03-06T05:28:00.004-05:00

With the first day of spring a couple of weeks away, we have our first planning meeting for the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club next week. Unfortunately, I’ll be in New York. I did send along a couple of suggestions.

Looks like I’ll be leading a joint Blackstone Valley Paddle Club/Rhode Island Blueways trip on July 5th above the Blackstone Gorge. It’s a nice flatwater section that we do every year. One of the few intact locks from the old Blackstone Canal is visible from this section of the river.

In June, I’ll also be leading a Paddle Club Trip from the Valley Falls Dam on the Cumberland/Central Falls line to the Elizabeth Webbing Dam on the Central Falls/Pawtucket line. There is a little quickwater at the start which can easily be avoided. We will explore the system of trenches that provided power to the Valley Falls Mill Village, and then paddle down a pleasant section of the Blackstone River.

Spring Planning - RICKA Flatwater trips for 2011

2011-03-06T05:19:00.008-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I sent an email to Cheryl with some trip suggestions for the RICKA Flatwater group for 2011.

In June, I’m planning to lead a trip on the Sudbury, Assebet and Concord Rivers. At the suggestion of Al the Trash Paddler, we will put-in on the Sudbury River at Sherman's Bridge Road in Wayland. Just downstream at Weir Hill is the headquarters of the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge where there is a museum with a nice exhibit on local wildlife. After paddling another couple miles downstream, we will stop for lunch at a small island in Fairhaven Bay where Ospreys are often seen. We will continue downstream to Egg Rock where the Sudbury River converges with the Assebet River to form the Concord River. We will paddle up this short section of the Assebet River which Nathaniel Hawthorn described as:

A more lovely stream than this, for a mile above its junction with the Concord, has never flowed on earth.

From there, we will continue down the Concord River to the take-out at the "Calf Pasture" at Lowell Road in Concord. Those who are interested can paddle another half mile down the Concord River to the Old North Bridge in the Minute Man National Historical Park.

In August, I’ll lead a trip on the Deerfield River below the Zoar Gap. Its a 9-mile run from the Zoar Picnic Area to the take out across from the Charlemont Academy. The trip has a little bit of everything – flatwater, quickwater and class I-II rapids. It was a good time last year.

Blackstone Gorge - February 27th

2011-02-27T20:02:00.010-05:00

I would have liked to paddle this weekend, but I’ve been fighting a cold, so I didn’t think that would be good idea. Instead, I decided to hike the trail along the Blackstone Gorge – with today's new snow I thought it would be pretty, and it was. It also has the only class III/VI rapids on the river.

Blackstone Gorge from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

In higher water, there is supposedly a sneak route through the first ledge on river left. The second and third ledges wash out. The route through the big drop at the end is just left of the big rock in the middle. Its supposedly a straight shot down the middle. I’d like to try it sometime. At today's level it looked a little low - maybe around 1,500.

Links:
My Pictures @ 8', 1,000 cfs
My Pictures @ 6.5', 130 cfs
Andy's Pictures @ 12.3', 2,300 cfs

River Island Park - February 21st

2011-02-22T05:56:00.000-05:00

I had the day off yesterday, so I went down to River Island Park for a couple of hours. It was cold (high 20’s), but the level was OK (3ft, 1,000 cfs).

Blackstone - River Island Park from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Crystal Section of the Farmington - February 19th

2011-02-20T06:38:00.008-05:00

There was good new, and there was bad news…

The good news was that there was more water than I expected (the gage was frozen, but probably 6', 700cfs). It was still low, but at least we weren’t bouncing off rocks. The bad news was that it was much colder and windier than I expected (temp's in the low 30's with 50 mph gusts). By the time I reached the take out, my boat was covered in a thin layer of ice. The wind was unbelievable – it sounded like a train coming down the tracks, and often blew us downstream sideways - at least it was a tail wind.

I missed Matt’s launch down the bank, but here’s a video of Tim, Scott and I:

Seal Launches from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

It was definitely good to see Matt again – it had been too long. I had to avoid a couple of blown-down trees on the way home (yes, it was very windy), but I still made it in time to go Family Weekend at my daughter’s college - another great day.

Links:
My Pictures
Matt's Pictures

Didn’t Need My Snowshoes – Diamond Hill – February 13th

2011-02-13T06:41:00.004-05:00

The RICKA crew is doing a hike today at Bowdish Lake in the Washington Management Area. Unfortunately, I have stuff to do and won’t be able to make it, but I was able to get out yesterday for a hike around the Diamond Hill Park in Cumberland. The Blackstone Valley Outfitters did a hike there last week, and sounded like fun.

Diamond Hill is basically a huge hunk of quartz about a mile long, a quarter of a mile wide and 350’ high. At one time, two ski areas occupied opposite sides of the hill – Diamond Hill State Park on the west, and Ski Valley in the east. Ski Valley has now been turned into condos, and the Town of Cumberland owns the Diamond Hill Park. Its only a mile from my house, but I hadn’t been there in years.

I arrived at the park just after sunrise – around 6:45. Temperatures were in the mid 20’s, and the snow was frozen solid. It took me a while to find the trail, but eventually I found it at the end of a row of pine trees in back of the bandstand. The trail follows a small brook behind some ball fields though woods covered in oak, birch and white pine. It was well packed, so I didn’t need my snowshoes.

The trail leads to the base of a huge cliff that was once part of an old quarry. At one time, you could climb the southern side of this cliff to access the ridge at the top of Diamond Hill. Today, a house sits at the top, so the trail cuts back along the bottom of the ledge and accesses the ridge line a little further to the north. I climbed up the southern side of the ledge anyway to get some pictures, and then worked my way back down.

I then followed the switchback trail below the ledge up to the rocky crest overlooking Diamond Hill Road. From here, the trail runs about a mile to the north along the ridge of Diamond Hill. The views from the top are great – to the west is Tower Hill, to the east is the Diamond Hill Reservoir, and the north are the hill of Wrentham, MA. I took a break on the concrete footing of an abandoned chair lift before working my way back down through the woods.

I’d estimate that the loop is a couple of miles. It took me about an hour and a half to complete. I’ll definitely be back again.

Links:
My Pictures

Following the Deer Tracks - January 22nd

2011-01-22T20:11:00.007-05:00

I had some free time today, so I decided to do some snowshoeing down at the bike path in Lincoln. I started at the visitor center on Rt. 295 since I wasn’t sure if the parking lot down by the Kelly House would be open. I hadn’t been there before, but the visitor center is a great place to access the bike path - and there's a Dunkin Donuts.

The bike path was well traveled with a couple of well-compacted paths right down the middle. I stayed in the fresh snow off to the side, and followed the bike path down to the river to check out the Ashton Dam. Conditions were great - I'd say 6' of light powder on top of a foot of slightly more packed snow. Temperatures were in the 20's, but it didn't seem that cold. The Blackstone Canal was frozen over, but the river was running below the dam. Above the dam, the river was iced over.

From the Ashton Dam, I went up the Lincoln side of the river as far as Rt. 295. This area is absolutely covered with mountain laurel - it must be beautiful when its blooming in the spring. Wikipedia says that mountain laurel grows in large thickets on rocky slopes in forested areas. Well, this area definitely fits the bill. I followed some deer tracks up the slopes and through the mountain laurel. Those deer are very sure-footed - it was quite a climb. I saw lots of tracks and a couple of bedding spots up on the slopes, but no deer.

I was only out for a couple of hours, but it was a good workout. One of my snowshoeing books says that you burn 1,000 calories per hour in powdery snow on hilly terrain, and I believe it.

Links:
My Pictures

Snowshoeing at Purgatory Chasm - January 15th

2011-01-16T06:27:00.015-05:00

With all the snow we received last week, conditions were perfect yesterday for the RICKA snowshoe trip at Purgatory Chasm State Reservation in Sutton, MA.

Temp's were in the 20's, but it didn't seem that cold. Most of the trails were unbroken with 18" to 20" of nice light powder. The Chasm itself was closed, but there were plenty of other trails to keep us occupied.

We started on the east side of the Chasm Loop Trail. This trail meanders through some pretty hemlock groves before meeting the Forest Road Trail below the Chasm. From there, we hiked up Little Purgatory to the waterfall and back. We stopped on the Forest Road Trail for lunch, and headed back to the cars on the Old Purgatory Trail.

The trip took us a couple of hours, and was only a couple of miles long, but it was still a good time.

Links:
My Pictures
Purgatory Chasm State Reservation

A New Year’s Run on Fife Brook – January 2nd

2011-01-03T05:26:00.007-05:00

I was hoping to run the Quaboag yesterday, but it was too low and iced up. Instead, we ran the Fife Brook Section of the Deerfield. We had three open boats (Ken, Ed and Erik) and 5 kayaks (Lisa, Denise, Jeff, Al and Andy). The release was around 800 cfs, but it seemed higher with the snowmelt. The run from Fife Brook was uneventful, and I did a clean run through the gap taking the sneak route on the far right.

Links:
My Pictures
Jeff's Pictures and Videos
River description from American Whitewater

Some notes on the Quaboag

2011-01-03T05:25:00.000-05:00

I was hoping to run the Quaboag yesterday, but at 3.5’, it was too low and iced in. Here are some comments from Tommy:

I've run it at 3.75 and found it surprisingly fluid except for the last half mile along the road to the takeout. IMO it's a whole lot better between 4' and 5.5'. If you go I recommend starting up at Lucy Stone Park in West Warren. It's class I - II down to the Mouse Hole, then good steady III pool and drop to the takeout. One of these days I got to run from Quaboag pond down to Three Rivers. That would be a LONG day.

Directions – From the Mass Pike take the Palmer exit and follow Route 20 east toward Sturbridge. Bear right under the overpass onto Route 67. Follow Route 67 northeast to the town of Warren. Take the first left after crossing the Quaboag River onto North River Road. Lucy Stone Park is on the left just before crossing the next bridge. This is the put-in for the class II section.

For the take-out of the class II section and the put-in for the class III section follow Route 67 southwest to a dirt pull-off a little ways before the traffic light in West Warren. You will see the river on your right all along Route 67 just watch for the second of two rest area pull-offs.

Links
River Description from American Whitewater
Quabog River at West Brimfield

Year-end Paddle on the Blackstone – December 31st

2010-12-31T06:11:00.009-05:00

Well, as 2010 came to a close, I got out for one last run on the Blackstone. It seems appropriate that my year-end trip should be a solo run at River Island Park. The level was low (2’, 450 cfs), but it was fine for solo paddling.

As I was paddling under the P&W Railroad Bridge, I noticed this statue of Mary set up down by the river. I’m not sure how it got there, or who set it up (access would only be available by boat), but it was nice to see it there.

For me, 2010 was another great year for paddling. I try to do at least one big trip each month, and here are some of the more significant ones:

January – Crystal Section of the Farmington
February – Upper Shepaug
March – Lower Natchaug
April – Knightville section of the Westfield and the Upper Millers
May – Lower Otter Brook
June – RICKA Flatwater Training
July – RICKA Whitewater Training and the Wood/Pawcatuck
August – Fife Brook and a RICKA Flatwater trip on the Lower Deerfield
September – West
October – Lower Ashuelot and the Big River
November – Contoocook - Peterborough to Bennington
December – Pawcatuck from Shannock to Richmond

I also did a lot of solo trips on the Blackstone, many of which I captured on video. Overall it was a great year, and there are still plenty of rivers I would like to paddle.

New Year’s Resolutions for 2011 – I have a few:

Practice rolling the C1 - who knows, maybe I’ll get it down eventually
Do at least one camping trip - I’ve got a bunch of options up in ME or on the NFCT
Get more trashy - and arrange a trip with the Trash Paddler.

Happy New Year everyone.

Pawcatuck – Shannock to Richmond – December 26th

2010-12-27T06:02:00.010-05:00

We were originally talking about going to T’ville yesterday, but with a snowstorm approaching, we decided to stay local instead. At Jim’s suggestion, we ended up padding the Pawcatuck River from Shannock to Richmond. This is a section that I hadn’t done before, so it sounded good to me.

I met Jeff and Jim at the Richmond Fishing Area around 9:00 and we ran the shuttle up to Shannock. The run is about 4 miles long and has a little bit of everything – flatwater, quickwater and a few easy rapids. The level was low but fluid – 100 cfs, 2’ on the Wood River Junction gage; 75 cfs, 1’ on the Kenyon gage. Snow was just starting to fall as we reached the put in.

Just downstream from the put-in in the Shannock Village are the rapids of the reconstructed lower Shannock Falls. A 2’ drop at the end of the rapids would be fun if it wasn't for a large boulder placed in the middle of the river just downstream. This boulder was supposedly placed there to provide a rest eddy for the fish, but I suspect more than a few boats will get pinned on it. Due to the low water, and the mid-stream boulder, we decided to line this section.

The next mile is flatwater leading to the Route 122 bridge and the easy rapids in the old Carolina Mill Raceway. We did two runs through the raceway, and then began picking our way through the blow downs until we reached the Carolina Canoe Campsite. As we took a break, Jim lit a small fireplace – a nice treat on a snowy day. Its amazing how much heat a small fire can produce.

The snow was falling heavily by the time we got back on the river. We headed down to the Richmond Fishing Area where we ran the dam and did a little surfing in the playspot. By this time, the roads were starting to look bad, so we loaded up the boats and headed home to sit out the storm.

Links:
My Pictures
Trip Description from Rhode Island Blueways
Richmond Fishing Area from Google Maps
Kenyon Gage
Wood River Junction Gage

A Christmas Story – and its true, honest

2010-12-22T15:55:00.020-05:00

You’re probably not going to believe this, but its true. I saw Santa Claus, and he was not in a sleigh being pulled by reindeer. He was in a canoe - a red canoe.

Here’s what happened. It was Christmas Eve a couple of years ago. I had finished all my shopping, so I decided to take my canoe out for a short trip. As I was unloading my gear, I looked downstream and saw what appeared to be a man in a red suit poling up the river.

I ducked out of sight as he approached, and watched him push up a small drop...

... and head upstream.

I decided to follow him. Eventually, he pulled off the river where a small group had already gathered. Curiosity got the best of me, so I pulled my boat up on to shore, and walked over to talk to them. I learned that the man in the red suit was Santa Claus, and the small group that had gather by the river were his elves.

I also learned that much of what I thought I knew about Santa was wrong.

First, Santa doesn’t live at the North Pole - he lives in Rhode Island.
Second, Santa doesn’t deliver toys in a sleigh pulled by reindeer - he delivers them in a red canoe that he poles up to the rooftops.
Third, Santa’s favorite drink isn’t hot cocoa - its Sailor Jerry. He says that it does a better job of keeping him warm on those cold December nights.

When he was ready to leave, he offered us some Sailor Jerry.

Then he headed off to begin his night’s work.

I know its amazing, but its true. Pictures don’t lie. ;-)

Links:
Ware River - December 6, 2009

Retrofitting the Impulse – December 18th

2010-12-18T05:32:00.016-05:00

I spent some time yesterday getting my old Impulse ready to paddle. At some point, I’d like to replace the pedestal and straps, but that’s a big job, so it will have to wait. For now, I spent $8 on tie-downs and $6 on para cord and re-rigged the bag cages. It came out OK. I would have preferred black para cord, but all I could find locally was blue - maybe it will grow on me.

I took the boat out this afternoon for some flatwater paddling down at Rivers Edge. It doesn't turn like the Encore, or carve as tight a circle, but I'm starting to get use to it again. I'll have lots of time off for the holidays, so hopefully I’ll be able to get some paddling in.

What to do in Winter - December 12th

2010-12-12T15:54:00.009-05:00

The Woonsocket Police called this week, but there has been no sign of my old Encore. I did take my Impulse out for a couple of hours yesterday to see if I could still paddle it - definitely a disappointment. Compared to the Encore, the Impulse won't turn, won't surf, and is a bit of a barge. Oh well, I guess I'll get use to it.

It was too cold and rainy to paddle today (even for me), so I put some old winter paddling clips together into a video.

What to do in Winter from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

It looks like fun. I'm definitely looking forward to some winter paddling - even without my Encore.

Someone stole my canoe - December 4th

2010-12-05T06:24:00.006-05:00

Can you believe it? I was paddling yesterday at my usual park and play spot at River Island Park with my Dagger Encore. Usually, I just carry the boat back to my car, but yesterday I had plenty of time, so I went a little further downstream. When I was done, I left my boat near the Main Street Bypass and walked about a quarter mile back to my car. By the time I got back, the boat was gone – it couldn’t have been more than 10 minutes.

I checked the river thinking that kids might have pushed it in – no sign of it. It walked along the bank thinking someone may have stashed it so that they could come back for it later – nope. Someone must have picked it up and carried it off. The police station is literally a couple of hundred yards away, so I walked over and reported it missing in the unlikely event it shows up somewhere.

In hindsight, leaving the boat unattended was a stupid thing to do, but why would anyone in Woonsocket steal a 20-year-old whitewater canoe – its not exactly a fishing boat. I’m guessing it will end up for sale online.

Fortunately, I also have an old Dagger Impulse, so I do have a boat to paddle. Still, I really liked that Encore. I guess I’m going to be in the market for a new (used) boat. If anyone sees an Encore for sale, let me know.

Links:
Pictures of my old Encore

Sideslips and Ferries

2010-12-01T06:31:00.007-05:00

There’s a good thread on freestyle paddling running on P.net. After reading the section on sideslips, I went back to some video that I made before Thanksgiving below the Martin Street Bridge. I thought I would see lots of examples of sideslips and cross sideslips. To my surprise - not so many. Here's the video:

Practicing Ferries from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Its interesting to go back and watch this video after the fact. I realized that I do a lot more paddling when I do ferries than I would have thought, although it is good practice for the cross forward. I also use the bow draw a lot more often than I would have thought. It works here, but I'm not sure it would in bigger water. I definitely don't use sideslips as much as I would have thought – I’ll have to work on that.

Exploring the old Manville Mill - November 27th

2010-11-28T06:09:00.000-05:00

With the holiday, things were pretty busy last weekend, but I was able to get out for a couple of hours of paddling on Saturday.

I thought I would do a little park and play in the rapids below the Manville Dam, but I got bored and decided to explore the foundation of the old Manville Mill instead. The Manville Mill was built in 1878 and was one of the largest mills of its day. In this side view, you can see the flywheels and raceways built into the foundation.

Here’s a picture of the Manville Mill complex as it appeared in the early 1950’s. You can see the Manville Dam in the foreground, and a large section of the mill extending over the river. By this time, the Manville Mill was the largest textile mill in the US with over 5,00 employees.

This is a picture of the Manville Mill during the massive flooding caused by Hurricane Diane in 1955. The first floor of the mill is under water, and the center span over the river has collapsed.

Two weeks later, repairs were underway when a fire started in the 1878 section of the mill. With the sprinkler system disabled due to flood damage, the fire spread quickly.

Here is the mill after the fire. The remaining structures were later demolished leaving only the foundation.

I paddled down to the far end of the foundation, and checked out one of the old raceways that still runs under the foundation. There are six in total, but most of them are hided behind weeds and bushes.

I climbed up these back stairs into what was the old mill.

At this level, I am actually on the old mill floor. You can see one of the old turbine shafts ahead.

Another shot of the old turbine shaft with a tree growing up from the raceway below. Concrete construction indicates that this was a later addition.

One of the original granite-lined flywheel shafts from the 1878 mill. Don’t fall in there – it’s a good 20 feet to the bottom.

Another view of the raceway below the foundation.

Links:
Historic pictures from the Woonsocket Harris Public Library

Ashton to Lonsdale - November 23rd

2010-11-24T03:35:00.000-05:00

I had the day off yesterday, and was able to spend a couple of hours doing the run from Ashton down to Lonsdale. The river was low (2 ft., 500 cfs on the Woonsocket gage), but it was still fun.

Blackstone River - Ashton to Lonsdale from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Contoocook - Peterborough to Bennington - November 13th

2010-11-14T06:16:00.015-05:00

Its interesting to watch a trip come together. It usually starts off as chatter on the web and by email. Eventually a consensus starts to form, a location is picked, and people sign on. Before you know it, you’re out on the river for a great day of paddling. That’s how it worked with yesterday’s trip to the Contoocook River.

The Contoocook, a tributary of the Merrimack River, is located in south/central NH and has some nice flatwater and whitewater paddling. The most popular whitewater section runs from Hillsboro to Henniker - I’d like to try it sometime. There’s also a nice flatwater section from Covered Bridge in Contoocook down to Broad Cove, and another 6-7 mile poling section between Jaffrey and Peterborough.

On this trip, we decided to pole the section from Peterborough to Bennington. Our original plan was to put in at the library in Peterborough center, and paddle down to the covered bridge over the Powder Mill Pond. After looking at the original put in site in Peterborough, we decided to move the put in a couple of miles downstream to the North Village Dam. The run would still be about 7 miles.

Our trip up was slightly delayed because of car troubles, but we still met Tommy and Jim at the put in around 9:30. We ran the shuttle, and were on the river by 10:00. We had 6 boats (Mike, Chuck, Tommy, Jeff, Jim and me). Level was perfect – 2 ft, 100 cfs on the Peterborough gage. After playing around at the dam, we headed downstream. Not a lot of features on this section of the river, but that was OK. We knew we would be taking it easy.

For the first half of the trip, the river twisted and turned through woods and fields. A nice current and gravel bottom made it easy to pole. For the second half of the trip, the river opened up. The current slowed and the water deepened as we approached the Powder Mill Pond.

We got off the river about 4:00, got everyone back to their cars, and found our way to Harlow’s Pub in Peterborough Center for a couple of beers and something too eat. Another great day on the river.

Links:
My Pictures
Chuck's Pictures
Peterborough Gage
Powder Mill Pond from Trails.com

Halloween on the Piscat - October 30th

2010-11-01T05:05:00.004-04:00

Had a good time Saturday on the Piscataquog in Goffstown, NH. We had a group of 7 (2 canoes – Erik and Jeff, and 5 kayaks – Andy, Tom Jr., Tom Sr., Bob and Paul). I think the river was a little lower than last year – 5.5’ on the Goffstown gage. It was definitely crowded – anyone who stopped to surf ran the risk of getting run over by downstream paddlers. I ran over Tom Sr., and got run over trying to surf at the Toilet Bowl. No swims for me this year – or anyone else. We obviously weren’t trying hard enough.

Links:
My Pictures
Last Year’s Video
River Description form American Whitewater

Concord and Sudbury Rivers

2010-10-27T08:14:00.001-04:00

I've been saving this description of the Concord and Sudbury Rivers from Tommy T.

The Concord and Sudbury Rivers have very slow current from Framingham to North Billerica. It's pretty easy to paddle both upstream and down. They tend to be open with lots of Buttonbush marsh.

Fairhaven Bay is a pretty pond in the Sudbury with wooded shores and the section just down stream of the Old North Bridge in Concord is wooded and more protected.

I've put on the Sudbury where it crosses Rt 20 in Wayland, at the Lincoln Canoe Launch on Rt 117 just above Fairhaven Bay and in on Lowell Road in Concord where the Sudbury and Assabet meet to form the Concord. If you put in there and head downstream on the Concord you will soon come to the Old North Bridge and then the wooded section I mentioned.

Further down the Concord there is a boat launch on Rt 225 in Bedford and a somewhat rougher launch at a small park on Rt 3A in Billerica. You may find fishermen in powerboats anywhere in there though I've never seen more than a few.

My favorite parts are between Rt 225 and Lowell Road on the Concord and Fairhaven Bay.

You might also consider the Assabet between Pine Street in West Concord and Lowell Road. That is more wooded and the trees would give you some protection from the rain. There are other nice paddles on the Assabet with somewhat trickier conditions or access. Give a yell if you want to hear about them.

~Tommy

One of these days, I'm going to get up there and do some paddling. I thought I'd be able to do it this month, but it hasn't worked out that way.

Big River – October 23rd

2010-10-23T13:26:00.004-04:00

I was looking for some foliage this morning, and I wanted to paddle someplace different, so I grabbed Jim Cole’s book and headed down to the Big River in Coventry. Chuck said it is as close as you can get to Maine scenery in Rhode Island, and he was right.

I put in at Zeke's Bridge (Harkney Hill Road) and paddle upstream into Reynolds Pond. The water was very low (2’ on the Harkney Hill Road gage), but recent frosts had killed back the weeds, and the foliage was spectacular – reds, yellows and oranges everywhere I looked. I paddled under Route 95 and up to Route 3 before I turned back. Well worth the trip.

Big River from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Links:
My Pictures

Contoocook River in NH

2010-10-19T05:13:00.014-04:00

Tommy's pictures got me thinking that this is another NH river that I would like to paddle sometime. The "Took" is a tributary of the Merrimack River that has some nice flatwater and whitewater sections.

Tommy did the flatwater section from Covered Bridge in Contoocook down to Broad Cove. Above the dam in Bennington is another flatwater section through Powder Mill Pond, up under the Covered Bridge and into the Contoocook River. Descriptions are in the AMC River Guide – Peterborough to Bennington and the AMC Quietwater Guide (NH) – Powder Mill Pond.

The most popular whitewater section runs from Hillsboro to Henniker. The gage needs to be at least 7’ to run this section. Below 8’, it is mostly class III except Freight Train which is class IV. Above 8’, I should probably stay away. Tommy’s pictures are at 7.3’ and they don't look too bad - last three pictures are Freight Train. He described the rapids as mellow, but that's probably an exaggeration. This is another one of those "stretch" rivers that I would like to try sometime at the right level.

Links:
Ken's Video
Tommy’s Pictures
Powder Mill Pond from Trails.com
Contoocook - Hillsborough to Henniker (Freight Train Section) from American Whitewater
Contoocook River Gage - near Henniker

River Island Park - October 16th

2010-10-17T07:04:00.018-04:00

The Woonsocket Falls gage was over 900 cfs yesterday, so I headed down to River Island Park for a couple of hours. The steep banks of the river kept me out of the wind, and I worked up a pretty good sweat.

River Island Park from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

For good or bad, this section of the Blackstone was in the news a couple of times this week - first because the Army Corps of Engineers is beginning a $1.5M project to remove trees and other vegetation from the two miles of flood control levees which line the banks of the river in this area, and second because work has begun on a plan to extend the Blackstone River Bikeway from Davidson Street up to Market Square in Woonsocket.

I must admit, I have mixed emotions about the flood control work. While I understand the devastation that floods can cause, I’m not looking forward to the to having the trees removed from the banks of the river. There are two nice runs in Woonsocket – Cold Spring Park and River Island Park – and both will look dramatically different. Whether we like it or not, the Army Corps of Engineers now controls the flood control system, and they seem determined to move forward.

Talk of extending the Blackstone River Bikeway up to River Island Park left me a little more encouraged – especially the talk of improving river access and parking along what is now the Truman Bypass.

This is a fun section of the river, but access is problematic. Extending the Bikeway into downtown Woonsocket is a big project with some difficult challenges to overcome – I need to find out how I can get involved.

Dams on the Lower Blackstone River

2010-10-11T06:08:00.013-04:00

I was sorting through some old pictures yesterday, and was able to put together pictures of all the dams on the lower Blackstone River from Blackstone, MA down to Pawtucket, RI.

Rolling Dam - Blackstone Gorge

Waterford Dam - Blackstone

Woonsocket Falls Dam
(seen through the South Main Street Bridge)

Manville Dam

Albion Dam

Ashton Dam

Pratt Dam - Lonsdale

Valley Falls Dam

Elizabeth Webbing Mills Dam - Central Falls

Slater Mill Dam - Pawtucket

Pawtucket Falls Dam
(Photo by Cheryl Thompson Cameron)

All can be portaged, although some are much more difficult than others. The dams along the Blackstone River Bikeway from Woonsocket to Valley Falls (Manville, Albion, Ashton and Lonsdale) can be portaged relatively easily.

The next dam upstream in MA is Rice City in Uxbridge. I would have had a picture of that dam if I hadn't lost my camera on Saturday. Above Plummers Landing is the dam at Riverdale, followed by the Depot Street Dam in Grafton. I'm not familiar with the dams further upstream in MA, but I want to get up there sometime. The section from Riverlin Street in Millbury down to Grafton is on my list of places to paddle.

Riverbend Farm - Blackstone River/Canal Loop - October 9th

2010-10-09T12:35:00.018-04:00

It was a beautiful morning, so I skipped the gym headed up to River Bend Farm in Uxbridge to run the Blackstone River/Canal Loop. The Northbridge gage was at 3.5 feet, so I figured the river would be at a good level.

I put in on the Blackstone Canal just upstream from the old Stanley Woolen Mill (Rt. 16). For the first mile, the canal was covered with a thick layer of green duckweed. It was like paddling through pea soup, but it cleared up before I reached River Bend Farm.

The river was fun with fast moving water and lots of twists and turns. There were a couple of tricky spots where the current pushes you into strainers and low hanging branches. It would have been a great run except that I lost another camera when it got caught on the branch of a low hanging tree. I waded out into the river to see if I could recover it, but the water was well over my head. I hate to admit it, but that's the second camera that I lost this year.

I’ll bet there would have been enough water for a run down from Plummers Landing. There was definitely enough water for a run down to the Blackstone Gorge. The foliage was great – and there are pictures in my camera sitting on the bottom of the river to prove it. If you find a blue Optio in your travels down the Blackstone, its mine.

Links:
River Description from the BRVNHC
Paul Hutch's Pictures from Pummers Landing and River Bend Fam

The river I didn’t paddle last weekend - Knightville and Pork Barrel on the Westfield

2010-10-07T21:03:00.013-04:00

Last Saturday I paddled the Lower Ash, but the Westfield was also on my list of places to go. I had done the Knightville section of the Westfield with Robin and Scott last spring at a release level (1,000 cfs. on the Knightville gage). Robin ran it again Saturday at 1,700 cfs. She said it was a lot of fun and that the gorge drop was easier at that higher level. According to Rob, 700 is low, but doable. Its OK at 1,000 to 1,500.

On Friday, the Pork Barrel section was also running, and Ed “Brewbeer” was able to catch it . Here’s how he described it:

The river was described by someone on NPMB as “high medium”, but let me tell you, it was big and full to the banks. It was fast, pushy, continuous, and once the Swift River came in, huge. Enormous wave trains, very much like the West. No exposed rocks in the river, no eddies except an occasional one at the side of the river, also like the West. There were pourovers into big holes just about everywhere. It ran through an isolated, roadless, and undeveloped valley. There were frequent waterfalls along the sides. I managed to keep the open end up and me in the boat for the whole run, but I had to run the pump frequently - almost as much as on the West. All in all, it was an awesome run. I'm really looking forward to doing it again.

Pork Barrel is tough to catch. One guy said that Pork Barrel is at a medium level when New Boston is above 5’. The INFLOW at Knightville Dam is probably a better indicator. When its above 1,500 its runnable; when its 2,000 to 2,500 its fun. Ed ran it at 3,300. The link is below:

https://rsgis.crrel.usace.army.mil/nae/pls/cwmsweb/cwms_web.cwmsweb.cwmsindex

Click yes when you get a certificate error, then click on the Lower Connecticut basin (make sure all is selected on the right first), and then click on KVD.

Lower Ashuelot - October 2nd

2010-10-02T19:30:00.019-04:00

I had a good time today with Paul, Tom and Andy on the Lower Ashuelot in New Hampshire. The river was low but runnable - 5’, 1000 cfs on the Hinsdale gage.

The river is broken up into three sections - each separated by a dam that must be portaged. The put in is just upstream from the Ashuelot covered bridge. The first section is an easy class II. Take out on river left to portage the first dam.

The second section is shorter, but a bit more challenging – class II+. The best rapid is just above the dam. You can portage the second dam on either the right or the left, but the right is easier.

The third section has the most difficult rapids. Just below the factory bridge is the Papermill rapid - class III/IV depending on water level. I ran it straight through the center and made it through fine – except for a boat full of water. The rest of the river was class III rock dodging.

I received the Swim Award with 2 swims on the lower section. The first was relatively close to shore, and I was able to self-rescue quickly. The second was in the middle of the river at the top of a long, rocky rapid. I finally made it out about halfway down, but my boat didn’t feel like stopping and ran the entire rapid. Fortunately, Tom grabbed it just before it was about to enter the next rapid, or I would have had a long walk back to the car.

Lower Ashuelot from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

In spite of the swims, it was a good time on a fun river. I think I’d like to try it again with a little more water. The waves and holes in the Papermill Rapid would be huge, but there would be less rock dodging below that.

Links:
My Pictures
My Video
River Description from Americna Whitewater

West River - September 25th

2010-09-26T05:06:00.023-04:00

Its been a while since I had my whitewater boat out, so it was nice to do a couple of runs on the West River in Jamaica, VT.

The West is a pretty river located in southern VT with popular whitewater releases in the spring and fall. This year, the spring release got cancelled, so it was more crowded than usual yesterday. There were long lines for the shuttle operated by the Jamaica State Park, and it seemed like an endless stream of kayaks flowed though the Dumplings. Still, it was a beautiful day – 65 degrees and sunny - and the leaves were just beginning to turn. The release was scheduled for 1,500 cfs, and it appears that’s what we got (West River Gage). The river was definitely crowded, but everyone was having a good time.

There are two sections on the West. The upper section from the Ball Mountain Dam to Salmon’s Hole in the Jamaica State Park is class III. The lower section from Jamaica State Park to the Route 100 Bridge is a pleasant class II. We did two runs on the upper section. To avoid the long lines for the park shuttle, we ran our own shuttle and carried down the face of the Ball Mountain Dam.

The upper section is about 2 1/2 miles long – nothing technical, just lots of 2’ to 3’ standing waves with an occasional rock to avoid. Some of the biggest waves are right at the start in a rapid called Initiation. The preferred route starts in the center, and then moves left to avoid a large collection of boulders on river right. For there, the waves continue to the take out at the Jamaica State Park.

The most technical rapid on the river is called the Dumplings – a collection of large granite boulders plopped down in the middle of the river. There are two routes through the Dumplings – run the three foot ledge on river right, or perform a more technical but less dramatic “S” turn through boulders from river left. I opted for the “S” turn, and had two clean runs, although I did get spun around backwards on my second attempt. It wasn’t pretty, but I made it through.

Running the Dumpling from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

I did have one swim in the rapid just below the put in for the shuttle. I was bouncing downstream sideways on my second run, not really paying attention, and I flipped on a rock. It was a long swim even though I was kicking like crazy to try to push my boat toward shore. The kyakers would paddle up, take one look at that 13' boat filled with water, and wish me luck. Good thing us open boaters are self-sufficient.

Links:
My Pictures
My Video - Running the Dumplings
Gregg Koenig's Pictures
Upper Section from American Whitewater
Lower Section From American Whitewater

My Summer Project

2010-09-22T19:57:00.001-04:00

Over the course of the summer, I started making short videos with the intention of covering the entire Blackstone River. I didn’t quite make it, but I was able to cover Pawtucket all the way up to Route 16 in Uxbridge. If we get some rain, maybe I’ll be able to get the upper reaches of the Blackstone this fall. Anyway, here they are:

Valley Falls to the Slater Mill
Cumberland, Central Falls and Pawtucket

Valley Falls to Lonsdale
Cumberland and Lincoln

Lonsdale to Manville
Cumberland and Lincoln through Ashton and Albion

Manville Dam
Cumberland and Lincoln

River Island Park and the Woonsocket Falls
Woonsocket - Poling

Saint Paul Street to Canal Street
Blackstone - Poling

Canal Street to the Blackstone Gorge
Blackstone and North Smithfield – includes the Branch River

Route 16 to the Blackstone Gorge
Uxbridge, Millville and Blackstone – mostly the Millville Rapid

Its hard to believe that summer is over, but fall is also a great time to paddle.

Valley Falls to Lonsdale - September 19th

2010-09-20T05:48:00.002-04:00

I hadn't been able to paddle for the last few weekends, so it was nice to get out for a couple of hours yesterday. I went down to Valley Falls and paddled up to the Pratt Dam. The river was busy - saw a few kayaks, a couple of fishermen, and the Blackstone Valley Explorer running tours.

Valley Falls to Lonsdale from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Links:
Valley Falls from Woonsocket.org
Trip description from the BVNHC

The run that could have been…poling Upper New Boston - September 18th

2010-09-19T07:04:00.011-04:00

In spite of a busy weekend, I was going to try to get out and do some paddling yesterday - it didn’t work out that way.

I had scheduled a RICKA class II trip for the upper and lower sections of the Farmington in New Boston. Unfortunately, the release got cancelled due to construction. Well, it didn’t actually get cancelled, but it did get significantly reduced – 100 cfs, 3 ft on the New Boston gauge. It was definitely not enough to paddle, but would have been a good level for some poling. Matt was looking for some poling buddies, but with Justin home for his birthday, I decided to take a pass on the 4-hour drive so we could do his party in the early afternoon.

We usually pole the section below Bear’s Den, but it can be boney in low water. The scenery isn’t the best either. Instead, Matt decided to pole the upper section from the slalom course up to Fall Creek. He said it was a nice run at 3’, but got technical through the rapids. It sure looked nice from his pictures.

I’m glad I stayed home for Justin’s party, but I sure would have liked to going poling with Matt. Just goes to show you, rivers can be good at any level.

Links:
Matt's Pictures of the upper New Boston Section at 3'
My pictures poling below Bears Den last year

Trash Paddler makes it into the Boston Globe

2010-09-10T06:36:00.000-04:00

Suasco Al - the Trash Paddler - was recently featured in a Boston Globe article for his great work on the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers. Its recognition that is well deserved. Congratulations Al!

RICKA Flatwater Training - August 29th

2010-08-29T21:11:00.010-04:00

I had a fun afternoon helping out with the RICKA flatwater training at Stump Pond – 14 boats, 10 intentional swims, 8 successful deep-water recoveries.

Links:
My Pictures
Cheryl's Pictures
Susan's Pictures

Rivers Edge to Bernon – August 21st

2010-08-22T05:59:00.013-04:00

I was back at Rivers Edge Park yesterday to do some poling on the Blackstone. I was there last Tuesday with the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club paddling downstream to the Manville Dam. Yesterday, I brought my poling boat and poled up to the Bernon Bridge. The water was as low as I have ever seen it - 1/2 ft, 78 cfs - almost too low for pushing up the drops, but nice on the flats. I played tag with a Cormorant most of the way back downstream. He would dive under as I approached, and reappear 30-40 feet downstream. This went on for at least a half mile before he finally flew away – its amazing how those birds can swim. Opening clip is a little blurry, but here is the video.

Rivers Edge Park to Bernon - Aug. 21st from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Links:
May 30, 2010 Poling Trip on the same Section
Detailed Description of this Run at Spring Levels

Rivers Edge to Manville – August 17th

2010-08-18T04:34:00.016-04:00

I paddled the Blackstone from the Rivers Edge Recreation Complex down to the Manville Dam last night with the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club. The turnout was great (probably 30 boats), but the condition of the river was not so good - there were way too many soccer balls, water bottles and Dunkin Donut’s cups floating in the water. I picked up as many as I could, and got a few others to do the same - Suasco Al would have been proud. We added our trash to a collection of old bikes and other assorted trash that someone else had pulled from the river and piled by the put in. After a trip on the crystal clear, fast moving water of the Deerfield, the Blackstone is a poor cousin by comparison. Lesson learned - don't do a Paddle Club trip on the lower Blackstone in the late summer when the water is low. Still, can't beat the sunsets.

Links:
My Pictures with Cheryl's Camera

There were rubber duckies everywhere – August 14th

2010-08-15T05:37:00.010-04:00

Not the bath toys, but the inflatable kayaks. Crab Apple Whitewater was in the process of launching a huge group of duckies just as we were getting on the water yesterday. In hindsight, it was a good sign since it meant our timing was probably good.

We had 12 boats (3 canoes, 9 kayaks) running the section of the Deerfield River just below the Zoar Gap. The water in this section is controlled by the Fife Brook Dam, and timing is everything with this trip. Launch too early and you will out run the water. Launch too late and the water will out run you. Either way, you will end up high and dry. We launched 3 hours after the scheduled release and hit it just right.

We put in at the Zoar Picnic Area around 3:00 - much later than any of us wanted due to the late release. This section of the Deerfield pretty much has it all. There is a little flatwater so you can take in the scenery, a lot of quickwater to keep you moving, and a couple of easy class I/II rapids to make it interesting. The rapids come early in the trip with three easy rapids in quick succession just downstream from the put in. After that, its mostly quickwater with an occasional riffle.

Deerfield River from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

It took us three hours to reach the take out about 7 miles downstream near the Charlemont Academy on Rt. 2. Great day with a great group of paddlers.

Links:
Mike V's Pictures

Waterplace Park

2010-08-14T07:10:00.009-04:00

A post on the paddling.net message board got me thinking about one of the nicest urban paddles around - Waterplace Park in Providence. The Moshassuck and Woonasquatucket Rivers converge in Providence to form the Providence River which then flows into Narragansett Bay. Up until the mid-90’s, these rivers were literally paved over. With the construction of Waterplace Park , the city has an entirely different feel, and the big event in town is Waterfire. It cost millions to do, but it sure is nice.

Heading up to the Deerfield River today to do a joint RICKA Flatwater/Whitewater trip below the Zoar Gap. Release doesn't start until 12:00, which means that we won't get on the water until 2:00. Its going to be a looooong day.

Too low even for poling – August 7th

2010-08-08T06:07:00.008-04:00

After a hot and humid couple of weeks, wasn't yesterday a great day – it actually felt like Fall. I had some errands to do in the morning, but spent a couple hours in the afternoon poling on the Blackstone River around River Island Park in Woonsocket.

When I got down to the river, I found that it was pretty low, even for poling (.64 feet, 75 cfs). The boat would hit rocks and get hung up in drops - I walked as much as I poled. I checked out the remnants of the old Globe Mill, poled underneath the Globe Bridge up to the Woonsocket Falls, and then I called it a day.

River Island Park - the old Bernon Pond and the Woonsocket Falls from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

We had better get some rain soon, or I am going to have to take up sea kayaking.

Cold Spring Park - August 3rd

2010-08-04T04:50:00.005-04:00

We had another nice group last night for the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club trip at Cold Spring Park – probably 50 boats including leaders. I keep thinking that the water in the Blackstone can’t get any lower, and it does.

Links:
My Pictures
Cold Spring Park from Woonsocket.org

Swam the Gap – Again - August 1st

2010-08-02T04:43:00.012-04:00

Hooked up with Andy, Hector and some of the crew from the NPMB yesterday for a run on the Fife Brook section of the Deerfield. Release was 1,000 cfs. With the exception of the Gap, the run was pleasant and uneventful. Andy and I both tried the left line through the Gap. I went first so I could get some pictures at the bottom - wishful thinking. I missed the big eddy at the top and flipped in the big hole in the middle. Andy made a clean run, but of course, he has no pictures to show for it since I was emptying out my boat – sorry Andy. Lessons learned:

Scout the Gap before you run it - duh!
At flows over 1,000 cfs, run the center line

Great day, it was nice to get out to paddle some moving water again.

Links:
My Pictures
Fife Brook Section of the Deerfield from American Whitewater

Blackstone Gorge and the Branch River – July 24th

2010-07-25T05:12:00.021-04:00

After spending last weekend up on the Deerfield helping out with the RICKA Whitewater School, I was back on the Blackstone River yesterday checking out another section I hadn't paddled before – Blackstone Gorge to the Canal Street Bridge. It’s a short section, but actually quite pretty.

Upstream, the Blackstone Gorge is one of the few sections of the Blackstone River that was untouched by 19th century industrial development. Granite cliffs and hemlock trees tower over the river. Its short – not even a mile, but in higher water it contains several class III/IV rapids. We frequently paddle the flatwater section above the gorge.

Downstream the river can be accessed from Cold Spring Park in Woonsocket. This section is mostly flatwater, but there’s a short rocky stretch above the St. Paul Street Bridge which is good for poling.

I paddled round trip from the conservation land behind the High Rock Condominiums. Its marked private – for residents only, but no one bothered me. The river was low – 7ft, 135 cfs on the Route 122 Bridge gage in Uxbridge. It was a perfect level for poling - too bad I brought my flatwater boat.

I paddled downstream past Tupper Park and the Powerhouse for the old Lonsdale mill before reaching the Canal Street Bridge and the dam for the old Waterford Mill Village.

Upstream where the Branch River joins the Blackstone River, I saw a cormorant up on a log drying his wings. I hoped to be able to paddle up the Branch River as far as Great Road (Route 146A) in North Smithfield, but the Branch was even lower than the Blackstone - 2ft, 35 cfs. on the Forestdale gauge. I waded upstream about a mile before a barking dog chased me off. It’s a beautiful stretch of river that I would like to do when there is more water.

I paddled upstream and did a little surrfing at the last drop in the Gorge before heading home.

Blackstone Gorge and the Branch River from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

This was my first time using my new Pentax Option W80. I don’t think that the video came out as well as with my old camera, but maybe it was just the day.

RICKA Whitewater School – July 17th and 18th

2010-07-20T04:50:00.005-04:00

I spent the weekend up on the Deerfield River helping out with the RICKA Whitewater School. We had a small group this year – just 3 boats, all kayaks. We started day one on flatwater up at the Sherman Reservoir, and then spent the afternoon working on ferries and eddy turns at the Zoar Picnic Area. Day two started in the pool below the Zoar Gap with more work on ferries and eddy turns, and then we ran the lower section from the Zoar Picnic Area to Shunpike. Everyone did great.

Unfortunately, I lost my camera sometime during lunch on the second day. It must have fallen from my PFD pocket. Fortunately, Hector got a few pictures which he sent to me. I have ordered a new camera - a Pentax Optio W80.

Links:
Hectors pictures
Andy's Pictures

What happened to the rain?

2010-07-15T05:13:00.018-04:00

For the past couple of days, the local whitewater message boards have been buzzing at the prospect of heavy rains and flash floods - no such luck. Last summer we had some great whitewater paddling in June and July. The Deerfield was at 2,400 cfs for the RICKA Whitewater School last June – no running Zoar Gap that weekend. Last July, we paddled the Branch River at 540 cfs (its at 61 cfs today) and the Crystal section of the Farmington at 1,800 cfs (its at 291 cfs today). We will be doing the RICKA Whitewater School again this weekend - I think the water will be at a more reasonable level.

We did get a little rain for our Tuesday night paddle with the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club at the Lacky Dam. A few paddlers opted out, but we still ended up with 15 to 20 boats. Paddling is a water sport right?

Links:
Cheryl's pictures from Lacky Dam

Valley Falls to Pawtucket – July 10th

2010-07-10T17:57:00.011-04:00

I was back on the Blackstone River today paddling a section that I had never done before - Valley Falls to Pawtucket.

I parked off High Street in Central Falls in the parking lot next to the walking track. There is a path there that takes you over the old mill trench and down to the river. The river was low just below the dam, but was fine otherwise. With a lot more water, this might be a good place to bring my whitewater boat. (There is a path by the mill trench on the Central Falls side that goes back up toward the dam which would make doing loops easier.)

Its only about a mile down to the Elizabeth Webbing Dam. I was able to portage around the dam on the right through the parking lot for an old mill that has been converted into condominiums. Its another mile down to the old Slater Mill. The scenery is OK if you like old mills. I did see lots of different birds including an Osprey and what looked like a Cormorant.

I got home around 11:30, and the rain and thunderstorms rolled in around 1:30. Unfortunately, we still need more rain.

Valley Falls to Pawtucket from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Links:
Valley Falls from Woonsocket.org
Samuel Slater from Woonsocket.org

Lonsdale Marsh - July 6th

2010-07-07T04:41:00.010-04:00

Steamy – that’s probably the best way to describe the weather yesterday, but we still had around 30 boats at a Blackstone Valley Paddle Club Trip to Valley Falls. We put in at the Valley Falls Landing and paddled up through the Lonsdale Marsh to the Pratt Dam. The water level was low, and the temperature was hot, but several boaters still made it all the way up to the dam - with only one swim along the way. We paddled back down into the marsh just as the sun began to set - another nice night.

Links:
Valley Falls from Woonsocket.org
Trip description from the BVNHC
My Pictures

Wood/Pawcatuck - July 3rd

2010-07-04T06:38:00.015-04:00

Had a good time yesterday on the Wood/Pawcatuck Rivers. We had 10 boats – 5 canoes (1 tandem) and 5 kayaks. Trip was about 11 miles with 2 dams to portage (Woodville and Alton) and a broken dam that we ran (Burdickville).

We put in on the Wood River around 10:30 from the Switch Street (Hope Valley) Landing. In this section, the Wood River is… well… wooded. The river got shallow in spots, but there was always plenty of water (50 cfs, 2 ft. on the Hope Valley gage).

The river opened up as we approached the deadwater from the Woodville dam. I was looking for the Mountain Laurel blooms which supposedly line these banks, but we must have missed them. I did see plenty of purple pickerel weed and white water lilies.

We portage the Woodville dam and continued downstream. There is a short wooded section just below the dam, but then you enter a large marsh which is the deadwater for the Alton Dam. Wild roses lined the river in this area. We stopped for lunch at the rope swing before continuing down to the dam.

Beyond the Alton Dam, there is another short wooded area before the Wood River joins the Charles River to form the Pawcatuck. From here, the Pawcatuck is wider and deeper. After a couple of mile of easy paddling we approached the broken dam at Burdickville. We ran the chute on the right without incident and continued downstream, arriving at the Bradford Landing around 3:30.

Links:
My Pictures
Mike V's Pictures