Branch River Icebreaker – March 17, 2012

Water levels are still low, so I was back poling on the Branch River yesterday with the RICKA crew at the annual “icebreaker” paddle.


Heading downstream

There was definitely no ice to break this year, and not much water either. We ran the section from Harrisville to Nasonville - about seven miles. It’s mostly flatwater with some quickwater and three short class II drops. For many years, this was the site of the RI Whitewater Championships. The race is now gone, but we still try to get a group together to run the Branch on the traditional third weekend in March.

We had a mixed group – 4 polers (Mike, Tommy, Jeff, and me), 1 solo canoe (Jim), 1 tandem canoe (Kevin and his son Nate), 1 kayak (Patrick) and 1 tandem kayak paddled solo (Rich). Temperatures were in the 60’s, and the water level was low - 95 cfs. on the Forestdale gage. We ran the shuttle and were on the river by 11:00.

Kevin and Nate below Glendale

The small rapid at the put-in was unrunnable due to the low water, so we all put in a little further downstream. That pretty much set the tone for the day. The flatwater sections were shallow. The quickwater sections were bony. The drops were unrunnable – except for Patrick who did mange to bounce his way down all three in his short kayak.

In spite of the low water, we all had a good time. We took a nice break for lunch at the Oakland Dam. Rich spent some time poling his tandem kayak – a new convert. We pulled into the take-out around 3:30 after another great day.

Links:
My Pictures
Forestdale Gage
River description from American Whitewater

Pool Time - February 19, 2012

I had a good time this morning at the RICKA Rolling Clinic.  Spent a little time trying to roll my C1 - I was doing better, but still need a lot of practice.



Links:
Pictures from Cheryl Thompson Cameron
http://vimeo.com/29642417
http://vimeo.com/29704063
http://vimeo.com/30215181
http://vimeo.com/35810817

Poling up the Branch River - February 18, 2012

Water levels were low, and I didn’t have a lot of time, so I decided to do some poling on the Blackstone and Branch Rivers. I put-in from the conservation land behind the High Rock Condominiums and poled upstream into the Branch River and the Blackstone Gorge.

Below the Gorge the Blackstone River was at a prefect level for poling – 8 to 10 inches of water with a nice rocky base. I poled up to the confluence with the Branch River, and then poled up the Branch as far as Great Road. Conditions on the Branch were great as well - 3', 125 cfs on the Forestdale gage.

I decided to head a little futher upstream to check out the Blackstone Gorge.  Surprisingly, it was high and dry. The level at the gage at the Route 122 Bridge in Uxbridge was 7’, 375 cfs, so I expected to see some water. I did this section a couple of years ago at 7’, 135 cfs, and the water was running pretty well. Yesterday – nothing. They must have been drawing a lot of water through the power plant downstream. You never know.

Links:
Blackstone and Branch Rivers – July 24, 2010
Route 122 Bridge Gage in Uxbridge
Branch River – Forestdale

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

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
• Waltham 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

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

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.

Almost New Year's on the Willimantic – January 2, 2012

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:

Paddling on the Willimantic from the Willimantic River Alliance
Coventry Gage