Planning for Upper Connecticut River Camping

After a fun paddle last fall on the Connecticut River from Bloomfield, VT (North Stratford, NH) to Lunenburg, VT(South Lancaster, NH), Bill and I have been thinking about going back to do the upper section this spring. I have been looking at the maps, and it doesn’t look like that there is much in the way of camping above Lake Francis. Between Lake Francis and Canaan there is a class III/IV rapid above the Covered Bridge in Pittsburg, so it looks like the best place to put-in is the Canaan Dam. We would need flow of 500 cfs, on the North Stratford Gage. 

Put-in - Canaan Access – mile 373 (Located just below the Canaan to West Stewartstown Bridge. Park in the field downstream of the access, on land recently conserved by the Vermont River Conservancy.)

Waypoint - Lemingyon - Colebrook Bridge – mile 363 (A foot bridge and small set of stairs leads to a sandy area on the New Hampshire side of river.)

First Night - Holbrook Point Campsite (VT) – mile 361 (Holbrook Point is a beautiful campsite with room for 3 tents situated under a canopy of silver maples on the edge of a floodplain forest. It is situated at a bend in the river, about 1.3 miles south of the Colebrook Bridge.)

Back-up Campsite - Columbia Campsite (NH) – mile 359 (Quiet campsite on edge of field upstream of the Columbia Covered Bridge.)

Waypoint - Columbia Covered Bridge – mile 359

Lyman Falls Rapid (Class II/III) – mile 351 (At high water, a large hydraulic forms behind the concrete dam remnants. Approach this section from river left, where a safe passage can usually be found. Otherwise, line your boat past the dam remains by landing on the island just upstream of the breached dam, on river left.)

Second Night - Lyman Falls State Park (VT) – mile 351 (Several campsites below breached dam - river and foot access only.

Back-up Campsite - Lyman Falls (NH) – mile 351 (A campsite has been developed for paddlers' on an island immediately across the river from Lyman Falls State Park and just upstream of the breached dam at Lyman Falls.)

Take-out Day 3 - Debanville Landing – mile 348 (Unimproved path at the mouth of the Nulhegan River. Park by the Northern Forest Canoe Trail kiosk on the other side of Rt. 102.)

Third Night – Maine Central Railroad Trestle Campsite (VT) – mile 341 (Beautiful campsite maintained by the Northern Forest Canoe Trail. The site is immediately downstream of granite railroad trestle, on the Vermont side.)

Take-out Day 4 - Maidstone Bridge – mile 336 (Cartop access on New Hampshire side, down river of bridge.)

Fourth Night - Scott C. Devlin Memorial Campsite (VT) – mile 324 (Situated in a shady stand of pines about two miles below the confluence of the Upper Ammonusooc, after the river makes a tight 180 degree turn near 102.)

Take out Day 5 - Guildhall/Wyoming Dam – Mile 323 (A take out is located immediately upstream on the Vermont side. A portage trail takes paddlers up to Rt. 105.)

As a side trip, I wouldn’t mind putting in at the Pittsburg Covered Bridge (mile 382) and paddling down to the Canaan Dam (mile 374). This is just downstream of the class III/IV ledges above the covered bridge, but does include the Beecher Falls Rapid (class II, mile 375). Beecher Falls can be portaged at Beecher Falls Landing behind the closed Candlestick Restaurant, immediately downstream of the Rt. 3 bridge on the VT side. Might be nice to paddle one of the lakes as well. 

Bill looked at his AMC guide, which is probably 50 years old, for dams below Guildhall. There are 13 active dams, some of which may have been taken out or breached since then:

Gillman Dam - 23 miles

Moore Dam - 12 miles below

Comerford Dam - 7 miles below

McIndoe Falls Dam - 7 miles below

Ryegate Paper Dam - 4 miles below

Wilder Dam - 37 miles

Hartland Rapids

Bellows Falls Dam - 20 miles

Vernon Falls Dam - 15 miles. 

Most of the dams are from 10' to 150' high and are used for storage. The longest portage route is 1 mile at the longest and average 1/2 mile. So we have some things to consider about another trip. 
We'll see.

Links:
Pittsburg Gage
North Stratford Gage

Connecticut River Paddlers Trail

Hiking among the Icebergs - Quinapoxet River - February 4, 2018

Taking a break

The river was too low to paddle, but it was a nice morning for a hike along the Quinapoxet River on the Mass Central Rail Trail. It was 9 degrees when we started but we soon warmed up in the February sun. We stated just above the put-in on River Street and hiked along the river past the Sprindale Rapid. The huge blocks of ice along the river were amazing - hard to believe all that ice floated down this small river.

Bill on the ice

Links

My Pictures 

Mass Central Rail Trail

Another 50°Day – River Bend Farm to the Millville Rapid - January 27, 2018

Broken Dam at Route 16

We had another nice warm day, and Jonathan and Conrad were willing to head south to paddle the nine-mile section of the Blackstone from River Bend Farm in Uxbridge to the Millville Rapid in Millville. The day was warm, the river was up (4 feet, 500 cfs), and the winds were gusting up to 40 mph. 

The first half of the trip is quick water as the river twists and turns through the woods. After it absorbs the Mumford and West Rivers about half way down, the Blackstone opens up and there is more flatwater. There are two small rapids that get all the attention - the Broken Dam at Route 16, and the Millville Rapid at the end. Here I am with Bill running the Millville Rapid.


Millville Rapid from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Links:
My Pictures
My Video
Paddle Guide - BRVNHC
Northbridge Gage

Quinebaug River - Putnam to Brooklyn - January 20, 2018

Earl heads downstream

One of the first trips that I did with Mike and Chuck was the Quinebaug River from Putnam to Dayville. It was the spring of 2006. I had just bought my solo canoe, and was pretty much a complete newbie. Little did I know that it would be the first of many trips that I would do with these fine paddlers. 

The Quinebaug River arises above East Brimfield Lake in Sturbridge and flows generally southeast for 60 miles through MA and CT to Norwich where it joins the Willimantic to form the Shetucket. Since that first trip with Mike and Chuck, I have driven past the Quinebaug many times on my way to other rivers.  When I saw that Earl had posted a Quinebaug trip on the Flatwater Message Board, I decided it was time to go back.

Ice at the take out

We met at 10:00 at the canoe launch at Simonzi Park (80-82 Kennedy Drive, Putnam, CT 06260), and decided to extend the trip past Dayville to Riverside Park (18 Day Street, Brooklyn CT 06234) – a trip of about 11 miles. The river was a nice level – 700 cfs on Putnam gage, and the weather was warm – almost 50°. 

The run was uneventful from Putnam down to Dayville. About a mile past Route 101 is the Rogers Dam, which we portaged on the right. We played in the easy rapids below the dam before continuing downstream. Along the way we saw various ducks, a bald eagle, and a golden eagle - a first for both of us. We couldn’t find the boat launch at Riverside Park, so we ended up taking out below the power lines a little upstream, which involved a long carry back to the cars. Still a fun trip

Quinebaug River from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Links:

My Pictures
Earl's Pictures

My Video – Earl below the Rogers Dam

Quinebaug River Paddle Guide

Putnam Gage

Purgatory Chasm - January 14, 2018

On Devil's Pulpit at the Chasm

I was hoping to paddle today, but with the temp’s dropping, there didn’t seem to be a trip. Instead, I did a hike with Conrad, Bill and the Papa Joe hiking crew at the Purgatory Chasm State Reservation in Sutton.

I came showshoeing here five years ago (almost to the day – January 15, 2011) with the RICKA crew, and have come a couple of times since with Michelle (mostly to stop at West End Creamery). The Chasm was formed 14,000 years ago when a mile-high glacier let loose a gush of dammed-up water carving out the 70-foot-deep gorge.

We started with a loop around the Chasm on the Charlie Loop Trail.  From there we bushwacked through the woods down to Purgatory Brook, and saw a couple of pretty waterfalls before heading up the Forest Road Trail and Old Purgatory Trail into the Sutton State Forest. We finished up with lunch at Stephanie’s in Grafton. 

Waterfalls on Purgatory Brook from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Links:

My Pictures

My Video

Trail Map

High Water, but no Paddling - January 13, 2018

Last weekend, Bill and I were snowshoeing along the bike path in Ashton, and the Blackstone was frozen solid. This weekend after the rain and the big warm-up, the ice was gone, and the river was cranking at at 8 feet, 4000 cfs at the Woonsocket Falls and Manville. 

Woonsocket Falls and Manville Dam from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

With higher water levels, I decided to go check out the Branch River.  It was running at 7 feet, 1800 cfs, but I knew it would start to drop quickly. The ice was gone, and the big tree that had previously blocked the Glendale Rapid had floated downstream and is now below the Nasonville Dam. The trees and the big pile of debris that had blocked the middle channel below Atlas Pallet (where Chuck pinned his boat during the first PARI attempt) is also gone. 

Branch River from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Unfortunately, the chill is back today, and no one is interested in paddling, so I am off to hike at Purgatory Chasm with Bill and the Papa Joe crew.

(p.s. This video was done on Saturday. By Sunday the river had dropped to 900 cfs, and by Monday was 500 cfs. The highest I had run it in the past was 600 cfs two days after the first PARI attempt. Monday would have been the day, but I had other stuff to do.)

Snowshoeing on the Bikepath in Ashton - January 5, 2018

It was an unbroken trail...

With 18’” of nice light powder on the ground, and all the rivers frozen, snowshoeing seemed to be the order of the day.  With a high temperature of 6°, gusty winds, and wind chills well below zero, the list of potential hiking partners was short.  Fortunately, Bill was game, so we met at noon at the Visitor Center on Route 295 in Lincoln. 

We headed down the bikepath until we reached the ridge above the Ashton Dan.  From there, we hiked down the ridge, and along the river to Route 295 before climbing back up the ridge on the way back to the visitor center.  We were out about an hour and a half, and hiked about mile – that was plenty. Lunch afterward at Jacky’s Galaxie in Cumberland was a nice reward.

Links:

My Pictures