Otter Brook and the Branch River – May 1, 2021

It is always nice to do a tandem run with Jonathan. This time we paddled the the class II section of Otter Brook with Conrad and the Boston AMC, and then continued downstream to the race take out at the Sawyers Crossing Covered Bridge on the Ashuelot River in Swanzey. The river was at it's usual release level of 300 cfs. There are a couple of nice rapids below the usual take out. We portaged the dam about a mile downstream on the right – there was at least one tree down in the channel on the right. The last 3 - 4 miles is flatwater. Nice trip.

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River Description for American Whitewater

Planning for Spring Camping – Lake Umbagog - June 7 - 10 , 2021

I really want to get out to do some spring camping, but nothing was coming together, so I booked some sites on Lake Umbagog for June 7 - 10.  

Umbagog Lake is located along the border of NH and ME near Errol, NH. The lake runs almost 11 miles north to south and is fed by the Magalloway River, the Rapid River, and the Dead Cambridge River. It is the source of the Androscoggin River. The lake is part of the Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge and Umbagog Lake State Park.  

Umbagog Lake State Park includes a base camp with 27 sites at the southernmost end of the lake that can be accessed from NH Rt. 26. There are 33 wilderness campsites located around the lake that are accessible only by boat. I crossed the upper end of Lake Umbagog when we did the Magalloway, Rapid and Androscoggin Rivers last fall.  

Bill and Earl have signed on, and here is the trip we planned:

Day 1 – meet at Umbagog Lake State Park and shuttle a car to the Errol Dam. Put in at the base camp and explore the southern end of the lake including the Dead Cambridge River. Head north to Big Island. Camp at site R9 on Big Island - 6 miles.

Day 2 – paddle north past Pine Tree Point and east to the mouth of the Rapid River. Camp at site R15 – 10 miles.

Day 3 – paddle up the Rapid River to the whitewater section - hike up the trail if we want. Paddle back along the north shore to the mouth of the Androscoggin. Camp at site R28 - 7 miles. 

Day 4 – paddle back down the Androscoggin to the dam - 4 miles.

Bill and I will be paddling my Spirit II. Earl will be in his kayak.  Extended forecast looks good for now - partly clouding and in the 80's. We can get firewood at the base camp, but Earl says we shouldn't need it - there is plenty around.

Lake Umbagog from the Magalloway River

Links:

Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge

Umbagog Lake State Park

Remote Campsites Map

Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge Water Routes from Maine Trail Finder

Pemi – Thornton to Campton - April 12, 2021

At the put-in

The second weekend in April is usually reserved for a run on the Upper Millers. This year, I wasn’t sure about the shuttle, and my whitewater skills are a little rusty, so I decided to join Jonathan’s trip on the South Branch of the Piscataquog. When water levels on the Piscat dropped, the trip got moved to the Pemi instead.

The Pemigewasset originates in Franconia Notch and flows south through the White Mountains to merge with the Winnipesaukee River in Franklin where it forms the Merrimack. It is a huge watershed that can be a very flashy. In fact, we stopped at an island where Matt and Doug (Scooter and Hal) were forced to send the night in a tree when the river came up 18-feet overnight.

View upstream from the put-in

We would be running the section from Thornton to Campton. I had done this section with Jonathan and Doug once before. With snowmelt on the mountains, the river was at a nice level - 4.5 feet, 1,400 cfs on the Woodstock gage. It was cloudy as I left RI, but the skies got brighter as I headed north into New Hampshire. I met Tommy at the take out at Blair Bridge in Campton for the shuttle up to the put-in at Robins Nest Road in Thornton.

We had 8 boats and 10 paddlers (Jonathan/Chris, Bob/Richard, Tommy, Marshal, Matt, Jean, Cathy and me) – all canoes. The river was running well – 9-miles of quickwater with a few easy rapids. Other than a headwind blowing from the south, it was just about the perfect day.

Take-out at Blair Bridge

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Woodstock Gage
River Description from American Whitewater

River Bend Farm - April 2, 2021

River Bend Farm Visitor Center

It’s always tough to get out on Easter weekend. This year I had Thursday and Friday off from work, so I was able to sneak out for an early morning run at River Bend Farm. It was a brisk 29° when I put my boat in the water at the Visitor Center. The level was OK – around 3.7 feet on the Northbridge gage. There are a few tricky strainers on the river, but a nice run just the same.

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Trip Description from BRVNHC

Branch River Icebreaker - March 21, 2021

Up the Glendale Rapid

It has been seven-years since my last poling trip. From what I can tell, it was December 2014 with Matt McCay at Satan’s Kingdom. Not sure why I haven’t been poling since, but today I was out with Chuck, Mike and Matt H. for the annual Branch River Icebreaker, and it was a blast.

We were out on the Branch for the traditional third weekend in March, race weekend paddle. The weather was great – high 50’s and sunny. No ice to break on this trip. The level was low, but we have done lower. With a little rain on Friday it popped up to 2.5 feet, 150 cfs. It was a great level for poling, and the three drops (Whipple, Glendale and Atlas Pallet) were boney but runnable.

Running Glendale

Michelle dropped me off that the put-in around 10:00. Chuck and Matt were waiting, and Mike had already headed downstream. Matt and I poled up to the dam while we waited for Chuck to run the shuttle.

I was expecting to find a bunch of blow-downs above Whipple Drop, but those were gone. They were replaced by a bunch of blowdowns below Whipple drop. We made it through fine. We ran Whipple Drop with no problem, and took a short break at the Oakland Dam before heading down to Glendale and Atlas Pallet. It was a fun run.

Below the Nasonville Dam

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Branch River Gage

River description from American Whitewater

Crystal - March 14, 2021

I hadn't been to Crystal for years, and now I have been there three times in two months. Nice run, easy bike shuttle, and a paddling partner in Paul who is great to paddle with have made this an easy choice. It’s also nice to get my whitewater boat out.

Crystal is the 3-mile section of the Farmington River from the Route 179 River Trail parking lot in Burlington to the recreational parking area on River Road in Unionville. There are eight rapids that start out easy, and get progressively more difficult as you move downstream. We tend to spend a lot of time surfing and ferrying through the rock gardens. River was at a nice level - 6.2 feet, 1,000 cfs. Paul’s GPS said we paddled 4.5-miles on this 3-mile section, so that is a lot of paddling into the current.

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Crystal Gage

River Description from American Whitewater

River Island Park - March 7, 2021

It has been a year since the COVID lock-down started. The first trip I did after the stay-at-home order was issued was a solo run at River Island Park. It seems appropriate that I should be back there a year later for another run - especially after I got my mother her second COVID shot at Gillette Stadium yesterday. Nice level - 2.75 feet, 800 cfs. The hydro plant was shut down, so there was lots of water was flowing over the dam.

 

River Island Park from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

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