Halloween on the Piscat - October 31st

Had a fun day today at the MVP/AMC year-end paddle and BBQ on the Piscataquog in Goffstown, NH.  RICKA was well represented with eight boats - six kayaks (Tom Jr., Tom Sr., Paul, Bob, Andy and Steve) and two canoes (me and Jeff). We were the first group on the river, and the last group to reach the take-out.  The Piscat is an easy class II with a couple of nice surf waves. I was doing pretty well on this one until I got spun sideways with my paddle on the upstream side (end of video).

Halloween on the Piscat from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

I didn’t get to stay to enjoy the BBQ, but I did get home in time to give out candy for Halloween.

Links:
My Video
River description from American Whitewater

"Love the Rock" Part 2 - New Boston Run on the Farmington - October 18th

When I pulled into the small parking lot at the Bear’s Den Rapid Sunday morning, there were already two cars in the lot. It was 9:00 AM, and we had agreed to meet at 9:30 AM, so someone had arrived early.

Walking down to the river I could see Jeff Budz and Geoff (GMK from NPMB) hard at work releasing a canoe that had gotten pinned the day before. Before I could get my drysuit on to help, they had popped the canoe off the rock. Good work.

After Saturday’s poling trip, I was back at the Farmington River on Sunday to run the New Boston section in my whitewater canoe. The run is about 7 miles. The first and last couple of miles are class II with one class III rapid at the end. The middle is class III – a narrow creek-like run with lots of rocks and several 2 to 3 foot drops.

We pretty much had the river to ourselves. I guess the lousy weather and low release kept people away. We had 4 canoes (me, Matt, Aaron and Jeff) and 2 kayaks (Geoff and Jeff).

 
I had done this run with Matt two years ago at a level of 4 feet, and did pretty well. I swam going over the biggest drop at Decoration Rock, but otherwise ran it clean. No such luck yesterday. Yesterday’s level was 3.7 feet which made for a boney, technical run. I spent the day bouncing off, riding up on, and flipping over on rocks.

I swam twice in the middle section – once below the first big drop after the slalom course, and once just above Decoration Rock. Both times I rode up on unseen rocks, got spun sideways, and was unable to hold the upstream gunwale out of the water – a sure recipe for disaster in a fast moving river. This is the section above decoration Rock.

By the time we got to the last rapid – Bear’s Den - I was cold and tired. Temperatures had only been in the high 30’s, and it had rained and snowed on-and-off all day. I watched as Scott and Matt ran the rapid, but didn’t feel confident. Sure enough, I flipped about half way through. Thanks goodness for drysuits.

Scott and Matt run the Bear's Den Rapid from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

I’d love to do this run again with a little more water – everyone said it would be easier. Maybe next year.

Links:
Jeff's video of my run above Decoration Rock
River description from American Whitewater
New Boston Gage

“Love the rock” - Farmington Poling – October 17th

“Love the rock”. That’s what they taught me in my first whitewater class. If you end up sideways in the current, broached against an obstruction, you need to lean into the obstructuction to keep the upstream gunwale out of the water. If you don’t, the boat will pin and you will never get it off.

That’s what happened to Joe.

I hooked up with Jeff, Matt and a few other polers for a fun day on the lower section of the Farmington in New Boston. We put-in around 11:00 and spent a couple of hours picking our way through the boulders as we worked our way up to the Bear’s Den Rapid. The river was not particularly high, but there were several class II sections with lots of rocks and ledge.

The last rapid below Bear’s Den is the most difficult. Marshall went first and took a swim. Aaron went next and almost made it, only to lose his pole. Joe went third. He got spun sideways and his boat quickly pinned on a large boulder. We worked for 20 minutes to get his boat off the rock to no avail. We finally decided to return the next day with more help. Then we will run the upper section in whiterwater boats.

More to come.

Links:
My Pictures
Jeff's video of Matt and I poling
Jeff's video of Joe about to wrap his canoe

West River - September 26th

Some people say that whitewater paddling is 70% skill, 30% luck, and 90% driving. I think that’s probably true. I got together with Tom, Paul and Jim for a couple of runs on the upper section of West River in Jamaica, VT. The drive is almost three hours each way, but it was worth the trip.

I had paddled the lower section of the West (Jamaica State Park to Route 100) several times in the past. Its an easy class II - nice scenery, but not very exciting. This would be my first run on the upper section (Ball Mountain Dam to Jamaica State Park) which is a nice class III. We skipped the shuttle from Jamaica State Park and hiked down the Ball Mountain Dam to the put-in – that’s a long carry.

The first rapid below the dam definitely got my attention. The AMC guide calls it the Standing Wave Rapids. On American Whitewater its called Initiation. Whatever its called, its a half-mile of continuous 2 to 3 foot waves - what a great ride.  The fun continued for the next couple of miles.

The West is a mixture of rocks, ledges and long wave trains. At 1,500 cfs, the water was a little too pushy for me to do too much playing, but the weather and the scenery more than made up for that. It was a beautiful day – 65 degrees and sunny. The leaves were just beginning to turn.  The river was crowded, but everyone was having a good time.

The most difficult rapid on this section of the river is called the Dumplings.  The Dumplings are a group 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 swam on my first attempt when I didn’t quite make the second turn. I had better luck on my second attempt – it wasn’t pretty, but I made it through.

I always enjoy paddling with Paul – he is always looking to paddle bigger rapids. It was great to meet and paddle with Tom and Jim. Fortunately, Tom had paddled this section before and he got us through with no problem.

Links:
River description from American Whitwater

Manville Dam – September 13th

It was another busy weekend, but I did get out for a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon. My original plan was to paddle the flatwater section of the Blackstone River above the Manville Dam, but I ended up playing around in the waves below the dam. Nothing too big, but I still should have brought my helmet.  Woonsocket Falls guage was 2ft, 400 cfs,


Manville Dam from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Links:
My video

Canal Loop - Ashton to Lonsdale - September 5th

Its Labor Day weekend and I didn't have much time for paddling, but I did get out Sunday for an easy run on the Blackstone.

I decided to do the canal/river loop from Ashton to the Pratt Dam. I had read in the newspaper that the Blackstone River Watershed Council/Friends of the Blackstone had recently installed new signs and buoys at the Pratt Dam, so I wanted to check it out.

I arrived at the put-in near the Kelly House around 3:00. The water was low, but nice for an easy paddle. Its 3 miles down the river, and then three miles back up the canal. In higher water there are a few easy rapids. Today, there were just ripples.

There were hundreds of people on Blackstone River Bikeway, but I was alone on the river. Birds were everywhere – ducks, geese, and blue heron – and the late summer flowers were in bloom.

I approached the Pratt Dam and took out on river right as instructed by the new sign. Hopefully, the new buoys will keep people away from this dangerous dam. It’s a short portage along the bike path to the put-in on the Blackstone Canal.

The current in the canal is light making for an easy paddle back upstream. Turtles were sunning themselves on rocks and the banks were covered with flowers – goldenrod, purple loosestrife, daisies, and lots of wildflowers that I couldn’t identify. I passed the time trying to get some good close-up shots.

I got back to the take-out around 6:00 and headed home – not bad for a local paddle.

Links:
My pictures

Millville Rapid - August 30th

Well, we didn’t get as much rain as we hoped for, but five of us (Eric, Andy, Jeff, Paul and Erik) did get out for an easy run on the Blackstone – 10 miles from River Bend Farm to the Blackstone Gorge. We did get enough rain to bring the river up nicely - 3.75 ft on the Northbridge guage. There were lots of strainers, but nothing that we couldn’t float over or around. Got a chance to try our my new camera at the Millville Rapid – broke my last one when I dropped it on the kitchen floor. The new camera is a Pentax Optio W60 - HD video is cool.


Millville Rapid from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Links:
My pictures
My video
Jeff's video