Branch River Icebreaker - March 22, 2015

Whipple Drop

It was windy and cold at the put-in for the start of our annual Branch River Icebreaker trip - cold enough to discourage some of the old-timers, and that is not easy to do.  Still we had 6 die-hards willing to make the trip – 3 canoes (me, Jon and Jeff) and 3 kayaks (Scott, Phil and Mike).

The river was low (2.5 feet, 150 cfs) as we put-in below the old Stillwater Mill.  We tried paddling upstream to the Harrisville Dam, but in the shallow water a gravel bar blocked our way.  At higher water levels the Branch is a quickwater stream with a couple of tricky class II rapids.  At this water level finding a channel with enough water to float the boat was the main challenge.

Nasonville

We bounced our way down Whipple Drop, and maneuvered around a couple of blow-downs on our way to the first portage at the Glendale Dam. This is the traditional lunch stop, but we skipped it and went to Gators Pub after the trip for a beer and a burger instead. I wouldn't mind that becoming a new tradition. 

I had my first swim of the year doing a seal launch at Oakland. It was a small icy hill and my boat took off before I could pick up my paddle. Fortunately I was only in about 8 inches of water.

At the take-out

A couple of the crew bounced down the rocks in what is usually a fun rapid at Gendale.  I spared my boat and carried around.  We picked our way through the shallows down to Atlas Pallet where everyone was able to run the rapid.  From there there is an easy carry at Nasonville, and then an easy paddle to the take-out.  Fun day.

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Forestdale Gage

Crystal - March 15, 2015

Below Crystal Rapid

It’s finally starting to warm up here in southern New England.  It rained most of the day on Saturday, which got the local crew thinking that we’d have some paddling options on Sunday.  Unfortunately, even with the warm temperatures and rain, most of the rivers are still iced over or have dangerous ice shelves along the banks.  One of the few exceptions was the Crystal section of the Farmington River in CT. 

I’ve run this section of the Farmington many times before.  It’s an easy class I/II run with some rock gardens and a ledge at the end.  There were some huge sheets of ice on the banks, but the river itself was clear and ice free.  The put-in also has one of the best seal launching hills around.  It was definitely nice to be out on the water.

Crystal Seal Launches from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

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Seal launching video 

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Pawtuxet Cove to Gaspee Point - February 28, 2015

At the put in

The snowshoeing has been fun this month  but it was still nice to get my boat out for a little paddling.  I met Jim, Frank and Earl at the Pawtuxet Village to paddle the Pawtuxet Cove and Lower Providence River.

The day was just beginning to warm as we put in at the Aspray Boathouse near Pawtuxet Park.  There was a considerable amount of ice along the shore, but the main channel was free.  We paddled up the Cove to the Broad Street Bridge to check out the Pawtuxet Falls. While we were there, a pair of bald eagles flew overhead and landed in some nearby trees.

Slushy ice

From there, we paddled back down the Cove, and then headed south along the breakwater.  We paddled past Passeonkquis Cove, which was filled with a slushy ice with the consistency of a slurpee.  There were hundreds of swans on this section of the lower Providence River along with geese, ducks and gulls.

We paddled down as far as Gaspee Point before turning back.  Gaspee Point was the site of the first hostilities of the American Revolution when the British revenue schooner Gaspée was grounded and burned by local Patriots. 

The Crew - Jim, Earl, Frank and Erik

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Earl’s Pictures

I need to get skis - Manville - February 14, 2015

My father's old Hurons

I need to get skis. Tommy has been saying that for a while, but the point really came home to me yesterday.  

I decided to do some snowshoeing in the morning before the snowstorm started up in the afternoon.  I have a pair of traditional wooden Huron snowshoes that are pretty good for deep snow and covering ground.  I went down to the bike path in Manville and was moving along at what I thought was a pretty good pace when I heard a couple of skiers coming up behind me.  They were gone before I could get my gloves off and my camera out of my pocket.    

I think it’s time to get some cross-country skis.

Ski trail in the bike path - the skiers are long gone...

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Diamond Hill with Bill - February 8, 2015

Bill climbing to the cliff

Bill and I were supposed to do a RICKA message board hike in Chepachet, but it got cancelled due to weather.  Fortunately Bill was still up for a trip, so we met at Diamond Hill for the loop around the “rock”.

Bill said that he was looking for something with "a little elevation", so this seemed like a good choice.  We took my usual route through the woods to the right of the bandstand and headed down to the old quarry.  The snow was unbroken, and in places waist deep as we worked out way up to the cliff.  It was definitely a workout, but worth it for the views.

From there we headed back down and took the switchback road up to the top of the hill.  Fortunately, the trail along this section was broken or it would have been a real workout.  It also made it easy to find the trail along the road that I can never find on my own. 

View from the top

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Mount Tom Trail - February 1, 2015

Mout Tom Cliffs

I headed out with the RICKA crew to do some snowshoeing on the Mount Tom Trail in the Arcadia Wildlife Management Area.

The Arcadia Wildlife Management Area is located in southwestern Rhode Island and includes over 14,000 forested acres.  It has and extensive system of trails including more that 30 miles maintained by the Narragansett AMC and RIDEM. We did an out-and back of about 3 miles on the Mount Tom Trail that took us out to the Mount Tom Cliffs that provide great view of the surrounding area.

Barbara, Judy, Sharon, Lori, Linsey, Mike, Erik and Bill

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Mount Tom Trail

Manville Dam – January 18, 2015

After the long stretch of cold weather, it was nice to have the temperatures warm up a bit.  It was 50° with a little bit of drizzle as I put my boat in the water at the Manville Dam. I thought it would be a good level (2.2 feet, 525 cfs on the Woonsocket gage) for a little "park and play" in the rapids below the dam, but it was actually a little higher than I expected with an ice shelf on the bridge pier in the middle of the river that made me nervous. I did carry my boat up to the top for a quick run down. Then I played in the small drop above the put-in for a little while. I only paddled for an hour, but it was enough.

Manville Dam from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo