North Branch of the Pawtuxet with the BVPC – May 12, 2026

Heading out from the put-in

I paddled tandem with Cheryl at the traditional Blackstone Valley Paddle Club season opener with the Southern New England Paddlers on the North Branch of the Pawtuxet. Even with the recent rain, the river was shallow in spots. There is no gage on this section of the river, but the gage downstream at Fiskeville was at 0.5-feet, 63 cfs.

The North Branch of the Pawtuxet River, also known as the Upper Pawtuxet, originally arose at the confluence of the Ponaganset and Moswansicut Rivers in what is now the Scituate Reservoir. Today, the river emerges from the bottom of the massive Scituate Reservoir Dam and flows south for approximately 9-miles to West Warwick where it joins the South Branch of the Pawtuxet River to form the main stem of the Pawtuxet River.

Me and Cheryl in my Spirit II

The main stem then flows east for approximately 12-miles to empty into Narragansett Bay at the Pawtuxet Cove. Collectively, all three branches played an important role in the development of the textile industry in Rhode Island, and numerous dams still block their course.

We put-in at the Pawtuxet River Boat Launch above the Hope Furnace Dam (15 Hope Furnace Road in Scituate). We had 17 paddlers and 3 canoes for the 2-mile paddle upstream to the base of the massive earthen dam that creates Scituate Reservoir. The first part of the paddle took us through the winding marshland created by backwater from the Hope Dam. Eventually the river narrowed and we followed its tree-lined course with strainers and tricky currents up to the Scituate Reservoir Dam.

From the bottom of the dam

The Scituate Reservoir was formed by the construction of this large earthen dam in 1925. The Scituate Reservoir is now the largest artificial body of water in the state and provides water to more than 60-percent of the state’s population.

With last weekend’s rain, there was water flowing down the spillway from the top of the dam. There were trees down in the channel, but we still paddled up the short section from the spillway up to the dam. From there, it was a quick trip back down to the put-in.

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Fiskeville Gage
Hope Landing from Rhode Island Blueways

Charles River - Bays Region – May 12, 2026

I did the first weekday paddle of my retirement yesterday at Redwing Bay on the Charles River. I’ll be leading a RICKA trip there on Saturday, so I went to scout it out. Great day for a paddle, but I needed to cut it short to get home for supper before the opening BVPC trip on the North Branch of the Pawtuxet.

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Coleman Camp Oven

Biscuits ready to go in the oven

I’ve been looking for a light-weight alternative to my Dutch oven. I have a reflector oven that works great when you have a big fire, but I also wanted to try a Coleman Camp Oven that sits on a stove.

Like the reflector oven, the Coleman Camp Oven is an aluminum box that folds flat for easy storage. Unlike a reflector oven that uses heat reflected from an open fire, the camp oven sits on a camp stove burner and uses convection (heat circulating in the box) and radiant heat (absorbed by the box and radiated back) to cook/bake food much like a conventional oven.

Cornbread coming out of the oven

Unfolding the oven is as easy as opening a box. It has built in latches that you use to latch the top, bottom and sides together. It comes with a steel baking rack that can be set at three different heights.

There is a thermometer on the door that you can use to track the oven temperature. Many people say the door thermometer is inaccurate and rely on an oven thermometer or heat probe instead. When I used mine, the door thermometer seemed fine.

Bakewell Cream Biscuits

Because the oven is single-skinned, it can lose a lot of heat to the surrounding air - especially in cold weather. To combat this you can seal any openings with fire resistant aluminum tape, cover the top with aluminum foil, or wrap the outside with a fire resistant cover to trap the heat.

Another issue with the thin metal skin is that heat radiates unevenly inside the stove. Some users place a heat sink (bricks, pizza stone, cast iron press) in the bottom of the stove to better radiate heat. Lugging around something to serve as a heat sink does eliminate one of the great benefits of the oven – its relatively light weight.

Jiffy cornbread

The oven is designed to sit on a two burner Coleman stove, but any stove that will support its 12” x 12” base will work fine. I used a single burner Coleman Powerpack and it worked great. It was able to maintain consistant temperature even with a low flame. Backpacking stoves are too small to support the oven.

When cooking outside you need to provide a wind screen to provide protection from the wind. Cold temperatures will also increase heat loss from the oven and reduce the efficiency of propane stoves. The manual recommends using 8” round or square pans to allow for good air circulation inside the stove.

Yeasted dinner rolls

I gave my oven a try with biscuits (Bakewell Cream of course), cornbread (Jiffy mix from the box) and yeasted dinner rolls. All three were baked in an 8” round pan with the rack in the middle. The thermometer seemed accurate. I started the biscuits at 450, and turned them down to 325-350 after 5-minutes. I baked the cornbread and dinner rolls at around 325-350. I didn’t really track time. When the sides started to brown I took them out to avoid burning the bottom. They all baked fine but didn’t brown on the top – even the dinner rolls that I topped with butter before baking.

Overall, it is a nice little oven. It will be a nice addition when I already have a large stove along, or when fires aren't allowed. It works great to keep things warm, to cook casseroles, to roast meats, or to bake biscuits, cookies, breads or cakes. Not sure it will replace my Dutch oven though.

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Coleman Camp Oven

Pemi - Woodstock to Thornton - May 2, 2026

Pemigewasset River Iron Bridge

It rained on the way up, and it rained on the way back, but in between we had a pretty good run on the Pemi from Woodstock to Thornton.

The Pemigewasset River, also known as the “Pemi”, arises at Profile Lake at the base of Cannon Mountain in the Franconia Notch. It flows south for 65-miles to Franklin where it joins the Winnipesaukee River to form the Merrimack River.

Mist is the hills

There are a couple of other sections of the Pemi that I have paddled including the quickwater section from Thornton to Campton and the whitewater section in Bristol. The class II section in Woodstock is one of my favorites. It is a 4.5-mile trip that alternates between quickwater and class I/II rapids. This time we extended it by another 5-miles and went down to Robin’s Nest Road in Thonton.

We met at 9:30 at the put-in behind the North Woodstock Fire Station at the Woodstock Family Park and ran the shuttle down to the take-out at Robin’s Next Road. We had 8 boats, all canoes – 4 tandem and 4 solo. The river was a little low – 3.5-feet, 450 cfs. but surprisingly fluid, although we skipped the bid drop at the put in.

Running the Ledges

This section of the river alternates between quickwater and class I/II rapids. There is the Woodstock Squeeze - the river narrows and takes a hard left turn at a large rock wall, the Powerline Rapid - a long s-turn, Tree Fall Alley – a fast moving shoot which is often full of strainers, and Gravel Pit Bypass – a fast moving shoot which terminates at another rock wall.

The largest rapid is the Ledges. Usually there are lots of lines through this series of drops, but at this level the line on the right was best. Everyone made it through fine, and we continued down to the take out at Robin’s Nest Road.

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Pemi Woodstock Gage

Big River - April 25, 2026

Zeke's Bridge

I was supposed to teach at the NHAMC Canoe School this weekend, but they had more teachers that students, so they didn’t need me. Instead, I ended up paddling the Big River in Coventry.

The Big River arises in West Greenwich at the confluence of the Congdon and Nooseneck Rivers. From there, it flows north through West Greenwich and Coventry to its confluence with the Flat River in the area now flooded by the Flat River Reservoir to form the South Branch Pawtuxet River. Much of the river flows through the Big River Management Area.

Reynolds Pond

Big River is a relatively new state management area. In the 1960’s, land was condemned by the state and the owners evicted so that a large reservoir could be constructed on the site. The reservoir was never built and the area is now a 8,300-acre conservation area that includes more than 1,200-acres of wetlands.

We put in at the Zeke's Bridge Fishing Access off Harkney Hill Road (Route 118) in Coventry, which is located on Johnson Pond near the bridge. We paddled under the bridge and headed south into Reynolds Pond.

Up the Big River

Reynolds is a beautiful winding pond with a mix of white pines and cedar lining the shore. At the far end of Reynolds Pond we continued under I-95 and Route 3, and up the Big River.

The Big River meanders through a through a mix of white pines and cedar swamps. The level was up and it was tricky to maneuver through the twists and turns. We stopped for lunch at the campsite, and headed upstream a little further before heading back to the put in.

The crew at the campsite

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Pawcatuck River Overnight - April 18-19, 2026

Chuck running the Richmond Dam

There were a few different options for this weekend. I could have headed out to the Knightville section of the Westfield for the annual release, but my knee was still sore. I also could have joined Jonathan for his annual trip on the South Branch of the Pcat, but it seemed like it would be pretty low – poling level. Instead, I decided to do an overnight trip on the Pawcatuck.

Jim organized this trip for members of the Mid-Atlantic, New England, And Northeast Canoe Fanatics Facebook group. We would be putting in at John (Jay) Cronin River Access in Richmond, camping at the boot-leg site at the confluence of the Wood River, and taking out at Bradford. The river was at a nice level – 300 cfs, 3-feet on the Wood River Junction gage.

Home for the night

It was drizzling as I drove down I-95, but it had stopped by the time I reached the put-in. We had six boats camping and two doing the run from Richmond to Bradford on Saturday. The forecast for rain on Sunday may have scared-off a few folks. We unloaded our gear, ran the shuttle and then headed downstream.

Chuck started us off by running the dam at the put-in. Even with a loaded boat he made it look easy. From there down to the campsite the river is narrow and we had to maneuver around numerous blow-downs. Chuck, Jim and Aaron had scouted it out a few weeks ago and cleared out a few strainers, so we were able to paddle through without too much difficulty.

Cinnamon rolls for breakfast

We arrived at the at the boot-leg site at around noon. This is a pretty site with lots of pine trees. Unfortunately, there was a fire in the area several years ago. Between the fire damage and strong winds, there are not lots of trees down around the site. Not as pretty as it was, but very easy to find firewood.

We got to work unloading our gear and setting up camp. Chuck brought Dynamite for lunch – good stuff. Eventually we got the evening fire going and cooked supper. For me it was steak and home-fried potatoes. I also cooked apple crisp in the Dutch oven for dessert. I lasted around the fire until around 10:00, and then called it a night.

Heading out on Sunday morning

I finally rolled out of the tent at around 6:00 on Sunday. I got the coffee going and started cooking cinnamon rolls in the Dutch oven for breakfast. Jim was up shortly after and got the fire going, and Terry grilled up some brown bread. After a carb-heavy breakfast, we got to work breaking camp and loading the boats.

By 8:30, we were on our way downstream in a light drizzle. This section of the river is bigger with the increased flow from the Wood River. We all ran the broken dam at Burdickville on the right, and made it through fine. From there, it is an easy paddle down to Bradford.

The crew - Jim, Ken, Cjuck, Peter, Terry, Erik and JD

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Wood River Junction Gage

Plummers Landing to Route 122 – April 8, 2026

Heading downstream

I have some vacation time left, so I decided to take a day to practice being retired before I actually retire on May 1st. I met up with Bob, Dan and Rick to run the section of the Blackstone River from Plummers Landing, through River Bend Farm, and down to Route 122.

We met at 9:00 at Plummers Landing to run the shuttle. The river was at a nice level – 3.6 on the Northbridge gage. This section of the river is in a considerable state of flux with the river constantly eroding its banks and creating new channels. The river twists and turns, and it can be a challenge to maneuver around the s-turns and through the strainers. 

Goat Hill Lock

About a mile downstream from the put in, the river breached the old Blackstone Canal on the right, and much of the water now flows down the old canal trench. The canal is blocked with trees, so you need to stay left to remain in the river. 

Eventually, we entered the calm water of Rice City Pond and paddled over to check out the Goat Hill Lock from the old Blackstone Canal. The Blackstone Canal opened in 1828 and utilized a series of 49 locks to move the canal boats up and down the 450-foot difference in elevation from Providence to Worcester. This is one of only two remaining locks – the other is the Millville Lock just downstream of the Millville Rapid.

Broken Dam at Route 16

We stayed right on Rice City Pond and paddled down the flooded-out section of the old Blackstone Canal to the stone-arch bridge at Hartford Avenue. From there, we portaged over to the river to continue our run down to the Stanley Woolen Mill and Route 16.

Like the section below Plummers Landing, the section through River Bend Farm twists and turns around s-turns and through low-hanging trees. You need to be careful to avoid the fast moving water that pushes you into the strainers on the outside of turns.

First swim of the year

We continued downstream to run the broken dam at Route 16. In spite of a large strainer in the middle, there was an easy line to the left. As I was trying to shift from sitting to kneeling in the eddy on the left, I had my first swim of the year – over I went in the squirrelly water of the eddy.

Below Route 16 the river continues to twist and turn. There were a couple of river-wide strainers that Rick was able to paddle through, but I decided to portage. We pulled into the take out at the Skull Rock Lock Trail Head on Route 122 at around 2:00.

The crew - Bob, Erik, Rick and Dan

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Northbridge Gage