Open Boat, Moving Water - A Paddler's Journal: Connecticut River Camping - Canaan to Bloomfield

Saturday, May 12, 2018

Connecticut River Camping - Canaan to Bloomfield - May 9-11, 2018

Put-in in Canaan with the
class III rapids upstream

I left my house early Wednesday morning and was driving north up Route I-495 in rush hour traffic. As I came to Route 3 the commuter traffic was headed south toward Boston, but I left the traffic behind and headed north into New Hampshire. It felt good!

After running the section of the upper Connecticut River from Bloomfield, VT (North Stratford, NH) to Lunenburg, VT (South Lancaster, NH) last fall, Bill and I wanted to run the section from Canaan, VT (West Stewarstown, NH) to Blooomfield, VT (North Stratford, NH). We had been planning the trip for months, and it had finally arrived. I met Bill at the Visitor Center in Hooksett for the rest of the drive to the river.

Monadnock Mountain in VT

When we arrived at the take-out, Earl and Jonathan were already there, and Conrad arrived shortly after. With the crew complete, we consolidated our boats and gear for trip up to the put-in in Canaan. The river was at a great level – 6 feet, 4,000 cfs on the North Stratford gage.

We unloaded our boats at the boat ramp below the Canaan-West Stewartstown Bridge. Above the bridge, we could see the class III rapids below the Canaan Dam. The river was running fast as we headed out and paddled downstream. This section of the river meanders though farms and fields as it circles Monadnock Mountain in Vermont. After passing the Colebrook Bridge we pulled into the Holbrook Point Campsite.

Campfire cooking

The picnic table and stairs were still chained to a tree when we arrived, so we were likely the first campers to use the site this year. We set up the camp, gathered firewood, and had a nice supper of Fried Fish and Maine Guide Potatoes cooked on the fire by Jonathan before we settling in around the campfire for the night.

On Thursday we were in no rush to get started since we had a relatively short paddle down to the Lyman Falls. Breakfast included Omelets, Home Fries, and Sausage with lots of coffee. After breakfast we started loading our boats. Unfortunately, I wasn’t paying attention and my fully loaded canoe drifted out into the river. Fortunately, Conrad had his drysuit and was able swim out and retrieve it before it hit the current and got swept downstream.

Campsite at Lyman Falls State Park

The Connecticut River is not known for its wilderness feel, but this section seemed a little more remote with hemlocks lining the banks in several sections. Below the Columbia Covered Bridge there was two miles of intermittent quickwater and class I rips leading to the Lyman Falls - a washed out dam and our destination for the night.

Before running the dam, we checked out the campsites upstream on the NH side, but found them poorly maintained. I ran the dam on the left, and ferried over to the Vermont side to check out the campsites at the Lyman Falls State Park, which were much nicer. In fact, they were the nicest sites that I had seen so far on the river. Jonathan, Bill and Earl followed my lead, and Conrad ran the dam just right of center.

Conrad surfing at Lyman Falls

We set up camp and had a long lazy afternoon. We were only the second group to use the site this year, so firewood was easy to find and soon we had a large pile to burn. After a little exploring around the campsite, we lit the fire and Jonathan cooked a great dinner of Curried Chicken. After that, there was nothing left to do but enjoy the fire.

It had cooled off significantly when we woke up on Friday morning. The rapids on Thursday had dumped enough water in my boat to contaminate the fuel in my Coleman stove, so all cooking would have to be on the fire. Good thing we brought Jonathan along. We got a fire started, the coffee perking, and breakfast cooking - bacon, pancakes and left-over curried chicken.

Luther's Troopers (or the Canaan Five)
Bill, Conrad, Earl, Jonathan and Erik

After breakfast, we cleared some logs and debris from the launch area (always leave the site better than you found it) before loading our boats. By now the river had dropped about a foot - 5 feet, 3,000 cfs on the North Stratford gage. Conrad and I did a little surfing below the dam before we all headed downstream.

Even at this level, there were some nice class I rips immediately below the Lyman Dam. We were surprised that these easy rapids continued for several miles down to Bloomfield. Unfortunately, Earl and I had to take out there, but Bill, Jonathan and Conrad continued down to the Maidstone Bridge.