Halloween BBQ on the Piscat - October 28, 2023

The crew at the put-in

For 20-years the MVP and NHAMC have been sponsoring a Halloween Paddle and BBQ during the fall drawdown at the Gregg's Falls Dam on the Piscataquog River. I did my first whitewater trip here in 2005 after taking the NHAMC Whitewater School and purchasing my first whitewater boat, and have padded here many times since. This year would be the third time paddling tandem with Jonathan in my Mohawk.

The Piscataquog River arise in Deering, NH and twists and turns for 35-miles before flowing into the Merrimack River in Manchester. We would be running the class II section below the Gregg's Falls Dam. I met Paul at the MacDonalds in Uxbridge for the trip up to Goffstown. As usual, I missed the exit in Manchester and we arrived late after taking the long way around the reservoir. Jonathan was already there, and Conrad and Ellen arrived shortly after.

Paul at Powerline

We dropped off our boats at the dam and ran the shuttle down to the road behind the prison. By the time we got back to the put-in there was a long line waiting to launch. The release was a little lower than usual due to issues with the dam – 5’, 700 cfs. The day was sunny and in the low 80’s – can’t beat that.

This section is about 3-miles long with the most consistent rapids in the first mile. The section just below the dam was a little boney at this level. Conrad and Ellen got hung up on the rocks, but Jonathan and I made it through fine. We did get into the big eddy for the surf wave below the power lines, but got flushed downstream before we could catch the wave. We did our best to turn the boat into a submarine at the surf wave above Henry Bridge, but didn’t swim!

Surfing the wave above Henry Bridge

From there is it mostly quickwater with a couple of easy rapids on the way down to the take-out. There is a squirt line where the river takes a sharp right turn. We pulled into the eddy, and got spun around on the strong eddy line. The last rapid is a rocky drop just above the take out. We got into the eddy on the left, but once again got flushed downstream before we could catch the surf wave.

After the run we headed back to the dam for the BBQ – hamburgers, hot dogs and good company. Great day as always.

Piscat Tandem Surfing - 2023 from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

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My Pictures

Surfing above the Henry Bridge in 2023

Surfing above the Henry Bridge over the years

River description from American Whitewater

Goffstown Gage