Pemi - Woodstock - May 11, 2024

On the river

It has been a while since I had my whitewater boat out, so when I saw that NHAMC had a trip on the Pemi in Woodstock I decided to join in.

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.

Drop at the put-in

There are a couple of other sections of the Pemi that I have paddled including the quickwater section from Woodstock/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.

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 the Ledges off Death Valley Road. We had 9 boats – 8 kayaks and one canoe (guess who). The river was a little low - 4-feet, 900 cfs., but still fluid. We put-in and ran the 2-foot drop in the center.

Surfwave

From there the river alternates between quickwater and class i/II rapids. First comes the Woodstock Squeeze - the river narrows and takes a hard left turn at a large rock wall. Next comes the Powerline Rapid - a gradual drop which can be shallow at the top and bottom. Next comes Tree Fall Alley – a fast moving shoot which terminates in a nasty strainer. Next comes the Gravel Pit Bypass – a fast moving shoot which terminates at another rock wall.

The final rapid is the Ledges – a short series of drops right at the take out. I went down first so I could get some video of the other going through. I took the line behind the big rock and then down the middle. Everyone else made it through fine.


The Ledges from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Links:
My Pictures

My Video - The Ledges

River Description from American Whitewater