Crystal - January 17, 2021

Bike shuttle

So far this winter has been pretty good for paddling – lots of rain and not particularly cold. With the MLK holiday this weekend I wanted to get out to paddle at least one day. I sent an email to Paul, and he suggested Crystal. It’s been a couple of years since I had paddled there and it would be another opportunity to get my whitewater boat out, so it sounded good to me. 

Crystal is one of several whitewater runs on the Farmington River including New Boston (class III/IV), “Tville” or the Tariffville Gorge (class (II/III) and Riverton/Satan’s Kingdom (class I/II). Back in the day I took many trips out to Crystal to paddle with Matt and Scott. Its a long drive for a relatively easy run, so lately I have been out there less frequently.

Running one of many ledges

In these days of COVID, though, Crystal is a great alternative due to the easy bike shuttle on the Farmington River Trail that runs along side. We left our cars at the parking lot below the Red Barn off River Road and biked the 3-miles back to the put in on the bike path – it was great.

The river was at a nice level – 6.5’, 1,200 cfs. The day was warm, but there was a strong, gusting wind that almost blow me over in the flats above the Route 4 Bridge. 

Running the Route 4 Ledge

The run is a series of class I/II rapids that start off easy and get more difficult as you move downstream. The first major rapid is the site of the Punch Brook Slalom. From there, the rapids continue as a series of rock gardens and wave trains. 

Paul and I surfed and ferried our way down through the rapids. I think 1,200 cfs is about the perfect level – any higher and it starts to wash out, any lower and it starts to get boney. The largest rapid is the ledge above the Route 4 Bridge that we ran to the right. The run took about 2 ½ hours.

Below the Route 4 Ledge

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My Pictures
Crystal Gage

River Description from American Whitewater
Farmington River Trail

New Year's Day on the Upper Winni - January 1, 2021

Heading out

New Year’s Day trips are a tradition for many northeast boaters. The superstitious among us believe that in order to have a good paddling year you must be out on the water on New Year’s Day. I don’t take it that far, but I do try to get out on January 1st whenever I can. This year I decided to join Jonathan, Conrad, and Nancy for an Icicle Run on the Upper Winni.

The Winnipesaukee River (otherwise known as the Winni) is a 10-mile river that that runs from Lake Winnipesaukee to Franklin where it joins with the Pemigewasset River to form the Merrimack. There are two whitewater runs on the Winnipesaukee. The Upper Winni runs from Tilton Road to Riverfront Park in Tilton. It’s an easy class I/II run that is the site of an annual slalom race. I have run it many times in the past. The Lower Winni runs from Cross Mill Road Bridge to Trestle View Park in Franklin. Its a class III(+) run that is above my comfort level in my canoe, but I did it a few years ago with the MVP in a shredder.

 

Running Cribworks

With the annual New Year’s Day release the river was at a nice level – 4.4 feet, 1,100 cfs. We met at 10:30 at the Holiday Inn on Route 140 (the usual put-in was iced in) for the shuttle. Jonathan suggested that that we walk-shuttle the 2-miles from the take-out across from River Front Park (behind the train museum) on the Winnipesaukee River Trail, which runs parallel to Route 3 from a little above Tilton center to Route 140. It worked great, and we met the group at noon as planed.  

Canoes outnumbered kayaks on this trip with 5 canoes (Jonathan, Nancy, John, Ken and Erik) and one kayak (Conrad). The river starts off with quickwater along Route I-93. The first railroad bridge starts the slalom course through First Trestle and Cribworks, followed by Second Trestle and waves below the School Street Bridge. It took us two hours to do the run, playing as we went.

The crew takes a socially distanced break

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My Pictures

Tilton Gage 

River Description from American Whitewater

Nashua River – Ayer to Groton – November 29, 2020

On the Bike Shuttle

Last weekend we were hiking along the banks of the Nashua River in the Groton Town Forest. This weekend we decided to go back and paddle that section of the river.

We would be paddling on the South Branch of the Nashua River, which arises at the Wachusett Reservoir in Clinton, MA and flows generally north for 56 miles through north-central MA and southern NH before emptying into the Merrimack River in Nashua, NH. The North Branch of the Nashua River arises west of Fitchburg and flows generally south for 30 miles until it joins the South Branch near Lancaster.

Approaching Groton Town Forest

This would be the third trip on the Nashua River this year for me, Jonathan and Conrad.  Our first trip was at the Oxbow Wildlife Refuge in Harvard, and the second was the confluence of the North Branch and the South Branch of the Nashua in Lancaster.  Today we would be paddling the section from Ayers to Groton.  I have also paddled the section of from Groton to Pepperell with RICKA, and the section of the North Branch from Leominster to Lancaster.

We put in at the northern end of the Oxbow Wildlife Refuge (Filter Bed Rd E, Ayer, MA 01432) and took out at the Petapawag Canoe Launch (Nod Rd, Groton, MA 01450) – about 6.5 miles. Jonathan and I did a 6-mile bike shuttle on the Nashua River Rail Trail. The river is pretty with huge pine trees lining the banks. It opens up significantly after the Squannacook River enters at the southern end of the Groton Town Forest.

And I earned another poem from Tom on p-net:

New England river badges,

begin to form its Morningstar.

Like diamond midst the granite rough,

she travels timeless far.

And in the flow path’s oft not seen,

so passage finds scar and scrape.

But pressing on comes wondrous light

through these facets in nature’s shape.

TW

Links.

My Pictures

Oxbow Wildlife Refuge

Nashua River Rail Trail

Nashua River Watershed Association

Assebet - Acton to Concord - November 20, 2020

Bike shuttle from Lowell Road

I was checking my vacation time and realized that I still have three weeks of vacation, but only six weeks left in the year to take it. Nice problem to have. I sent an email to Jonathan to see if he could do some weekday paddling. The forecast for Friday was sunny and warm but maybe a little windy, so we decided to paddle the Assabet from Acton to Concord – 5-mile bike shuttle, 6-mile paddle.

The Assabet River arises in Westborough and flows approximately 34 miles west to meet with the Sudbury River at Egg Rock in Concord and form the Concord River. There’s lots of great flatwater paddling on the Assabet including the section from Gleasondale to the Ben Smith Dam. The section through Maynard is an easy class II with some nice surf waves by the Ben Smith Dam and along Walnut Street near the mills. 

No more rapids at the Damondale Dam

I was on my way up to Acton when I got a call from Jonathan to tell me that he had a family issue and wouldn’t be able to make the trip. Fortunately Conrad had signed on as well, so at least I wouldn’t have to do the trip alone. We dropped off out boats at the Acton Canoe Launch at around 10:00 and drove down to Lowell Road for the half-hour bike shuttle back.  

We got on the water a little before 11:00 and headed downstream. The river was low, but still fluid - 1.8 feet, 60 cfs on the Maynard gage.  This would be my fist trip since the removal of the Damondale Dam.  The easy rapids through the breach in the old broken dam were my favorite part of this trip. Oh well - still a great day.

Lowell Road Take-Out

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Maynard Gage

Upper Blackstone – Worcester/Millbury – October 24, 2020

Visitor Center in Worcester

My talk on historical sites on the lower Blackstone River got me thinking about investigating sites on the upper Blackstone, so I was up with the sun loading my boat and bike for a trip to the Visitor Center of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor in Worcester. I wanted to find a put in near the headwaters of the Blackstone River.  

The Blackstone arises in Worcester at the confluence of the Middle River and Mill Brook near the Visitor Center. From there, it flows general south for 48-miles through Millbury, Sutton, Grafton, Northbridge, Uxbridge, Millville, and Blackstone in MA, and Woonsocket, Cumberland, Lincoln, Central Falls, and Pawtucket in RI. After the river flows over the Pawtucket Falls it becomes the Seekonk River.

Upstream from Riverlin Street, Millbury

The confluence Middle River and Mill Brook is visible from the Visitor Center, but waterfalls, fences and high retaining walls make the river inaccessible. I hopped on my bike to see if I could find a put-in a little further downstream. Unfortunately, fences along the bike path separate it from the river for most of its course. Where access is available it is far downstream making for a long portage. I rode all the way down to Millbury center with no luck finding an easy put in.  

With no luck at the headwaters, I decided to check out the put-in at Riverlin Street in Millbury. Parking is easy and access to the river isn’t too bad near the bridge from the parking lot of the Goretti’s Supermarket across the street. I paddled upstream until the river became too shallow, and then I bushwhacked it up to the Millbury Rapid under the South Main Street Bridge. It was around 100 cfs on the Milbury gage and looked runnable, so it must be huge with the river is up. I suppose you could try to put in at Elm Street/River Street near the Council on Aging if you wanted to run this rapid.

Millbury Rapid

Links:

My Pictures – Bike Path – Worcester to Millbury

My Pictures – Riverlin Street, Millbury – Upstream

Millbury Gage

Flatwater Quaboag – September 5, 2020

Early morning mist on the water

I wanted to do something different that didn’t involve an up-and-back, so I decided to paddle the flatwater section of the Quaboag from West Brookfield to Warren – a 9-mile paddle, and a 7-mile bike shuttle.

I was up before the sun to load my boat and get on my way. I dropped off my boat at the Fishdale Road Boat Ramp in Brookfield at around 7:30 and was at the take-out at Lucy Stone Park in Warren before 8:00. There was a trashcan that was the perfect height for a selfie, so I snapped a picture before I left.  

View from the Fishdale Road Bridge

I took the slightly longer but flatter bike route up Route 67 to West Brookfield and then down Route 9 to Brookfield. This also takes you past the two pretty town commons. I clocked 11-milles per hour on the radar as I passed through West Brookfield.  

At about 4-miles I stopped to take a picture at the West Brookfield Town Common, and realized that I had forgotten my camera back at the take-out. I turned around to go back for it, but figured it was unlikely that it would still be there. Fortunately for me it was.

Quaboag Pond

It was now close to 9:00, so it was too late for me to do the bike shuttle again and still get home at a reasonable hour. I loaded my bike and drove back to the put-in in Brookfield. I decided to paddle up into Quaboag Pond and back.

The Quaboag River arises fully formed from its headwaters at the southern end of Quaboag Pond. The river is big and wide as it flows west and meanders through a large flood plain down to West Brookfield. In West Brookfield the river turns south and flows through the woods down to Lucy Stone Park - the put-in for the whitewater run down to Palmer. Eventually, the Quaboag joins the Ware River in Three Rivers to form the Chicopee River. 

Quaboag River

I paddled upstream and into Quaboag Pond. The pond is known for motorboat activity, but this morning there were just a couple of fishermen.  I paddled about half way up the pond before turning back around.

The river is a little too wide and a little too flat for my liking, but it would be nice for a fall foliage trip.

Boat ramp at the Fishdale Road Bridge

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Pawcatuck – Bradford to Potter Hill – August 15, 2020

Bike shuttle from Post Office Landing

By now, we have all developed pretty good COVID-19 paddling habits - wear your mask, keep your distance, and no car shuttles. As a river paddler, though,  there are times when I just want to go downstream. Without a car how do you make that happen. Easy – just hop on your bike.

Bike shuttles work just like car shuttles except for the part when you all crowd into one vehicle to get back to the put-in. Instead, you hop on your bike. It’s a fun addition to the trip, and you get some great exercise. 

Running the Bradford Fish Weirs

Lately I have been looking for trips with a relatively long paddle and a relatively short, flat bike ride. The way our local rivers twist-and-turn there are many, but some of the best are on the Pawcatuck – RI’s only Wild and Scenic River.

The Wood-Pawcatuck watershed encompasses 300 square miles in southwestern RI and southeastern CT. Its seven major rivers include the Beaver,  Queen - Usquepaug, Wood, Chipuxet, Shunock, Green Falls - Ashaway, and Pawcatuck. It is one of the largest remaining natural areas along the northeast corridor between New York and Boston, and received Wild and Scenic River status in 2019. 

Paddling through the Grills Preserve

The Pawcatuck River itself arises at Worden Pond in South Kingstown and flows 34-miles south and west to Westerly where it flows into Little Narragansett Bay on Long Island Sound. We would be paddling the section from Bradford to Potter Hill – about 7-miles.  Unlike some of the sections upstream, there is plenty of water here all summer long. 

Jonathan, Bill and I dropped off our boats at Bradford at around 9:30, and drove to take-out at Potter Hill. Parking is available at Post Office Landing – a DEM boat launch across the street from the take-out. It looks like someone’s driveway, but it is a public access point. At least they have now put up a sign.

Polly Coon Footbridge

We left our cars at the take-out and had an easy 4-mile bike ride back to Bradford. It doesn’t take that much longer than arranging a car shuttle. When we arrived back at Bradford, Sharon and Paul were waiting for us. Sharon had arranged her own shuttle, and Paul would do the bike ride after the trip. 

The river was low, but there was still plenty of water – 21 cfs, 1.75 feet on the Wood River Junction gage.  Surprisingly, there was even enough water to run the Bradford fish weirs, which replaced the old Bradford Dam in 2018.

Lunch at the beach

The old Bradford Dam was a 19th century stone and timber structure that provided power to the Bradford textile mills. Built on top of a natural falls, the 6-foot dam spanned the entire width of the river. Since removing the dam would drop the water level upstream by about 5 feet and negatively impact wetlands, the decision was made to replace the existing dam with a new rock ramp structure.

The new dam is made up of 6 gradually ascending stone weirs, which serve like terraced steps. Pools between the steps give fish a place to rest on their way upstream. Gaps in the weirs create channels for water to flow and fish to swim, including the main current down the middle that forms a nice channel for paddlers.

Bill the triathlete - bike, boat and swim

After running, lining or portaging the Bradford Dam we continued downstream. From Bradford to Route 3 the river twists and turns through the woodlands of the Grills Preserve owned by the Westerly Land Trust and Hopkinton Land Trust. We passed under the Polly Coon Footbridge and continued downstream stopping at the beach off Narragansett Way for a break and a socially-distanced lunch. 

Below Route 3 there is more development as the river meanders though open marshland to the Potter Hill Dam. The take out is on the Westerly side of the river just above the Potter Hill Road Bridge at the Whiteley Preserve - a Westerly Land Trust property. We loaded our boats and drove back to Bradford to pick up our bikes after another great trip.

Approaching Potter Hill

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Wood River Junction Gage

Narrow River – July 21, 2020

Gregg and Jean Marie at the put-in

I got an email for Bill that Gregg and Jean Marie were organizing a trip in the Narrow River. Michelle had a doctor’s appointment anyway so I decided to join in.  

The Narrow River (also known at the Pettaquamscutt River) is the tidal extension of the Mattatuxet River. It begins below the Carr Pond Dam at the Gilbert Stuart Birthplace and flows south for approximately 6.3-miles forming the border between South Kingstown and Narragansett before entering Pettaquamscutt Cove and then flowing out into Narragansett Bay. The Narrow River gets its name from either the long narrow section from Lacy Bridge (Bridgetown Road) and the Mettatuxett Yacht Club (Middlebridge Road), or the narrow mouth of the river where it empties into Narragansett Bay. 

Into the Upper Pond

We put in at the town boat launch near Bridgetown Road (40 Pettaquamscutt Ave, Narragansett, RI 02882). Not wanting to paddle back up stream, I decided to do a bike shuttle from the Sprague Bridge. There were 7 kayaks (Gregg O’Brien, Jean Marie Josephson, Bill Luther, Bill Hahn, Bill Rush, Mike Rinaldi and Mike Krabach) and one canoe (me).  The day was sunny and warm with a slight breeze from the south 

We headed upstream into the Upper Pond. After a quick break at the old Girl Scout Camp Nokewa (now owned by the Nature Conservancy) we paddled up the narrow section of the river that leads to the Gilbert Stuart Birthplace (too shallow for me) before heading back downstream.

Through the Narrows

After paddling through the Upper Pond and the Lake, we entered the Narrows between Lacy Bridge (Bridgetown Road) and the Mettatuxett Yacht Club (Middletown Road).  I had never paddled this section before. From there, we paddled through the Flats (Pettaquamscutt Cove) and under the Sprague Bridge to the beach.  

The beach was crowded with motor boats and every type of paddlecraft imaginable. Unfortunately, it was low tide, so paddling out through what I think of as the Narrows into Narragansett Bay wasn’t an option.  I paddled back to my car at the Sparague Bridge and the rest of the crew continued back to the put-in.  

Approaching the Beach

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My Pictures

Narrow River Preservation Association
Paddle Map - Upper Narrow River
Paddle Map -  Lower Narrow River

Tville – July 12, 2020

Cathy's Wave

COVID-19 has really put a damper on my whitewater paddling. The pandemic hit in March just as the whitewater season should have been starting, and between stay-at-home orders, quarantines and problems with shuttles it pretty much killed the spring season. I have only had my whitewater boat out once this year - a bike shuttle with Conrad on the Lower Deerfield. When I saw that Paul would be organizing a trip with a bike shuttle at Tville on the Farmington, I decided to join.

The Farmington River arises near Otis, MA and flows generally south and east for 47 miles through Connecticut until it flows into the Connecticut River near Windsor, CT. There are several sections of the Farmington that are popular for whitewater boating – New Boston (class III/IV), Riverton/Satan’s Kingdom (class I/II), Crystal (class II), and of course “Tville” or the Tariffville Gorge (class (II/III). 

Brown's Ledge

Tville is one of the best-known whitewater runs in southern New England. It is the site of an annual spring slalom race, and has hosted national and Olympic trials. The run itself is short - just 1.5 miles, which makes if perfect for a bike shuttle - but the water runs most of the year and there are play spots for paddlers of all skill levels. At yesterday’s level – 1.5 feet, 500 cfs - it is a class II/III run. 

We met at the mill above Cathy's Wave and ran the bike shuttle. It worked out great and is just as easy as shuttling in the car. This would be my first Tville run with my new camera, so I took a lot of pictures. Fortunately, Paul did as well so I also have some pictures of me.  

Main Playhole

This was a group that likes to play, so we spent a lot of time at Cathy’s Wave and Brown's Ledge below it. As you enter the Tariffville Gorge the intensity picks up a bit. I ran the Bridge Abutment Rapid first, and got some pictures of the rest of the group coming through. Same with the Playhole. With the telephoto lens, I was able to take pictures from river-right with the sun to my back. When it was my turn to surf the Playhole I managed a wimpy attempt - staying on the crest without letting the bow drop into the hole.

Below the Playhole are a couple of small ledges that I ran to the left. Below that are the Inquisition Ledges. I ran the first to the right (avoiding the big hole in the center).  From there, I managed to ferry left before running the second drop, but just barely. After my second attempt surfing at Typewriter I got swept downstream and called it a day.

Sandy Beach and the Main Plyhole

Link

My Pictures

Tville Gage
Tville from American Whitewater

Charles – Medfield to Dover – July 4, 2020

At the put-in

The "early morning crew" did a bike shuttle today on the Charles River from Bridge Street in Dover (5 Bridge St, Dover, MA 02030) to West Street in Medfield (101 West St, Medfield, MA 02052) - about 4-miles. For me, this was the third weekend in a row for a bike shuttle, and I'm starting to realize that it has advantages - great exercise, get's rid of boring "up-and-back" trips, and gives me options for trips even when I am alone. I'm liking it.

Today's trip was on a pretty section of Charles that runs through the Rocky Narrows. The original plan was to go all the way down to the Natick Dam (South Natick Dam Park, 9 Pleasant St, South Natick, MA 01760 - 7-miles) but we scaled it back - probably just as well for a bunch of old guys. As usual, put-in was empty when we met at 8:00, but was mobbed by the time we got back to the cars around 11:30.

Started off cloudy, but the sun came out later

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Rocky Narrows

Lower Deerfield - June 29, 2020

It has been a while since I‘ve had my whitewater boat out, so when Conrad posted a trip for the Lower Deerfield I decided to join him. The plan was to bike shuttle back from Shunpike, and that worked out fine - took about half an hour.  It was an 800 release scheduled for 11:00. We put in 2 hours after the release was supposed to have started (3 hours is better). The river still seemed low, so we wasted some time by paddling up to the Gap.  

After that we headed downstream and scraped our way down to the first rapid.  We knew something was wrong.  As it turned out, the released started at noon - so we had to pull over and wait another half an hour for the bubble to show up. Once it did, it was amazing how fast the river came up.  From there it was fun run down to Shunpike. I had one short swim, which made me a triathlete - I biked, I paddled and I swam. Fortunately the swim was short. Nice afternoon with Conrad and Jessie.

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My Pictures

Fife Brook Release Schedule

Charlemont Gage

A Bike Path Runs Along It - Lonsdale to Manville - June 21, 2020

I did my first bike shuttle yesterday on the bike path from the Lonsdale Drive-in to Manville - 6.5 miles up on the bike, about 7 miles back down in the boat, and 3 portages (Albion, Ashon and Lonsdale). It took my about 4-hours.  Nice way to spend Father's Day morning.

Manville to Lonsdale from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Back to the Nashua - May 23, 2020

Through the strainers

I went back to paddle the Nashua River in Lancaster with Jonathan and Conrad. This time we put-in at Ponakin Bridge/Pellechia Conservation Area (off Rt. 70) on the North Branch (which flows generally south), and took out on Route 117 on the South Branch (which flows generally north). We paddled downstream about 5-miles, but the way the river loops around we only had to walk 2-miles back to the cars. Pretty section of river, and enough going on to keep us occupied. Level was 130 cfs on the Leominster gage - low but fluid.

Looking back I realized that I did the section of the North Branch above this back in November 2011, putting in at Searstown Mall on Rt. 2 in Leominster and taking out at Ponakin Bridge on Rt. 70 in Lancaster. Level that day was 380 cfs  on the Leominster gage. An old broken dam was the highlight of that section. 

Masks and social distancing at the take out

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Leominster Gage