Pemi – Thornton to Campton - April 12, 2021

At the put-in

The second weekend in April is usually reserved for a run on the Upper Millers. This year, I wasn’t sure about the shuttle, and my whitewater skills are a little rusty, so I decided to join Jonathan’s trip on the South Branch of the Piscataquog. When water levels on the Piscat dropped, the trip got moved to the Pemi instead.

The Pemigewasset originates in Franconia Notch and flows south through the White Mountains to merge with the Winnipesaukee River in Franklin where it forms the Merrimack. It is a huge watershed that can be a very flashy. In fact, we stopped at an island where Matt and Doug (Scooter and Hal) were forced to send the night in a tree when the river came up 18-feet overnight.

View upstream from the put-in

We would be running the section from Thornton to Campton. I had done this section with Jonathan and Doug once before. With snowmelt on the mountains, the river was at a nice level - 4.5 feet, 1,400 cfs on the Woodstock gage. It was cloudy as I left RI, but the skies got brighter as I headed north into New Hampshire. I met Tommy at the take out at Blair Bridge in Campton for the shuttle up to the put-in at Robins Nest Road in Thornton.

We had 8 boats and 10 paddlers (Jonathan/Chris, Bob/Richard, Tommy, Marshal, Matt, Jean, Cathy and me) – all canoes. The river was running well – 9-miles of quickwater with a few easy rapids. Other than a headwind blowing from the south, it was just about the perfect day.

Take-out at Blair Bridge

Links:
My Pictures
Woodstock Gage
River Description from American Whitewater

Pemigewasset - Woodstock to Campton - November 21, 2015

Me and Jonathan

It wasn’t the best weather for paddling, but I’ve paddled in worse.  Sometimes you just need to get out when the river is up.

I’ve wanted to paddle the section of the Pemi below the Ledges in Woodstock for a while, but it can be tough to catch. Last week’s rain brought the river up, so I sent an email to Doug D. to see if he would be interested. A Facebook post hooked me up for some tandem paddling with Jonathan. 

Blair Bridge

We ran the section from the Ledges at the Route 175 Bridge in Woodstock to the Blair Bridge in Campton – about 14 miles.  The river is shallow with gravel bars and cobbles along the banks.  I’d say that we caught a medium-low level - 3.5 feet, 650 cfs. on the Woodstock gage - mostly flatwater with a few quickwater rips.

It remained overcast throughout the day with low-hanging clouds hugging the ground.  Every now and again we would turn around and catch a beautiful view of the White Mountains shrouded in clouds.  We probably should have turned around more often. It took us about 4 ½ hours to paddle the 14 miles. There was no rush - we took our time and enjoyed views, and then enjoyed a beer and a burger at the Country Cow near the take out.  Another great day.

White Mountains shrouded in clouds

My Pictures
Doug’s Pictures
Pemigewasset Woodstock Gage
River Description from American Whitewater