The run that could have been…poling Upper New Boston - September 18th

In spite of a busy weekend, I was going to try to get out and do some paddling yesterday - it didn’t work out that way.

I had scheduled a RICKA class II trip for the upper and lower sections of the Farmington in New Boston. Unfortunately, the release got cancelled due to construction. Well, it didn’t actually get cancelled, but it did get significantly reduced – 100 cfs, 3 ft on the New Boston gauge. It was definitely not enough to paddle, but would have been a good level for some poling. Matt was looking for some poling buddies, but with Justin home for his birthday, I decided to take a pass on the 4-hour drive so we could do his party in the early afternoon.

We usually pole the section below Bear’s Den, but it can be boney in low water. The scenery isn’t the best either. Instead, Matt decided to pole the upper section from the slalom course up to Fall Creek. He said it was a nice run at 3’, but got technical through the rapids. 

I’m glad I stayed home for Justin’s party, but I sure would have liked to going poling with Matt. Just goes to show you, rivers can be good at any level.

"Love the Rock" Part 2 - New Boston Run on the Farmington - October 18th

When I pulled into the small parking lot at the Bear’s Den Rapid Sunday morning, there were already two cars in the lot. It was 9:00 AM, and we had agreed to meet at 9:30 AM, so someone had arrived early.

Walking down to the river I could see Jeff Budz and Geoff (GMK from NPMB) hard at work releasing a canoe that had gotten pinned the day before. Before I could get my drysuit on to help, they had popped the canoe off the rock. Good work.

After Saturday’s poling trip, I was back at the Farmington River on Sunday to run the New Boston section in my whitewater canoe. The run is about 7 miles. The first and last couple of miles are class II with one class III rapid at the end. The middle is class III – a narrow creek-like run with lots of rocks and several 2 to 3 foot drops.

We pretty much had the river to ourselves. I guess the lousy weather and low release kept people away. We had 4 canoes (me, Matt, Aaron and Jeff) and 2 kayaks (Geoff and Jeff).

 
I had done this run with Matt two years ago at a level of 4 feet, and did pretty well. I swam going over the biggest drop at Decoration Rock, but otherwise ran it clean. No such luck yesterday. Yesterday’s level was 3.7 feet which made for a boney, technical run. I spent the day bouncing off, riding up on, and flipping over on rocks.

I swam twice in the middle section – once below the first big drop after the slalom course, and once just above Decoration Rock. Both times I rode up on unseen rocks, got spun sideways, and was unable to hold the upstream gunwale out of the water – a sure recipe for disaster in a fast moving river. This is the section above decoration Rock.

By the time we got to the last rapid – Bear’s Den - I was cold and tired. Temperatures had only been in the high 30’s, and it had rained and snowed on-and-off all day. I watched as Scott and Matt ran the rapid, but didn’t feel confident. Sure enough, I flipped about half way through. Thanks goodness for drysuits.

Scott and Matt run the Bear's Den Rapid from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

I’d love to do this run again with a little more water – everyone said it would be easier. Maybe next year.

Links:
Jeff's video of my run above Decoration Rock
River description from American Whitewater
New Boston Gage

“Love the rock” - Farmington Poling – October 17th

“Love the rock”. That’s what they taught me in my first whitewater class. If you end up sideways in the current, broached against an obstruction, you need to lean into the obstructuction to keep the upstream gunwale out of the water. If you don’t, the boat will pin and you will never get it off.

That’s what happened to Joe.

I hooked up with Jeff, Matt and a few other polers for a fun day on the lower section of the Farmington in New Boston. We put-in around 11:00 and spent a couple of hours picking our way through the boulders as we worked our way up to the Bear’s Den Rapid. The river was not particularly high, but there were several class II sections with lots of rocks and ledge.

The last rapid below Bear’s Den is the most difficult. Marshall went first and took a swim. Aaron went next and almost made it, only to lose his pole. Joe went third. He got spun sideways and his boat quickly pinned on a large boulder. We worked for 20 minutes to get his boat off the rock to no avail. We finally decided to return the next day with more help. Then we will run the upper section in whiterwater boats.

More to come.

Links:
My Pictures
Jeff's video of Matt and I poling
Jeff's video of Joe about to wrap his canoe