Hiking the Mighty Quin - February 20, 2022

Along the Mighty Quin

I wanted to do some paddling, but both Pauls had other plans and it ended up being a really cold day anyway, so I decided to join Papa Joe and the crew for one of my favorite hikes along the “Mighty Quin”.

The Quinapoxet River (aka the “Mighty Quin”) arises in Princeton, MA, and is part of the MWRA system supplying drinking water to greater Boston. The Quinapoxet Dam in Holden impounds a billion gallons of water in the Quinapoxet Reservoir. Below the dam, the Quinapoxet River flows 8-miles east to the Wachusett Reservoir, joining the Stillwater River to become the South Branch of the Nashua River in West Boylston. The section of the Quinapoxet from Canada Mills to the Wachusett Reservoir is a well-known whitewater run.

The crew (with half of Al)

We met at the Mass Central Rail Trail (265 Manning Street, Jefferson (Holden), MA) for a 5.2-mile hike down to the old Springdale Mill. The Mass Central Rail Trail follows the route to the old Massachusetts Center Railroad that connected Boston to Northampton. The rail trail itself was wide and clear, but we broke off into the woods in several places to follow the river. 

I have now done 5 hikes along the Might Quin, but only 4 paddling runs – I'll need to work on that. The river was running a little over 9-feet, which looked low and boney in places, but my open boater friends say it is a good level. I have run it clean at 10-feet (two runs) and 11-feet with a swim at 10.5-feet.

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My Pictures

Mass Central Trail

Quinapoxet River Gage

Hiking the Mighty Quin - March 14, 2020

Trail map for this trip

Ten of us from the Papa Joe Hiking Society defied the coronavirus quarantine for a hike along the “Mighty Quin”. This would be my forth hike along the Quinapoxet, which ties my four paddling trips there. 

We met at the Mass Central Rail Trail on Manning Road (265 Manning Street, Jefferson (Holden), MA) for a 4.5-mile hike took us along both sides of the river down to the old Springdale Mill. I got to revisit the site where I took a dump and swam on my last padding trip here.  This turned out to be a beautiful day for one of my favorite hikes with Joe and the crew.

Above the Springdale Dam - where I swam on my last trip here!

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My Pictures

Mass Central Trail

Wachusett Greenway

Paddling (or should I say hiking) the Mighty Quin – December 14, 2019

At the put-in

With all the rain over past couple of days my original plan was to run Pork Barrel, but I wasn’t looking forward to the 2-hour drive or the potentially high water. I was determined to go, but wasn’t disappointed when the leader canceled. Instead, Paul and I decided to hook up with Peter and Michael for a run on the Mighty Quin. It's a run I had done several times before, so I didn't expect any problems - silly me!

After dropping my boat at the put-in, I met Paul and Peter at the take-out for the shuttle. Michael was waiting for us back at the put-in. By the time we got on the river the level was around 10.5 feet, 700 cfs. The run starts off with a two-foot drop and large surf wave at an old broken dam. As we headed downstream, the river twists and turns though a pretty hemlock forest. We enjoyed the waves and rock-dodging down to the Springdale Mill.  

One of many drops

I got a bit of a surprise as I pulled into an eddy above the Springdale Dam. I floated back into a strainer, leaned the wrong way, and over I went. I was out of the water quickly, but lost my paddle and couldn’t hold on to my boat as it floated back into the main current. 

I watched as my boat bounced through the old Springdale Dam. It continued downstream through a mile of continuous rapids and the big drop below I-190 before the guys were finally able to push it to shore. Of course, when I caught up with it I was on the wrong side of the river and my spare paddle was gone. Still, I was relieved that my boat didn’t get pinned or float over the dam into the Wachusett Reservoir.  That is swim number 5 for the year. Definitely not my best day, but as Paul also says "Its an adventure!" 

Paul heads back after retreiving my boat

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

OUT you go
in water’s RAGE,
and the Erik Epic turns 'nother page,
or is that hull
that turns Erik,
when that sneaky Eddy
takes a turn with stick?

Glad you didn’t have to follow your prodigal prow for all of its wintry semi-sub ride downstream. And, sorry the riparian riever decided to take a prize in your paddle. Well, Christmas is comin’. Howabout 'nother paddle? Please put a Millbrook Norge in by an old man’s saddle. Hats off (even though riparian riever already possesses several of my own) to the undaunted frother!
TW

Links:

My Pictures

Quinapoxet Gage

River Description from American Whitewater

The “Mighty Quin” – April 27, 2019

Erik runs the put-in drop

With all the rain we had this week, I knew there would be lots of rivers running this weekend. My original plan was to run the Woodstock section of the Pemigewasset River in NH, but that trip got cancelled when the river came close to flood stage at 8,000 cfs. My back-up plan was the Scantic River in CT, but that trip also got cancelled due to high water. In the end, Paul and I joined Andrew and Michael for a run on the Quinapoxet River, or the “Mighty Quin” - a nice class II/III stream located close to home about seven miles north of Worcester.

The Quinapoxet River arises in Princeton, MA, and is part of the MWRA system supplying drinking water to greater Boston. The Quinapoxet Dam in Holden impounds a billion gallons of water in the Quinapoxet Reservoir. Below the dam, the Quinapoxet River flows 8-miles east to the Wachusett Reservoir, joining the Stillwater River to become the South Branch of the Nashua River in West Boylston.

Paul runs the put-in drop

We would be running the 3-mile section of the Quinapoxet River from River Street in Holden to the Wachusett Reservoir in West Boylston. It’s a trip that can be tough to catch, and this would only be my third run on the river. The minimum level for this trip is about 8.5-feet. I had run it before at around 10-feet. On this trip, the level would be just under 11 feet, 700 cfs. – high and fast.

After dropping my boat at the put-in, I met Paul, Andrew and Michael at the take-out to run the shuttle.  When I returned to my boat, I found that I had punctured the rear float bag when I locked my boat to a tree.  Float bags are used in canoes and kayaks to keep the boat from filling with water and pinning on rocks if you swim. I decided to do the trip anyway, but knew I would have to be careful not to swim. 

Andrew does some surfing

The river starts off with a two-foot drop at an old broken dam. There is a large standing wave and play hole at the bottom.  We all ran the drop, but only Andrew ventured into the play hole to try his luck at surfing – his luck was good.  

As we headed downstream, the river twists and turns though a pretty hemlock forest. Much of this area is maintained as open space as part of the Wachusett Greenway. I had hiked along the river several times with Bill and the “Papa Joe” hiking group, but it was nice to be paddling it again.  We enjoyed the class II waves and rock-dodging down to the Springdale Mill.  

Heading downstream

At the Springdale Mill site, the action picks up a bit with a class III rapid at another broken dam. The easiest line though this rapid is to stay left and catch the big eddy just downstream of the dam. I went through last, and just caught the tail-end of the eddy – a close call averted.

Below Springdale are more class II rapids down to the Interstate 190 crossing, where there is an abrupt 3-foot drop. The kayaks ran this drop down the middle, blasting through the large standing wave at the bottom. I found a drier line on the right, which avoids the big wave. Above the drop is an intense rapid with rocks in the middle - I went left.  

Paul and Andrew start their second run

From there, it is more class II waves and rock-dodging down to the take out.  It’s a short run, so we were done in about an hour.  With a blown-out float bag, I figured that I had pressed my luck enough, so I opted out of a second run.  I shuttled Paul, Andrew and Michael back to the put-in before heading home. Another great day.  

Links:

My Pictures

Quinapoxet Gage

River Description from American Whitewater

The Might Quin - Hiking not Paddling - February 23, 2019

Joe, Conrad, Tim, Roberta and Erik

If you can’t paddle it, you might as well hike along it. There didn’t seem to be any paddling trips today, so I joined the Papa Joe hike along the Quinapoxet River in Holden.  Smaller group, but still a great hike – lots of crunchy snow under foot.

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Hiking among the Icebergs - Quinapoxet River - February 4, 2018

Taking a break

The river was too low to paddle, but it was a nice morning for a hike along the Quinapoxet River on the Mass Central Rail Trail. It was 9 degrees when we started but we soon warmed up in the February sun. We stated just above the put-in on River Street and hiked along the river past the Sprindale Rapid. The huge blocks of ice along the river were amazing - hard to believe all that ice floated down this small river.

Bill on the ice

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My Pictures 

Mass Central Rail Trail

Mass Central Rail Trail - Holden, MA - January 28, 2017

The crew heads out

I saw that Hiking Joe was doing a hike along the Quinipoxet River, so I decided to join in.  There were 9 of us who hiked 5 miles of the Mass Central Rail Trail along the along the Quinapoxet River in Holden, MA.

The Mass Central Rail Trail follows the route to the old Massachusetts Center Railroad that connected Boston to Northampton.  We would be hiking a section in the Wachusett Greenway. We met at the parking lot for the Mass Central Trail on Manning Road (265 Manning Street, Jefferson (Holden), MA), and hiked up the street to Springdale Road. We the hiked down Springdale road past the remnants of the old Springdale Mill Village to access the rail trail.

The rail trail itself was wide and clear, but we broke off into the woods at several places to follow the river.  We were near 100 feet in elevation and the 2-3 inches of snow made the walking extra crunchy.

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The Mighty Quin – April 1, 2014

Pat runs the put-in drop

With all the rain we had earlier this week a lot of local rivers have been running, so I decided to take an afternoon off to do some paddling.  Paul immediately suggested the 3-mile section of the Quinapoxet River from River Street in Holden to the Wachusett Reservoir in West Boylston

The "Quinny" or "Mighty Quin" is a class II/III run that can be tough to catch. The minimum level for this river is about 8.5 feet. Many people say 9.5 feet is a good level. We ran it yesterday at 10 feet, 500 cfs. which turned out to be perfect.  We had 5 boats – 4 kayaks (Ed, Paul, Jon and Pat) and 1 canoe (guess who).

Ed does some surfing

The trip starts with quickwater and some easy class I/II rapids.  There is also a nice play hole at the put-in, but it was a little too big for my liking, so I took a pass.  Ed did some surfing there, as did Jon who pulled off a nice combat roll.

About 2 miles downstream the action picks up with a class III rapid at the old Springdale Mill.  The easiest line though this rapid is to stay left and catch the big eddy just downstream of the old breached dam.  Jon went first, went a little too far right, but was able to get into the eddy.  Pat went next, went way too far right, and flipped in the big waves in the middle.  He pulled off a nice combat roll before I pulling into an eddy downstream.  I pulled into the eddy without difficulty, and Paul took his usual line down the middle just left of center. 

Paul running Springdale

From there, there are some nice class II+ rapids down to the take-out.  I found staying a little right resulted in a drier line through the 3-foot drop just downstream of I-190.  I got spun around in the last big rapid above the take-out, ran most of the rapid backwards, but eventually flipped at the end.  The open boater is named Captain of the Swim Team again, but who cares.  It was another great day.

The shuttle van, but where is the canoe?

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Quinapoxet Gage at Canada Mills near Holden

Paul swims the Quin - April 17, 2011

I finally ran the Quinapoxet River yesterday.  The "Quinny" or "Mighty Quin" is a class II/III run that can be tough to catch. The minimum level for this river is about 8.5 feet. Many people say 9.5 feet is a good level. We ran it yesterday at 11 feet (800 cfs). To say the river was cranking would be an understatement.

Paul and I did the 3-mile section from River Street in Holden to the Wachusett Reservoir in West Boylston. The Mass Central Rail Trail runs along the river for much of the run.  The trip starts with quickwater and some easy class I/II rapids.  Paul took a swim in the opening rapid, and its the only part of the trip that I caught on video.



About 2 miles downstream the action picks up with a class III rapid at the old Springdale Mill.  At this level there were a couple of huge holes at the top, and a couple of huge waves at the bottom.  There was also a large eddy on river left that would be the way to go if you could catch it.

Paul went first and tried to run the rapid straight down the middle.  He flipped in the big holes at the top.  I was at the bottom with my throw bag and threw him a rope, but it was a lousy throw and he couldn't reach it.  When I last saw him, Paul was still in the water about a quarter mile downstream chasing after his boat.  I headed downstream after him, and finally learned from one of the walkers on the Rail Trail that Paul was out of the river and heading downstream after his boat on foot.

When I got back to my boat, I wimped out and portaged the Springdale Rapid.  I scouted the 3-foot drop just downstream of I-190, and decided to portage that as well.  At this level, the river was unforgiving, and I didn't want to lose my boat as well.  I was able to run the rest of the river without incident.  I arrived back at the car to find Paul's gear, but no Paul.  He had walked back upstream looking for me. 

When he arrived back at the car, Paul was interested in another run, but I thought it would be better if we didn't push our luck.

Links:
Description from American Whitewater
River Street put-in from Google Maps
Quinapoxet Gage at Canada Mills near Holden

Quinapoxet River

This is one of the rivers that I really want run this spring.  A couple of different groups ran it last Sunday, but I was on a plane to London.  Oh well...

Here's what Tommy said:

You guys missed a good day at a sweet 9.4 on the gage.  I paddled the Encore instead of the Cascade. I was nervous, never having done it above 9'. But there was a bald eagle soaring over the pool beyond the dam, and folks I know pretty well were gung ho. Turns out in some ways it was easier. Certainly more fluid.

Video from Ken: - looks like fun:


Quin March 12, 2011 from Ken Glusman on Vimeo.

Here are the directions:

• River Street is closed between the take out and put in.
• From Rt 190 exit 5 take Rt 140 south.
• Take a right Laurel St.. Laurel St turns into Manning.
• At the end of Manning take a left on Wachusett.
• Bear left to stay on Wachusett when it leaves Rt 31.
• Then take another left on River St.
• The put in is just before the intersection of River and Harris

Links:
Springdale Mill Rapid on the Quinapoxet from Ken
Quinapoxet Helmet Cam Test from Ken
Description from American Whitewater
River Street put-in from Google Maps
Quinapoxet Gage at Canada Mills near Holden
Ken's videos