Souhegan Poling Cruise - October 29, 2022

Stand tall and carry a big stick

Its been a while since I've had my poling boat out, and my recent trip up to Maine got me thinking that it was time for a poling cruise. We got the crew together, and decided on an up-and-back trip on the Souhegan.

The Souhegan River arises in New Ipswich at the junction of the river's south and west branches, and flows generally northeast for 34-miles to its convergence with the Merrimack River in Merrimack. The name Souhegan comes from the Algonquin and means "waiting and watching place". Tribal fishermen set weirs across the rapids, and then waited and watched for fish, including salmon, alewives, sturgeon, and eels. There are popular whitewater runs from Greenville to Route 101 and Route 101 to Wilton (Trash Dump). I've done the Greenville section, but not the Trash Dump section.

Pushing up the drop at the 101 Bridge

We would be poling a section further downstream in Amherst from Post Road to Route 101 – an up-and-back trip of about 6-miles. The river was at a nice level – 4-feet, 120 cfs. on the New Milford gage. We had 11 paddlers/polers – 8 poling, 2 tandem poling, and one paddling.

We met at 10:00 at the at the Souhegan River Boat Ramp (Amherst) on Boston Post Road in Amherst (42°49'38.2"N 71°35'04.6"W). The river twists and turns through woodlands before eventually flowing through the Amherst Country Club. There is a small drop at the Route 101 Bridge. Most went up the shallow drop on river left. I tried the deeper drop on river right and made it to the top before taking a swim – oh well. The trip back down was uneventful.

The crew takes a break for lunch

Links;

My Pictures
New Milford Gage
Souhegan River Paddling Guide

Souhegan - April 12, 2015

Pat

We drove by two rivers to get there (the Quinapoxet and the Upper Millers), but it still was nice try something new. Dan, Pat, Paul and I ran the upper Souhegan from the class III put-in in Greenville to the Route 101 Bridge in Wilton.  

The Souhegan River is a popular spring run that flows through Greenville and Wilton on its way to the Merrimack River. The river is small, only about 30' wide on average, with lots of blind corners, rocks and strainers to avoid.

Paul

The level was OK (5.75 ft, 800 cfs on the Milford gage) - a little low but still fluid. The first mile is steep and creek-like with class II+/III rapids - like an easier version of the middle section of New Boston.  The most difficult rapid is the Ledges – a boulder garden followed by a series of two 1-foot ledges.  Somehow, I got turned around and ran the second ledge backwards. 

Once you reach the Route 31 Bridge (also the put-in for a class II run), the river mellows and runs through a pretty valley covered in Hemlock trees. There are still plenty of rocks and strainers to keep you occupied.

Dan

We had one swimmer – me. I hit a rock (Bang Rock?) coming down a drop in the class II section and took a swim.  Still, it’s a beautiful river, and I was surprised to see so much snow still on the ground.

Tommy said that we took out too early.   He says that Trash Dump and Horseshoe Falls on the lower section are well worth running, and that the pizza in Wilton is worth the trip all by itself - next time.

Links:

My Pictures
Upper Souhegan from American Whitewater
Lower Souhegan from American Whitewater

Souhegan Gage - Milford

Souhegan River - Greenville to Wilton

Another river that I would like to try – this run was last Thursday at about 1,200 cfs on the Milford gage.  Toughest rapids are in the first mile, and I’m not sure Ken included them in this video.

Comments from today's trip:

We had around 6.3 ft / 1100 cfs for the run - good data point. The only excitement was on the upper 3. The middle 2 was a sunny, relaxing float - good early season warm-up for some of us. Seemed to me to be a sweet level as the upper 3 had enough water to give route options but not be terribly pushy. The middle 2 section was also easy enough to pick routes but was a little washed out.  The lower 3 was great fun.

Links:
Upper Section – Route 31 to Route 101 from American Whitewater
Lower Section – Route 101 to Wilton from American Whitewater
Souhegan Gage – Milford
Ken's videos