Showing posts with label Tville. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tville. Show all posts

Friday, June 20, 2025

Thursday Night Tville - June 19, 2025

Party Wave
With hot weather and the Juneteenth holiday, it seemed like a great day to do a Thursday Night Tville run on the Farmington River. It is amazing that we are in late June and Tville is still going strong.

The Farmington River arises near Otis, MA and flows generally south and east for 47-miles through Connecticut until it reaches 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).

Playhole
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, but the water runs most of the year and there are play spots for paddlers of all skill levels. At yesterday’s level – 2.4-feet, 1,000 cfs - it is a class II+ run, with a couple of class III rapids at the end.

We met at Tarrifville Park and ran the shuttle down to the take-out at Taxis Avenue. We had 16 in the group – 15 kayaks and 1 canoe - what else is new. These was plenty of water at the top, and at Cathy’s Wave and Brown's Ledge. I ran the Bridge Abutment Rapid first and got some pictures of the rest of the group coming through.

Top of Double Drop
As usual, I ran the rapids above the Play Hole to the left and got out to get some picture of the kayaks in the Playhole. Below the Playhole are three ledges that I run to the left. I did get some pictures of folks running the bigger drop on the right.

I ran double drop to the right and caught the eddy. The water was moving fast between the drops, but I was able to catch a wave trough, which made it easy to ferry over to the other side to run the second drop. At this level, I could have run the first drop on the left and avoided the ferry.

Sunset on the river
We headed down to Typewriter, but with the island in the middle wearing away, the surf wave was not as big. I peeled out just as Ed was coming through with one of the newer paddlers. As we got into the squirrely water below Typewriter, I actually ran Ed over after tipping him over. He rolled back up no worse for wear.

We finally made to the takeout by around 8:00. I loaded up my gear, changed up and was on my way in about 15 minutes. It seems like a longer drive home at night. I get home around 10:00.

Surfing at Cathy's Wave
Links:

Sunday, December 1, 2024

How’s this for single blading - Tville – November 30, 2024

Chris running Initiation on the West
Back in September I ran the class III section of the West River. The first rapid just below the dam is called Initiation. It’s one of those rapids that is relatively easy if you take the right line, but usually ends in disaster if you don’t – at least for me. I was standing off to the side taking pictures and watching folks go though when I see this guy coming down on a paddle board. I think he’s going to swim for sure, but he picked the perfect line and made it through fine. That’s the line I took. I figured if he can do it on a paddle board then I should be able to do it in a canoe.  

Well, it’s a tradition around here to get out on Black Friday to paddle off some of that Thanksgiving turkey. With the rain on Thanksgiving Tville was up, but I didn’t see any trips on Friday. Instead, I got together with Paul D. for a low level (1.5 feet, 500 cfs) run on Saturday. We were joined by Chris - the guy on the paddle board from the West. He was amazing to watch – ran every drop, surfed every hole and made it look easy. When he did fall off he just jumped back on - easy recovery. Almost makes me want to try a SUP - almost.   

Chris running the top of Double Drop
Links:

Wednesday, July 10, 2024

Tville again - July 9, 2024

With 90ยบ temperatures and the river up after recent rains (1.8 feet, 700 cfs), I decided to join Paul’s Tuesday night Tville run with the CT/AMC. We had thunder rumbling in the background, and the skies opened up with rain at the end, but it was still a great night.

Surfing at Cathy's Wave
Links:
River Description from American Whitewater

Friday, June 14, 2024

Thursday Night Tville - June 13, 2024

The crew
Spring will soon be turning to summer, and I had yet to get out for a Thursday night Tville run on the Farmington River with the CT/AMC. With temperatures in the 80’s (first trip in shorts and a tee shirt), I decided that this would be the day.

The Farmington River arises near Otis, MA and flows generally south and east for 47 miles through Connecticut until it reaches 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).

Cathy's Wave
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, 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, 550 cfs - it is more of a class II run, at least the way I run it.

We met at Tarrifville Park and ran the shuttle down to the take-out at Taxis Avenue. We had 13 in our group, and met up with 6 more along the way. There was plenty of water at Cathy’s Wave and Brown's Ledge. I ran the Bridge Abutment Rapid first and got some pictures of the rest of the group coming through.

Typewriter
As usual, I ran the rapids above the Play Hole to the left, and got out to get some video of folks surfing. It was cool to watch Kieth in his C1. Below the Playhole are three ledges that I run to the left. I did get some pictures of folks running the bigger drop on the right. I headed down to Double Drop behind Erin. It looked like she was going center, so I took my normal line to the right.

As I approached the drop, I could see Erin’s kayak upside-down right in the center of my line. She had flipped in the hole and was in the process of rolling back up. Fortunately, I was able to sideslip further to the right to avoid running her over. After I passed, Erin rolled up no worse for wear. We did some surfing at Typewriter before heading down to the take-out.


C1 Playboating at the Tville Play Hole from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

I posted this video on canoetripping.net, and Glenn MacGrady posted this remembrance of the old days at the Tville Play Hole.
There was a time when the line of boaters playing in the Tville hole every weekend and often during the week included no C1s and only a rare kayak—but just open canoes. It was where I learned to ride surf, side surf, slide surf, spin surf, and use cross strokes for downstream bracing. There were, of course, no three dimensional aquabatics in an open canoe, but some paddlers could and did roll open canoes in the Tville hole. Sue Burgess used to stand on the gunwales of her Blue Hole OC-A while side surfing in the hole, and then lower herself and rotate her body 180° upside down until she was headstanding on her seat, all while still on a balanced side surf.
Maybe I need to get back in the hole and practice.

Links:
My Pictures
River Description from American Whitewater
Tville Gage

Thursday, June 15, 2023

Hanging with the single bladers - June 15, 2023

Looked like it was going to be a busy weekend, so I was glad to have the option for a Thursday night run at Tville. The level was low (1.5 feet, 500 cfs), but fine for what I like to do. It was nice to hang out with a bunch of single bladers, even if they were on paddle boards rather than in canoes.

Links:
My Pictures

Monday, February 27, 2023

Tville - February 26, 2023

Paul D. at Cathy's Wave
It was 28 degrees, the sky was gray and snow covered the trees as I headed west on the Mass Pike near Worcester. I was thinking about all the great trips that I did with Matt and Scott in similar conditions back when I was starting out. Fortunately (or unfortunately), Hartford didn’t get as much snow as the Worcester Hills, and temperatures warmed into the high 30s/low 40s by the time we got on the water. It was still a great day.

It's been a long time since I’ve had my whitewater boat out, and my knee has been feeling better, so I sent an email to Paul D. to see if he would be interested in a Tville run. We agreed to meet at noon at the mill put-in since the gate at Tariffville Park is closed in the winter and parking there can be limited. After a quick catch-up we unloaded our boats and started getting ready. As I was putting on my drysuit I ripped a hole one of the latex booties. Oh well, it was old and getting tight anyway, so I ordered a yellow (Mantis) Kokatat Legacy.

Don running Bridge Abutment
After running the shuttle we launched just as another group was coming down from Tariffville Park. We ended up in a group of eight – six kayaks (Paul, Sean, Denise, Jo-Ann, Nathan and Ian) and 2 canoes (me and Don). The river was at a nice level – 2.1 feet, 800 cfs. With a hole in my drysuit I was pretty conservative in my paddling. I ran the rapids, but didn’t do a lot of surfing.

We had two swims for the day – Nathan who flipped in Klingon above the Playhole, and Don who flipped in the squirrely water below Double Drop (Inquisition Ledges). Nathan’s boat ended up pined on the rocks below the playhole. I was afraid it would be tough to get off, but it wasn’t. Don took the left line at the first drop in Double Drop, but missed the eddy. He ended up in the squirrely water after running straight through the second drop. I have flipped there before and it is not the easiest place to get back in the boat.

Nathan in the Playhole
Links:

Sunday, November 27, 2022

Day-After-Turkey Paddle - Tville - November 26, 2022

Cathy's Wave
Like the New Year’s Day Paddle, the Day-After-Turkey Paddle is a bit of a tradition around here. It should be on Black Friday, but for me that didn’t work this year - the kids came over for turkey left-overs. Fortunately, Paul D. was doing a run at Tville on Saturday, so the Day-After-Turkey Paddle was saved.

We met at 11:00 at Tariffville Park to drop our boats and run the shuttle. We had 6 boat – 4 kayaks and 2 canoes. It was nice to have another open boater along, and I hadn’t paddled with Charlie for a while.

Bridge Abutment
The day was sunny and warm, and the river was at a nice level - 1.6 feet, 560 cfs. It was a little boney below the put-in, but there was plenty of water at Cathy’s Wave and Brown's Ledge for some open-boat surfing. I ran the Bridge Abutment Rapid first and got some pictures of the rest of the group coming through.

As usual, I ran the rapids above the Playhole to the left. Below the Playhole are a couple of small ledges that I run to the left. I ran the upper ledge at Double Drop to the right, and had no problem with the ferry to the left to run the second drop. I caught the eddy, but skipped the surf in Typewriter.

The first ledge at Double Drop
Links:

Friday, June 24, 2022

Starting the summer off right - Tville Again - June 23, 2022

The kayak crew
The first day of summer was on Tuesday, and it would have been a great night to paddle. Unfortunately, I had stuff to do at work, so I was glad to see that the CTAMC also had a Thursday night Tville trip. We had 11 paddlers from five states - RI, MA, CT, NY and NJ. Level was low, but still good for the summer - 1.5 feet, 500 cfs. No swims for me this time.

Running the Double Drop/Inquisition Ledges
Links:

Wednesday, June 15, 2022

It was a two-swim night – Tville – June 14, 2022

The crew
It's been over a month since I had my whitewater boat out, so I decided to join the CTAMC for a Tuesday night run at Tville. At yesterday’s level – 1.6 feet, 550 cfs - it is a class II/III run.

It was a little low at the put-in, but there was plenty of water at Cathy’s Wave and Brown's Ledge for some easy open-boat surfing. I ran the Bridge Abutment Rapid first and got some pictures of the rest of the group coming through. As usual, I ran the rapids above the playhole to the left. Even at this level, the playhole was too big for me to try surfing. Below the play hole are a couple of small ledges that I ran to the left.

Inquisition Ledges
Below that are the Inquisition Ledges, or the "Double-Drop". I ran the first ledge to the right (avoiding the big hole in the center). From there, I tried to ferry across, but it is a tough off-side ferry. I got pushed downstream toward the rocks, and just barely made it through the slot at the second ledge. I had my first swim of the night in the squirrely water below the Inquisition Ledges. I wasn’t paying attention and over I went.

My second swim of the night was in Typewriter. I got spun into a side surf that I couldn’t get out of, and over I went. I was the captain of the swim team but it was still great to be back. Second and third swims of the year - the first was hat the Piscat.

Typewriter
Links:

Friday, May 21, 2021

Thursday Night Tville - May 20, 2021

Brown's Ledge
One of the things that I missed during the pandemic (one of the many things) were the Thursday night Tville runs. I was able to get back there last night, and it was great.

Tville is one of the best-known whitewater runs in southern New England. The run itself is short - just 1.5 miles, but the water runs most of the year and there are play spots for paddlers of all skill levels. At yesterday’s level – 2 feet, 800 cfs - it is a class II/III run.

Brown's Ledge
We ran the shuttle (masks on, windows open, all vaccinated) and headed downstream from the park. There was plenty of water at Cathy’s Wave and Brown's Ledge. 
I ran the Bridge Abutment Rapid first and got some pictures of the rest of the group coming through. 

As usual, I ran the rapids above the play hole to the left. The play hole was definitely too big for me to try surfing, but I go some pictures and video of the rest of the crew. Below the play hole are a couple of small ledges that I ran to the left. 

Below Inquisition
Below that are the Inquisition Ledges. I ran the first to the right (avoiding the big hole in the center). From there, I tried to ferry across, but started too low and got pushed downstream onto the rocks. Fortunately, I was able to keep the boat upright and the downstream gunnel above the water until I slipped back off. I managed to complete the ferry on my second attempt (look where you want to go!). 

I had my second swim of the year in the squirrely water below the Inquisition Ledges. I got flushed downstream on my first attempt at Typewriter and called it a night, but it was still great to be back.


Links:

Monday, July 13, 2020

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

Saturday, November 30, 2019

Day after “Day after Turkey” Paddle – Tville – November 30, 2019

Moving in to surf at the Playhole
The “Day after Turkey” paddle is a bit of a tradition around here, and my original plan was the run the Lower Millers with John Kaz & Co. Unfortunately, I got half way there and realized that I forgotten my dry suit - bummer! Fortunately, the crew from CT was doing a trip at Tville on Saturday, so I had another option.  

Looking back I was surprised to see that it has been over a year since I paddled at Tville. I made one Thursday night paddle this year, but that was at Crystal. For this trip the level would be perfect for practicing in my new boat – 1.8 feet, 700 cfs. – class II, easy III.

The swim after
We put in at the park and headed downstream, checking out the play spots along the way. When we got to the main playhole I was going to pass, but when Jo-Ann offered to take some pictures I had to take her up on it. I bounced around on the billow for a while until I was able to nudge the bow down into the hole. From there the swim was quick – spun around and over I went. 

At least it is an easy swim, and the crew was great about recovering my boat. This was my forth swim of the year, and my first in the new boat. My first swim was at Great Swamp in my Yellowstone Solo, and my second and third swims were on Fife Brook in the Encore (that was a bad day). While I had practiced wet exits on flatwater in the Outrage, it’s nice to know I can do it in real conditions. 

Surfing at Cathy's Wave
Links: 

Friday, September 7, 2018

Second Swim of the Year - Thursday Night Tville – September 6, 2018

There were thunderstorms on the drive down, and heavy rain on the drive back, but in between we had just a few sprinkles and another fun night on the river. Level was 1.5 feet, 500 cfs – low but still fluid. We put in at the Mill off Route 189 just above Cathy’s Wave.  I had my second swim of the year at the playhole. I immediately got spun around, then the stern sank back into the hole and the boat filled up with water – over I went.  Easy self rescue though and another poem from TW.
Within those holes that spin us,
is found some thoughts to pin us,
corkboard mementos
soddenly to dry, 
so laugh at failures

hope there shan't die,
and should the blackness
take in our light,

to other worlds
let's flow a flight,
up from such depths
by aqueous assist, 
non-acquiescent

of waters' persist.
Learnin' and turnin' the riparian dawn,
an E-squared factor keeps paddlin' on.

TW


Links

Monday, May 28, 2018

River Church - Tville - May 27, 2018

Horseshoe Ledge
As I drove up Blue Hill Avenue in Bloomfield I noticed a bunch of big mega-churches. It was Sunday morning so the parking lots were full. On this Sunday I was glad to be going to a different church - River Church.

It has been almost a year since I took the drive out to Tariffville to run the “Tville” section of the Farmington River. The Farmington 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).  

Approaching the Playhole
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 - but the water runs most of the year, and there are play spots for paddlers of all skill levels.  At yesterday’s level (2 feet, 800 cfs. on the Tariffville gage) it is a class II/III run. 

I met up with the group from the CT/AMC at Tariffville Park to run the shuttle down to the take-out on Tunxis Road. It’s been a while since I have run it at this level. Cathy’s Wave and the Horsehoe Ledge were at a nice level. As you enter the gorge the intensity picks up a bit with the Bridge Abutment Rapid (ran right) and the Playhole (ran left).  The Playhole was at nice level, but I was still too chicken to try.

Typewriter
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 tried to ferry left to run the second drop, but got swept downstream early.  Fortunately I still made it through the shoot. After my second attempt surfing at Typewriter I got swept downstream. 

Below Typewriter
I did earn another poem on P-net from Tom.

Seems to me you’ve positioned yourself semi-church,
under cumuli cathedral though your pew’s about to lurch.
Devil’s wavin’ from big hole so best take righteous direction.
Hell, your positioned halfway there dodgin’ wave in genuflection.

Perhaps naming that red Bell of yours, “A Beady Rosary” might “indulge” a few additional church kitchen passes?

Peace be with you, brother.

Signed,
The Methodless Methodist Married Into the Vatican Mob
(Without a host, mind ya!)
TW

Links:

Friday, June 30, 2017

Second swim of 2017 - Tville - June 29, 2017

It's hard to believe that it's the end of June, and I can still get my whitewater boat out on a natural flow river. Tville on the Farmington River in CT continues to run, and shows no sign of dropping. I got out again last night with the CT/AMC, and had my second swim of the year. My ride in the playhole only lasted a couple of seconds, but this time there is a picture of me upright.

The calm before the swim...
The paddle on the upstream side probably contributed to my speedy demise, but a least I was facing the camera for the shot.

The river was 1.6 feet, 550 cfs.  Tom wrote on Pnet...
Anyone can bob a hole embedded in a cork,
but when the tale wags twain gunwhale that wallows wide as pork,
that into stall that sooee's call you herd with the short stick,
Wellll, then you've done well sink or swim in swell where the yak yawns in dizzy lick.


(Meaning a pig's pirouette in the sty is worth two yak bow stalls in the eye. Mind you, that's a pirouette not spun around an horizontal axis!)
TW

Links:
My Pictures
Tville Gage
River Description from American Whitewater

Saturday, June 17, 2017

First swim of 2017 – Tville - June 15, 2017

Last year, my first swim of the year was on January 1st, and I swam again before the month was out.  This year it took a little longer, but I finally had my first swim of 2017.

With Father’s Day and rainy weather, I knew it would be tough to get out this weekend, so I decided to join the local AMC group on their Thursday night run at Tville.  Tville is a short but fun trip at this level - 1.7 feet, 600 cfs.  It has some nice surf spots above the Gorge, and a couple of pool drops in the Gorge.  The highlight of the trip for most is the playhole.


To be honest, I usually skip the playhole and focus on taking pictures.  I had tried it once before at about the same level, bounced around for a few seconds before backing out with the boat still upright, and considered myself lucky.  It didn’t look too bad on Thursday, so I decided to give it a try again.  

I ventured in and the boat immediately got swung around sideways.  I side-surfed for a couple of seconds before doing a couple of forward strokes to get myself out.  I was almost out when the boat hit the stronger downstream current that the edge of the hole, shifted upstream, and over I went. 

Over I go in the Playhole
I gave the boat a good push thinking that would get it over to the eddy, but in the strong current it continued downstream – and me with it.  I decided that I had better focus on getting myself to shore, which I did.  My boat went over the next drop before the crew as able to push it into an eddy. 

Even with the swim, it was another fun trip, and I reamain captain of the swim team for 2017! From Tom (canoeswithduckheads) on P-net:

There's a vortex in which the little yaks squirt,
and twist and flip roll play,
with bipolar tale they flail and flail,
wave-to-wave they glide away,

but for big gnu this just won't do,
whilst in their one-legged doggy paddle,
with a sideways buck they often like to chuck,
into the trough riders from the saddle.
TW

Links:

Friday, May 26, 2017

Thursday Night Tville - May 25, 2017

It’s been a while since I’ve had my whitewater boat out, and I would really like to do the Great Swamp trip with RICKA this weekend, so I decided to head down to Tville for the CTAMC's Thursday night paddle. Forecast was for rain, so I was a little worried that I would drive all the way down there only to find that the trip was cancelled – fortunately not. We had 8 boats – 7 kayaks (what else is new) and 1 canoe (guess who).  Level was around 2’, 800 cfs.  

It’s been a while since I have run it at this level.  There are lot’s of great surf spots, but the ferry between the two ledges at the bottom is tough. I actually got swept downstream early, but still made it through the shoot. Too bad this is so far away, it makes for a long drive home.

Links: 

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Tville - December 3, 2016

The crew
We finally got some rain last week, and the message boards were busy on Thursday and Friday with people getting out to paddle.  Unfortunately, I had to work, so I watched as the gages gradually dropped.  By Saturday, the options were pretty limited, but an old stand by was running – Tville on the Farmington River in CT.

Tville (or the Traffiville Gorge) is a class II/III run just north of Hartford.  It’s only a mile and a half long, but it has something for everyone – some easy surfwaves at the beginning, a bigger play hole in the middle, and some fun rapids and ledges as you run though the gorge.

Party Wave
Temps were in the 40’s, and there was a brisk wind blowing as we put in at Tarrifville Park.  We had 8 boats – one canoe (guess who) and 7 kayaks (Merrie, Jo-Ann, Shawn, Dennis, Sollie, Brad and Benjamin).  Level was 1.5 feet, 500 cfs - low, but runnable.  

We took our time and played on the easy surf waves above the gorge.  Entering the gorge, we ran Bridge Abutment, Play Hole, Ledges and Typewriter.  Run took us about 2 1/2  hours.

Surfing at Cathy's Wave
Links:

Saturday, June 25, 2016

An afternoon off in Simsbury and Tville - June 23, 2016

Drake Hill Flower Bridge
It doesn’t happen often, in fact it’s never happened before, but it’s nice when my work schedule and paddling schedule align.  It happened on Thursday when I had a morning meeting in Simsbury, and then was able to take the afternoon off. 

The afternoon started with a flatwater paddle on the Farmington River in Simsbury.  I put in at the Route 185 Bridge and paddled down to the Drake Hill Flower Bridge.  It’s a pretty section of river that would be perfect for a RICKA Flatwater trip.  Everyone seems to know the Route 185 put-in as the one with the big tree – the Gifford Pinchot Sycamore, which is the largest tree in CT.

Heublein Tower
Visible on the ridge high above the river is the Heublein Tower in the Talcott Mountain State Park.  After the paddle I still had some time to kill before heading over to Tville, so I decided to hike up.  It’s a mile and a half in, and almost 1,000 feet up, but definitely worth the trip.  The views from the ridge of the valley below are great, and from the tower you can get a great view of Hartford. 

By the time I got back to the car it was time to head over to Tville for a Thursday night run with the CTAMC.  The river was low – 1.35 feet, 400 cfs, but still fun. Here's a view from the sidelines of some to the surfers in the playhole. I did get in there once – got spun around and filled up the boat, but didn’t swim, so I figured I’d quit while I was ahead.  


Links: