Fife Brook - Deerfield Riverfest - August 2, 2026

I made arrangements with Aaron to do a tandem run at Fife Brook on Sunday. It was Deerfield Riverfest weekend, so I expected there to be a lot of people around - there weren't. With the heavy rain last week there were other rivers were running, and the Fife Brook dam released at over 2,000 cfs on Saturday, which may have scared some people off. Fortunately, Conrad was leading a Boston AMC trip, so we were able to hook up with him.

There are two sections of the Deerfield with summer releases that are popular for whitewater paddling. Advanced paddlers often head to the Dryway in Monroe Bridge. This is a class III-IV section for experienced whitewater paddlers. We would be paddling the Fife Brook section, which is mostly class II, with the exception of Zoar Gap at the end that is class III. This would be my 24th run on Fife Brook, and my second paddling tandem with Aaron.

Heading downstream

We met the group at 10:00 at the Zoar Picnic Area to arrange the shuttle. With high water conditions, the release from the Fife Brook dam continued throughout the night, so we didn’t need to wait for the water to come up. The original release estimate was 1,500 cfs, but it was actually releasing closer to 1,000 cfs for most of the late morning/early afternoon.

We got on the water around 11:00 and practiced ferries and eddy turns/peal outs at the put-in before heading downstream. Just downstream from the put-in is the first rapid known as Hangover Helper - a ledge extends across most of the river resulting in a 2-foot drop followed by a long wave train. We ran the drop and played in the waves before moving downstream.

Jeff on his Paddleboard

The next rapid - Carbis Bend - is similar but smaller. A ledge extends out from the left side of the river producing a couple of easy surf waves. Aaron and I got there first and were able to do some surfing before the kayaks arrived.

Just downstream from Carbis Bend is Freight Train, which is a long wave train that ends with a large surf wave. The rapid takes its name from the speed that many people build up running through the waves, and the railroad bridge just downstream that carries freight trains across the river. We were able to drop into the big surf wave below the railroad bridge for some surfing.

Running the Island Rapid

After Freight Train we took a break at the Bridge to Nowhere before running Pinball. Pinball is a rock garden that’s a great place to practice eddy turns, peel outs and ferries. Aaron and I ran the rapid backwards ferrying from rock to rock until we needed to head downstream to stay with the group.

After Pinball is the Island Rapid. As the name describes, the river is split by an island. The usual route is to the left with large waves and fast moving water where the river reconnects at the end. Aaron and I were able to catch the eddy on the left and get some pictures of others coming through.

Below Zoar Gap

After the Island Rapid comes Zoar Gap – the largest rapid on this section of the river. We scouted it from the road and confirmed the usual line - just right of center down the shoot at the top, then left down the shoot at the large boulder.

Aaron and I went down last. We caught an eddy on the left on the way down, and then ferried out before turning downstream into the Gap. Aaron guided us down the first shoot and lined us up perfectly for the second drop. Always trust your bowman. My record at Zoar Gap is now 22 attempts with 14 successful, 6 swims and 2 walks. I have been successful on my last 7 attempts. Here is Aaron's video of the run.

Here are the major rapids as best I can identify them.

• Surfing Carbis Bend – 0:00
• Running Freight Train – 1:11
• Surfing below the Railroad Bridge – 2:02
• Running one of the unnamed rapids – 2:28
• Back ferrying/surfing down Pinball – 2:40
• Close call on a rock in Pinball – 3:30
• Miami Beach – 3:55
• Planning from the eddy above Zoar Gap - 4:33
• Running Zoar Gap – 4:54
• Below Zoar Gap – 5:36
• Mini Gap – 5:55
• Train goes by – 6:15

Links:

My Pictures

Two views of our run through Zoar Gap

Aaron's Video

Rob's Video of Zoar Gap Runs 

Zoar Gap runs over the years

Fife Brook Release Schedule

Charlemont Gage
River Description from American Whitewater

Fife Brook in River Trippers - June 14, 2026

Bob has a group doing a wilderness trip on a remote Canadian river next month and wanted to practice whitewater in river trippers, so he organized a trip on the Fife Brook section of the Deerfield. With my sore knee, tandem paddling sounded great, so Aaron and I headed up with my Mohawk Whitewater 16.

There are two sections of the Deerfield with summer releases that are popular for whitewater paddling. Advanced paddlers often head to the Dryway in Monroe Bridge. This is a class III-IV section of river for experienced whitewater paddlers. We would be paddling the Fife Brook section, which is mostly class II, with the exception of Zoar Gap in the middle which is class III. This would be my 23rd run on Fife Brook, but the first in a tandem.

Aaron was at my house at 7:30 to drop off a new-to-me Mad River Explorer 17 and head off to the Deerfield. We met the crew at 10:30 at the Fife Brook put-in to run the shuttle down to Shunpike. The release was 800 cfs. from 11:30 to 2:30, so we practiced ferries and eddy turns/peal outs at the put-in before heading downstream.

Just downstream from the put-in is the first rapid known as Hangover Helper - a ledge extends across most of the river resulting in a 2-foot drop followed by a long wave train. We ran the drop and played in the waves before moving downstream.

The next rapid - Carbis Bend - is similar but smaller. A ledge extends out from the left side of the river producing a couple of easy surf waves. Aaron and I did a couple of surfs, but there were too many kayakers cutting our place in line, so we moved on.

Just downstream from Carbis Bend is Freight Train, which is a long wave train that ends with a large surf wave. The rapid takes its name from the speed that many people build up running through the waves, and the railroad bridge just downstream that carries freight trains across the river. We missed the tight eddy on the right, but were still able to get on the big surf wave.

After Freight Train we took a break for lunch at the Bridge to Nowhere before running Pinball. Pinball is a rock garden that’s a great place to practice eddy turns, peel outs and ferries. Aaron and I ran the entire rapid backwards ferrying from rock to rock.

After Pinball is the Island Rapid. As the name describes, the river is split by an island. The usual route is to the left with large waves and fast moving water where the river reconnects at the end. Aaron and I were able to catch the eddy on the left and get some pictures of others coming through.

After the Island Rapid comes Zoar Gap – the largest rapid on this section of the river. We scouted it from the road and confirmed the usual line - just right of center down the shoot at the top, then left down the shoot at the large boulder.

Aaron and I went down last. We caught an eddy on the left on the way down, and then headed over to catch one of the of the rocks on the right. We ended up further downstream than I expected, and before I knew it we were in the Zoar Gap rapid.

Fortunately, Aaron had a better sense of where we were than I did. He guided us down the first shoot and lined us up perfectly for the second drop. Always trust your bowman. My record at Zoar Gap is now 23 attempts with 13 successful, 6 swims and 2 walks. I have been successful on my last 6 attempts.

After the gap, we continued downstream to the Shunpike Rest Area. On the way home, we stopped at the Picnic Area in Shelburne Falls for Ozzy’s hot dogs and potatoes. Here is Aaron's video of the run.

There are a lot of unnamed rapids, but here are the named ones as best I could identify them:

Hangover helper 0:37
Carbis Bend 1:08
Freight Train 2:07
Surf wave below the RXR bridge 3:51
Minefield (ferry practice) 7:05
Mimi Beach 9:38
Island Rapid 10:02
Above Zoar Gap 10:54
Scouting Zoar Gap 11:33
Running Zoar Gap 12:17
Running Zoar Gap - Slo-Mo 12:54
Mini Gap 13:55
Bam Dance 14:30
Spin Out 15:04
Conjunction Junction 16:05
RXR Bridge on Lower 17:04
Waves on left before take-out 18:10

Links:

My Pictures

Aaron's Video

Fife Brook Release Schedule

Charlemont Gage
River Description from American Whitewater

Pemi - Woodstock to Thornton - May 2, 2026

Pemigewasset River Iron Bridge

It rained on the way up, and it rained on the way back, but in between we had a pretty good run on the Pemi from Woodstock to Thornton.

The Pemigewasset River, also known as the “Pemi”, arises at Profile Lake at the base of Cannon Mountain in the Franconia Notch. It flows south for 65-miles to Franklin where it joins the Winnipesaukee River to form the Merrimack River.

Mist is the hills

There are a couple of other sections of the Pemi that I have paddled including the quickwater section from Thornton to Campton and the whitewater section in Bristol. The class II section in Woodstock is one of my favorites. It is a 4.5-mile trip that alternates between quickwater and class I/II rapids. This time we extended it by another 5-miles and went down to Robin’s Nest Road in Thonton.

We met at 9:30 at the put-in behind the North Woodstock Fire Station at the Woodstock Family Park and ran the shuttle down to the take-out at Robin’s Next Road. We had 8 boats, all canoes – 4 tandem and 4 solo. The river was a little low – 3.5-feet, 450 cfs. but surprisingly fluid, although we skipped the big drop at the put in.

Running the Ledges

This section of the river alternates between quickwater and class I/II rapids. There is the Woodstock Squeeze - the river narrows and takes a hard left turn at a large rock wall, the Powerline Rapid - a long s-turn, Tree Fall Alley – a fast moving shoot which is often full of strainers, and Gravel Pit Bypass – a fast moving shoot which terminates at another rock wall.

The largest rapid is the Ledges. Usually there are lots of lines through this series of drops, but at this level the line on the right was best. Everyone made it through fine, and we continued down to the take out at Robin’s Nest Road.

Links:

My Pictures

Pemi Woodstock Gage

Assabet - Maynard - March 12, 2026

Surfing below the ben Smith Dam

Rain and warm weather brought all the rivers up this week. When Dan told me about a trip on the class II section of the Assabet through Maynard, I decided to take the day-off and join in.

The Assabet River arises in Westborough and flows approximately 34 miles west to converge with the Sudbury River at Egg Rock in Concord to form the Concord River. There’s lots of great flatwater paddling on the Assabet including the section from Gleasondale to the Ben Smith Dam, and from the PowdermIll Dam down to Egg Rock. The section through Maynard is an easy class II with a couple of rapids at the bridges, and some nice surf waves by the Ben Smith Dam and along Walnut Street near the mills.

Center arch of the Mill Street Bridge

In 1847, textile manufacturer Amory Maynard purchased land in what is now Maynard from a farmer named Ben Smith and built a dam to power his textile mills. Originally known as Assabet Village, this became the town of Maynard in 1871. Maynard’s downtown textile mills, now Clock Tower Place, were the home of Digital Equipment Corporation from the 1960’s to the 1990’s. Digital was a major computer company with 140,000 employees in 1987.

I met Dan, Ozy, Rick and Bob on Taft Avenue to run the shuttle. The river was at a nice level – 4-feet, 650 cfs on the Maynard gage. We played in the waves below the Ben Smith Dam before heading downstream. There are six bridges over the Assabet River as it flows through Maynard. The first is the double arch Great Road Bridge. Either side is runnable, but we went to the left. A pipe runs along the downstream end producing a surfwave that can be caught from the left side.

Above the Walnut Street Bridge

The next bridge is the triple arch Mill Street Bridge. We ran the center arch, cutting to the left after the bridge to avoid the rocks in the middle. After some easy riffles comes the Florida Road Bridge. The river then turns right along Walnut Street and the mills. If you can catch the small shore eddies, there are a couple of nice surfwaves before you reach the Main Street Bridge.

Downstream from the Main Street Bridge, the river turns left as it goes under the Walnut Street Bridge. There are a few more riffles and one more substantial rapid as you approach the Waltham Street, which we ran to the left. With my sore knee, I only did one run. The cortisone shot helped, but it still hurt to kneel.

Links
My Pictures
River Description from American Whitewater
Maynard Gage

Tville - November 8, 2025

Below the First Drop

We got a little rain this week and Tville came up to a low, but still fun level – 1.5 feet, 500, cfs. I contacted Paul D. and he was up for a morning run. I didn’t want to scratch up my Millbrook Outrage, but it was a perfect opportunity to try out my Mad River Outrage with the slightly higher (9”) pedestal.

We met at the Mill at 10:00 and ran the shuttle down to the take-out. We skipped the rapids at the top that would have been boney, but there was plenty of water at Cathy’s Wave and Brown's Ledge. I ran the Bridge Abutment Rapid first, but my camera was messed up so I missed Paul coming through.

Running the Second Drop

I ran the rapids above the Play Hole to the left – a little too far left. I caught my bow in one of the eddies above the Play Hole and got spun around. I just caught the edge of the Play Hole going through backwards, but made it through fine.

The removal of the Spoonville Dam in 2012 revealed a series of three class III drops below the Play Hole. I ran the first down the ledges on the left, but ferried over to river right to get a couple of pictures of the bigger drop on the right.

Below the Third Drop

I ran the second drop to the right – once again a little too far to the right. This time I ended up in the rocks above the drop. I worked my way out, ran the drop, and caught the eddy on the right. After ferrying to the left, the third drop is easy.

After practicing ferries below the third drop we headed down to Typewriter. I caught the eddy on the left, and then ferried across, but got sucked downstream in the big current. We practiced eddy turns and peal outs in Vortex before heading down to the take out. I was on the road home by 1:30.

Links:

My Pictures

Tville Gage

River Description on American Whitewater

Piscat Drawdown and BBQ - October 25, 2025

Surf wave

Not a lot of interest from the local crew (Paul and Pat were going to the Little Suncook), so I joined the NH/AMC group for the annual Piscat Drawdown and BBQ. I was paddling solo in my Millbrook Outrage.

The Piscataquog River arises in Deering, NH and twists and turns for 35-miles before flowing into the Merrimack River in Manchester. We would be running the class II section below the Gregg's Falls Dam. I met the group at the dam at 9:00, and we ran the shuttle down to the road behind the prison. The release started at 10:00, and we got on the river at around 10:30.

Last rapid above the take out

With the government shut-down not all the gage features were working, but it did confirm that the release was 5.5 feet, 811 cfs, which is the typical release level. This section is about 3-miles long with the most consistent rapids in the first mile. There is a rocky set of rapids below the put in, another under the power lines, and another leading up to the surf wave above the Henry Bridge. I tried my luck at surfing, but stayed out of the the biggest part of the hole.

From there is it mostly quickwater down to the take-out. There is a squirt line with the strong recirculating current where the river takes a sharp right turn, and one last rocky drop just above the take out. After a second run we headed back to the dam for the BBQ – hamburgers, hot dogs and good company.

Links:

My Pictures

My Video

River Description from American Whitewater

Fife Brook - September 28, 2025

Hangover Helper

Scheduled releases on the Fife Brook section of the Deerfield River end in October. With three weeks of travel coming up for work, I knew I would have to go this weekend if I wanted to catch one. When I saw a trip on the MOC Facebook page, I decided to join. 

It was a typical release for this time of year – 800 cfs from 12:00 to 4:00. The Charlemont gage hit around 850 cfs with water flowing in from the small creeks. We had a group of 6 - 2 canoes, 2 kayaks and 2 paddle boards. We met at 11:30 to run the shuttle. We started downstream a little after 12:00. With a small group things go fast, but we still spent a lot of time playing.

Freight Train

Only the two canoes (me and Steve) ran Zoar Gap. I took my usual right-to-left line. I got spun around a little going into the big drop, but I was able to straighten it out and apply a good forward stroke before hitting the wave at the bottom. Steve took the left line, and made it through fine.

This was my second trip in my Millbrook Outrage, and I am really liking it. It surfs great and I bail it out with a sponge. The only problem is dumping the boat is no longer an excuse to get out and stretch.

Links:
My Pictures
Fife Brook release Schedule
Charlemont Gage

River Description from American Whitewater

Fife Brook in my Millbrook Outrage - August 22, 2025

Running Zoar Gap

I knew I was going to have a busy weekend, so when a saw a post for a Friday afternoon trip on Fife Brook I decided to join. This would be the first whitewater run in my new Millbrook Outrage, and I got Paul to come along as well.

We met at 12:30 at the take out below the Gap. I was surprised how many people were around for a weekday trip. We had 11 in our group – 4 canoes and 7 kayaks – and there were 3 other groups organizing to get on the river. The release was 800 cfs – an OK level, but a little boney in spots.

Running Zoar Gap

We got on the water at around 1:15, and I could tell right away that the composite Outrage was different than its Royalex cousin. It’s hard to describe, but it made the Royalex version feel a little sluggish. The composite boat was definitely faster, the turns were crisper, and it was really dry. I've always admired the Millbrook guys who were bailing out their boats with sponges – now I know why.

We worked out way downstream, and the boat felt more comfortable the more I paddled it. When we finally got to Zoar Gap I was the last one to go through. I caught a couple of eddies on the left on the way down, and the two big rocks on the right before heading in. I took the line from right to left, and made it through fine. 

Links:

My Pictures

My Video - Open Boats on Zoar Gap

Charlemont Gage

Fife Brook Release Schedule

River Description from American Whitewater

Running Zoar Gap over the Years

Routes through Zoar Gap over the years

There have been three different versions of the "Gap" since I started paddling in 2006. Back in the old days there was an easy "sneak" route on the far right (red). That got filled with rocks during Tropical Storm Irene in 2012. After that, I usually eddied out at the top and tried to go right or left of "Oh Shit Rock" in the middle of the second drop, with mixed success (yellow going right). After flooding in 2023 things got moved around again. The eddy at the top got squirrely, the right line got blocked by rocks, but cutting directly from right to left got a lot easier (blue). There has always been a kayak line of the far left (green). Here are some of my runs over the years:

Zoar Gap Runs over the Years from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo. 

My Zoar Gap record now stands at 21 attempts with 13 successful, 6 swims and 2 walks. I’ve made it through successfully on my last 5 runs.

Dead - Spencer Stream to West Forks - August 9, 2025

The boats get loaded

There are rivers that aren’t too difficult if you take the right lines, but can be brutal if you don’t. I was on one of these rivers on Saturday – the Dead in ME, and I paid the price for a bad line on the last rapid - Lower Poplar. My first swim of the year.

The Dead is one of the longest continuous whitewater runs in the Northeast with approximately thirty rapids along a fourteen-mile stretch. The river is mostly boulder-type rapids with lots of holes and pour-overs. The shoreline has thick vegetation that grows right up to the river's edge that can make it difficult to rescue swimmers or bail out an open boat. The major named rapids are:

• Spencer Rips –big weaves are to the right, big eddy below on left to stop and regroup.
• Minefield (2 miles) – long boulder garden with big waves and lots of holes – difficulty increases where the river turns left.
• Hyden’s – (3 miles) good lunch spot – run in middle and stay out of holes.
• Gravel Pit (4.5 miles)
• Enchanted Stream (7 miles) – another good lunch spot.
• Elephant Rock – (7.5 miles) a river wide ledge immediately below Enchanted Stream. You can run the big waves in the center, or the slot on the right between Elephant Rock and the rock wall.
• Mile Long (8.5 miles) – another long boulder garden with big waves and lots of holes. There is an eddy on the left about half-way down
• Upper Spruce Ledge (10.5 miles)
• Lower Spruce Ledge (11 miles)
• Upper Poplar Falls (11.5 miles) – short but intense rapid filled with rocks and holes. Go right and stay away from holes – stop in big eddy bottom right.
• Lower Poplar Falls (12 miles) – a longer intense rapid that tumbles down the left side in huge wave trains and large holes. Left is hero line with lots of dangerous holes. The right line along the boulder garden is the usual open boat route.

Heading out

I picked up Paul for the six hour drive up to the Forks. We stayed in a two-person cabin-tent at Northern Outdoors. We had a small fire on Friday before settling in for the night.

We were up early Saturday morning to meet our group and the shuttle. We were paddling with the Penobscot Paddle and Chowder Society - aka the Chowder Heads. We had a group with 13 boats – 6 canoes, 6 kayaks and 1 shredder.

Charlie in one of the unnamed rapids

Old-time Dead River paddlers probably remember Webb’s Shuttle Service run by Ed Webb. Webb's (later Riverdrivers) no longer provides shuttle service, so we met the new shuttle company - Ironbound Outdoors - at 8:00 at the Public Takeout on Dead River Roar in West Forks.

With the large group of MVP'ers running the Dead for a step-up weekend, it took forever to load the boats. We finally got on the road around 9:30, and got to the river about 45 minutes later after a long, bumpy, dusty trip down 20-miles of dirt logging roads. We finally got on the water around 11:00.

Paul running Lower Poplar

The release was supposed to be 2,400 cfs, but was closer to 2,100 cfs with 25 cfs from Spencer Stream - a nice class II/III. At lower levels (1,200 cfs to 1,800 cfs) it is primarily class II except for the very first, and last couple of rapids. At medium levels (2,000 cfs to 3,500 cfs) it is mostly class III. At higher levels (4,500 cfs to–8,000 cfs) it is class IV.

We ran through Spencer Rips, Minefield and some other unnamed rapids before stopping for lunch at Hayden's. Then we ran Hayden's, Gravel Pit and some other unnamed rapids before taking a break at Enchanted Stream. Paul wanted to get some video so I ran the big waves in the middle of the ledge at Elephant Rock rather than the shoot on the right.

Erik running Lower Poplar

The next major rapid was Mile Long – another long boulder garden with big waves and lots of holes I filled my boat about half way down, but was able to empty it in a big eddy on the left before finishing the rapid. After running the Upper and Lower Spruce Ledges we took a break at the Poplar Portage Trail before taking on Upper and Lower Poplar.

Upper Poplar is a short but intense rapid filled with rocks and holes. Most of us ran it to the right and made it through fine. Lower Poplar was another story. The river turns right along a boulder garden as the water tumbles down the left side in huge wave trains and large holes.

Swimming Lower Poplar

Most of the open boats took the right line along the seam between the boulder garden and the big holes. As I was coming down I saw Charlie flip in front of me. I got around him to the left, but now I was  out in the big holes and pour-overs. Before long, my boat was full of water and I was struggling to keep it upright, never mind avoiding the rocks and holes. About half way down, I went sideways over a large rock into a hole, and over I went.

As I swam downstream I looked back to see my canoe still stuck in the hole. That was the least of my problems. Swimming through rapids is something that I try to practice, but it doesn’t match the real experience. First, I swam though a series of “haystacks” or standing waves where you have to breathe in the trough, and hold your breath as you go through the wave - breathe, glug, breathe, glug, breathe, glug.

Reunited with my boat at
the bottom of Lower Poplar

After the waves, I could see a horizon line downstream indicating that I was approaching a rock with a hole on the other side. I tucked into a ball as best I could as I went into the hole. When I came out the other side Paul was yelling at me to swim hard to the left shore since I was approaching another big hole. I wasn’t making much progress so I threw away my paddle thinking that would allow me to swim better. After more waves, rocks and holes, I finally got myself to shore. It was about a 200-yard swim, but it seemed like forever.

After I caught my breath I looked over and could see Paul on the other side of the river with my boat. I hiked downstream and was about to jump in the shredder for a ride to the other side when Craig paddled over towing my boat. I had paddled through 30 rapids over 14-miles only to swim the last 200-yards. We had 3 other open boaters swim Lower Poplar, so I guess I shouldn't feel too bad. 

The swim earned me a new poem from Tom.

It’s really not an Outrage,
until one’s stood on end.
But chill we will baptised beginning,
again, again, again.

If that ol’ paddler’s adage, “Ya ain’t really learnin’ unless yer gettin’ wet,” holds any water, we’re gonna have t’call ya, Doctor Dunk, Erik.

Man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.

TW

Links:

My Pictures

My Video - Four Open Boat Swims in Lower Poplar
River Description from American Whitewater
Dead River Gage
Spencer Stream Gage

Northern Outdoors 

Ironbound Outdoors 

Penobscot Paddle and Chowder Society

Rapid Shooters 

Video - Poplars on the Dead

Fife Brook - Pride Day on the Deerfield - June 21, 2025

Paul, Fran and me

It was a day to show support LGBTQ+ folks, and to encourage everyone to get out and paddle. Who wouldn’t want to do that. Besides, it has been a while since I’ve done a run on the Fife Brook section of the Deerfield River, so I was glad when Paul posted this trip on RICKA’s Flatwater calendar. 

There are several sections of the Deerfield that are popular for whitewater paddling. Advanced paddlers often head to the Dryway in Monroe Bridge. This is a class III-IV section of river for experienced whitewater paddlers. We would be paddling the Fife Brook section, which is mostly class II, with the exception of Zoar Gap in the middle which is class III.

Paul and Fran

I met Paul at the take out below the Gap at 11:00. There were lots of people looking for rides, so I ended up taking Mary Theresa’s boat and aother paddler – Seth – up to the put-in. We hung out for a while waiting for the water to come up and got on the river a little after noon.

The day was sunny and warm – first trip in swim trunks and a tee shirt. The Fife Brook Dam was supposed to release 1,200 – not sure it actually did but it was still a good level. Just downstream from the put-in is the first rapid known as Hangover Helper - a ledge extends across most of the river resulting in a 2-foot drop followed by a long wave train. We ran the drop and played in the waves before moving downstream.

Fran in the Island Rapid

The next rapid - Carbis Bend - is similar but smaller. A ledge extends out from the left side of the river producing a couple of easy surf waves. Just downstream from Carbis Bend is a rapid known as Freight Train. This rapid starts with a long wave train and ends with a large surf wave. The rapid takes its name from the speed that many people build up running through the waves, and the railroad bridge just downstream that carries freight trains across the river.

After Freight Train is a rock garden known as Pinball. With scattered rocks and ledges, it’s a great place to practice eddy turns, peel outs and ferries. After Pinball is the Island Rapid. As the name describes, the river is split by an island. The usual route is to the left with large waves and fast moving water where the river reconnects at the end.

Approaching Zoar Gap

After the Island Rapid comes Zoar Gap – the largest rapid on this section of the river. Paul went through first, caught the eddy after the first drop, but couldn’t spin his boat around to run the second drop. He ended up running the shoot backwards and dumped on the big curling wave at the bottom. I took the line from right to left, skipped the eddy, and made it through fine.

After the gap, we continued downstream to the Shunpike Rest Area.  As ususal, we stopped for sub’s on the way home at Georgio's Pizza in Greenfield. I took Route 2 home to avoid the construction on the MassPike.

Links:

My Pictures

Fife Brook Dam Releases

Charlemont Gage

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

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Tville Gage

River Description from American Whitewater

Crystal - June 7, 2025

Punch Brook

My original plan was to do the RICKA Flatwater trip on the Upper Wood River, but it got cancelled due to rain. My second option was the RICKA sea kayak trip at Potter Cove, but it got postponed until tomorrow. I needed to paddle today, so I sent an email to Paul D. to see what he was doing. We decided to do an early run on the Crystal section of the Farmington River to beat the rain.

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. There are several sections of the Farmington that are popular for whitewater boating – New Boston - class III/IV (1, 2, 3), “Tville” or the Tariffville Gorge - class II/III, Riverton - class I, Satan’s Kingdom - class I/II(III), and of course Crystal - class II.

Ledge above Route 4

I met Paul at the put in at 9:00. We unloaded the boat and ran the shuttle down to the Red Barn. The river was running at 6.5 feet, 1,100 cfs – a great level with lots of play spots. The run is a series of class I/II rapids that start off easy and get more difficult as you move downstream.

The first major rapid is the site of the Punch Brook Slalom. From there, the rapids continue as a series of rock gardens and wave trains. We spent a lot of time surfing and ferrying through the rock gardens. The largest rapid is the ledge above the Route 4 Bridge that we ran to the right. The run took about 3-hours and I was on the road back home by 12:30. We beat the rain on the river, but it poured on the way home.

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Unionville Gage

RICKA trip on Otter Brook - May 4, 2025

Awaiting to launch

Paul posted a couple of RICKA trips on the Whitewater Message Board this spring – both were old favorites. The first was the Knightville section of the Westfield, and the second was Otter Brook.

Otter Brook arises in the town of Stoddard and flows south for 13-miles to join Miniwawa Brook at Route 101 to form the Branch River. The Branch River flows into the Ashuelot River, which eventually flows into the Connecticut River. Jonathan and I did a tandem run down Otter Brook and the Branch River all the way to the Sawyers Crossing Covered Bridge on the Ashuelot River a couple of years ago.

Rapid below the put in

In 1958, the huge Otter Brook Flood Control Dam was completed to protect Keene and the other communities along the Ashuelot River. The flow on Otter Brook is now controlled by releases from the dam. The gage on Otter Brook is no longer active, but the historical releases were around 300 cfs.

I met Paul at McD’s for the drive up to the river. We met the crew at the put-in at the base of the dam. It was not a particularly busy day, but we did see groups from MOC and CTAMC. We unloaded our boats and ran the shuttle. The usual take out on Swanzey Factory Road was filled with construction equipment, so we used a new take out just downstream at the Cheshire Railroad Stone Arch Bridge on the Cheshire Rail Trail.

Running Otter Ledge

We were the first to launch and head downstream. The top of Otter Brook is narrow and rocky as it twists and turns through the woods down to Route 101. We worked our way downstream dodging rocks and running waves. We ran Otter Ledge through the slot on the right, and everyone made it through fine. With additional water from Miniwawa Brook, the river opens up and we bounced down the final section along Route 101.

Taking out at the rail trail bridge adds one more rapid to the trip. On the first run I wasn’t sure where to take out, so I had the crew take out too far upstream. We had to drag our boats across a grassy swamp to the cars. Paul went a little further downstream and found the actual take out on river right just above the bridge.

Down to the new take out

After a slightly confused shuttle we got all the cars, boats and people in the right places for our second run. It was a bomber run, and everyone did fine. This time we took our down by the bridge and ran one last shuttle back to pick up the cars.

On the way home, Paul and I stopped at the Troy Deli and Marketplace for a steak and cheese sub. I’ll bet there will be a RICKA Whitewater trip on the Fife Brook section of the Deerfield this summer.

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River Description from American Whitewater