Pemi - Woodstock - May 11, 2024

On the river

It has been a while since I had my whitewater boat out, so when I saw that NHAMC had a trip on the Pemi in Woodstock I decided to join in.

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.

Drop at the put-in

There are a couple of other sections of the Pemi that I have paddled including the quickwater section from Woodstock/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.

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 the Ledges off Death Valley Road. We had 9 boats – 8 kayaks and one canoe (guess who). The river was a little low - 4-feet, 900 cfs., but still fluid. We put-in and ran the 2-foot drop in the center.

Surfwave

From there the river alternates between quickwater and class i/II rapids. First comes the Woodstock Squeeze - the river narrows and takes a hard left turn at a large rock wall. Next comes the Powerline Rapid - a gradual drop which can be shallow at the top and bottom. Next comes Tree Fall Alley – a fast moving shoot which terminates in a nasty strainer. Next comes the Gravel Pit Bypass – a fast moving shoot which terminates at another rock wall.

The final rapid is the Ledges – a short series of drops right at the take out. I went down first so I could get some video of the other going through. I took the line behind the big rock and then down the middle. Everyone else made it through fine.


The Ledges from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Links:
My Pictures

My Video - The Ledges

River Description from American Whitewater

Woodstock section of the Pemi - October 15, 2022

View of the mountains

There were lots of options for trips yesterday – fall draw-downs at New Boston and the North Branch of the Pcat, RICKA Sea Kayak trip from Potter Cove, and the first hike of the year with the Papa Joe group. With close to 3” of rain on Friday, though, what caught my attention was an opportunity to get my whitewater boat out in the White Mountains up in New Hampshire. The original plan was to run the section of the Ammo in Littleton, but it dropped too fast. Instead, we ended up on one of my favorites – the Woodstock section of the Pemi.

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. There are a couple of other sections of the Pemi that I have paddled including the quickwater section from Woodstock/Thornton to Campton and the whitewater section in Bristol. The class II section in Woodstock is one of my favorites.

Beautiful foliage

We met at 10:00 at the put-in behind the Fire Station (5 Daniel Webster Highway, North Woodstock, NH), and ran the shuttle down to the take-out at the Ledges (Death Valley Road at the third Route 175 Bridge, North Woodstock, NH). The river was at a medium level – 4.5 feet, 1,500 cfs. after having peaked at 8.5 feet, 9,000 cfs. on Friday afternoon. We had 4 boats – 3 kayaks (Tim, Steph and Steve) and one canoe (guess who).

Its about a 4.5-mile trip that alternates between quickwater and class I/II rapids. The foliage was just past peak, but it was still beautiful. The biggest rapids are the 2 foot drop at the beginning, which we skipped, and the Ledges at the end. I did a different line through the Ledges – left behind the big rock in the center, and then down the middle. It got a little congested behind the rock in the eddy.

Runnning the Ledges from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Links:

My Pictures
Woodstock Gage
River Description from American Whitewater

Pemi - Woodstock – April 9, 2022

Running the Ledges

I thought I would be leaving today for a 4-day business trip to CA, but it got cancelled. That freed-up a day this weekend to paddle. For the second week in a row, I was on the road early Saturday morning heading up Route I-93 to the White Mountains to paddle the Class III Step-up trip with the NHAMC. This time we would be paddling the Woodstock section of the Pemi.

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. There are a couple of other sections of the Pemi that I have paddled including the quickwater section from Woodstock/Thornton to Campton and the whitewater section in Bristol. The class II section in Woodstock is one of my favorites.

The gallery at the Ledges

We met at 10:00 at the put-in behind the Fire Station (51 Daniel Webster Highway, North Woodstock, NH), and ran the shuttle down to the take-out at the Ledges (Death Valley Road at the third Route 175 Bridge, North Woodstock, NH). The river was at a medium-low level – 4.5 feet, 1,250 cfs. We had 14 boats – 13 kayaks and one canoe.

We divided into two groups of 7 for the run downstream. The two most difficult rapids are at the beginning and at the end. Right at the put-in is a 2-foot drop that is run in the center. After that, the river is mostly quiclkwater with couple of class II rapids – Woodstock Squeeze, Gravel Pit and Powerline. The biggest rapid is the Ledges at the end. It is class II+/III depending on water level. We all did a couple of laps at the Ledges trying different lines.

 

The Ledges from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Links:
My Pictures
My Video
Woodstock Gage
River Description from American Whitewater

Pemi - Woodstock - April 2, 2016

Route 175 Bridge

They say that whitewater paddling is 40% skill, 5% luck and 90% driving.  I can’t say that I disagree. Mike, Chuck and Tommy were paddling the Blackstone from Singing Dam down to Plummers Landing, but I drove 2 ½ hours up to New Hampshire to paddle the Pemi with the NHAMC instead.

The Pemigewasset originates in Franconia Notch and flows south through the White Mountains to merge with the Winnipesaukee River in Franklin, NH where it forms the Merrimack.  It is a huge watershed that can be a little flashy.  With the rain last week, the level peaked at 2,500 cfs. on Friday, and dropped to about 1,500 cfs. for the trip yesterday – just about perfect.  We had about 16 boats with 9 canoes.

View of Mount Lafayette

We put-in behind the Fire Station (51 Daniel Webster Highway, North Woodstock, NH), and took-out at the Ledges (Death Valley Road at the third Route 175 Bridge, North Woodstock, NH).  This section is mostly quickwater with a couple of easy class II rapids – Woodstock Squeeze, Gravel Pit, Powerline, and the Ledges.  The biggest challenge is to remember to remember to turn around and take in the great views of the White Mountains upstream.

Harry running the Ledges

Links:

My Pictures

Woodstock Gage

River Description from American Whitewater

Pemigewasset - Woodstock to Campton - November 21, 2015

Me and Jonathan

It wasn’t the best weather for paddling, but I’ve paddled in worse.  Sometimes you just need to get out when the river is up.

I’ve wanted to paddle the section of the Pemi below the Ledges in Woodstock for a while, but it can be tough to catch. Last week’s rain brought the river up, so I sent an email to Doug D. to see if he would be interested. A Facebook post hooked me up for some tandem paddling with Jonathan. 

Blair Bridge

We ran the section from the Ledges at the Route 175 Bridge in Woodstock to the Blair Bridge in Campton – about 14 miles.  The river is shallow with gravel bars and cobbles along the banks.  I’d say that we caught a medium-low level - 3.5 feet, 650 cfs. on the Woodstock gage - mostly flatwater with a few quickwater rips.

It remained overcast throughout the day with low-hanging clouds hugging the ground.  Every now and again we would turn around and catch a beautiful view of the White Mountains shrouded in clouds.  We probably should have turned around more often. It took us about 4 ½ hours to paddle the 14 miles. There was no rush - we took our time and enjoyed views, and then enjoyed a beer and a burger at the Country Cow near the take out.  Another great day.

White Mountains shrouded in clouds

My Pictures
Doug’s Pictures
Pemigewasset Woodstock Gage
River Description from American Whitewater

Pemigewasset – Woodstock – April 27, 2013

View from the put-in -
 Loon Mountain in the distance

The Pemi is one of the rivers that I have wanted to run for a long time, but it just never seemed to work out.  When I could run it, there was no water.  When there was water, I couldn’t run it.  That finally changed yesterday when I ran the Woodstock section with the NHAMC.

Pemigewasset originates at Profile Lake in Franconia Notch and flows south through the White Mountains until it merges with the Winnipesaukee River to form the Merrimack River.  There are several sections of the Pemi that are paddled regularly – some of them are well above my skills.  The Woodstock section is an easy class II the runs from North Woodstock to Woodstock.  I’d also like to run the class I section from Woodstock to Campton – it’s on my list.  I have been to the Bristol section to do safety training, but I have never run it – it’s also on my list. 

Running the Gravel Pit Bypass

We put in at a small park behind the Woodstock Fire Station on Rt. 3.  The river was at a medium level – 4 feet, 1,000 cfs.  We had about 20 paddlers, maybe half were open boaters.  The day was sunny and warm.

After a few riffles at the put in, we approached the first major rapid – the Woodstock Squeeze.  The river narrows and takes a hard left turn at a large rock wall.  Next comes the Powerline Rapid - a gradual drop which can be shallow at the top and bottom.  Next comes Tree Fall Alley – a fast moving shoot which terminates in a nasty strainer.  This shoot can easily be avoided, but I flipped on some shallow rocks at the top and got sucked in.  Fortunately, I was able to swim around it, and my boat was easily recovered. 

Next comes the Gravel Pit Bypass – a fast moving shoot which terminates at another rock wall.  The final rapid is the Ledges – a short series of drops right at the take out.  Our day ended with burgers by the river cooked by Dan – can’t beat that.

Surfing in the Ledges

Links:

My Pictures

My Video – Harry Runs the Slot

Pemigewasset – Woodstock Gage

River description from American Whitewater