Piscat Drawdown and BBQ - October 28, 2017

I had a good time with Jonathan, Sandy and Brian at the Piscat Drawdown and BBQ. With the recent rains water was flowing over the dam when we arrived, and the release was a little higher than usual - 6 feet, 1,000 cfs. The higher water made for bigger waves, fewer eddies and a quicker runs. Jonathan and I did two tandem runs in the Mohawk, and we had two successful surfs at the playspot above the bridge - no swims.


Piscat - tandem surfing in the playhole from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Steak tips were great as usual.

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Goffstown Gage
River Description from American Whitewater

Lower Pawtuxet –– October 22, 2017

With the nice weather, we had a great turnout for the RICKA trip on the Lower Pawtuxet.  We had 20 paddlers in 16 boats.  We put in at Knight Street and paddled to Rhodes on the Pawtuxet – about 7 miles.  The river was low (3.7 feet, 35 cfs) but still fluid. The leaves were just about peak. 

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Lower Pawtuxet (Cranston) Gage
Water Trail Guide from Rhode Island Blueways

Connecticut River Camping – Bloomfield to Lunenburg - October 6-9, 2017

Typical section of the Connecticut River

Bill arrived at my house at around noon for the drive up to the Connecticut River in Vermont. We had been planning this trip for months, but the weather didn’t look promising. Oh well…

The Connecticut River is the longest river in New England flowing south for approximately 400 miles from the Canadian border through four states before emptying into Long Island Sound. We would be paddling the section of the Connecticut River Paddlers Trail from Bloomfield, VT (North Stratford, NH) to Lunenburg, VT (South Lancaster, NH). From the put-in near the mouth of the Nulhegan River to the convergence with the Upper Ammonoosuc near Groveton, NH we would also be paddling a section of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail.

At the Old Man of the Mountain

As we drove through the Franconia Notch, we decided to take a break and check out the Old Man of the Mountain. I can remember stopping to see the “Old Man” as a kid. It was actually a series of five granite cliffs on Cannon Mountain that appeared as the profile of an old man’s face when viewed from the north. The rock formation was 1,200 feet up, and came crashing down on May 3, 2003. It’s still a pretty view.

We arrived in Lancaster, NH at around 5:00, and stopped at a local pub for dinner. On the way to the campsite, we stopped to check out the Wyoming Dam Portage in Guildhall, VT, and Tommy and Mena pulled up behind us. We followed them up Route 102 in VT to the Belnap Campsite where we would be spending the night

Belnap Campsite

Belnap Campsite is a small campsite at the convergence of the Connecticut River and the Nulhegan River. The Nulhegan River arises in Brighton, VT, and flows generally northeast across Vermont to its convergence with the Connecticut River in Bloomfield village. There is a whitewater run on the Nulhegan, but it probably above may skill level.

We parked at the Northern Forest Canoe Trail kiosk, and carried our gear to the site for the night. No campfire this night. We set up camp and chatted in the dark enjoying the stars until it was time for bed. 

Breakfast with Bill

I woke up early on Saturday, made a cup of coffee, and walked over to the bridge over the Nulhegan River to watch the sunrise.  The morning was cloudy so the sun was mostly obscured.  By 7:00, everyone was up and we were having our breakfast and making plans for the day. 

We would put in at Debanville Landing – a grassy landing across the street from the campsite (mile 348) - and shuttle down to the Mount Orne Covered Bridge (mile 307) in Lunenburg, VT - a trip of 41 miles. This section of the river generally follows Route 3 in NH and Routes 102 and 2 in VT.

A well loaded boat

By 9:30, we had run the shuttle and we were anxious to the trip underway. On this day we would paddle 13 miles to the Samuel Benton Campsite (mile 334). Once Bill and I got our gear to the put-in, we wondered if it would all fit in the boat. It did, but just barely.

The river was wide, but very shallow at the put-in. With our heavy load, Bill and I had to wade out quite ways to find water deep enough to float the boat, and we still put in a couple of good scratches in the hull.

Heading downstream

We headed out under mostly sunny skies, but clouds rolled in as the day progressed, and we got some scattered rain in the afternoon. With our heavy load, Bill and I had to be careful to avoid the many rocks and sandbars. The foliage was just about peak, but with the cloudy skies it wasn’t as bright as I would have liked. 

After 13 miles we arrived at the Samuel Benton Campsite (mile 334). The campsite is situated in a grove of trees on a sandy bluff at the edge of large hay field. The nice grassy site gave us plenty of room to spread out. We quickly settled into to a familar routine – set up camp, gather firewood, cook supper, and gather around the campfire for the night. The sun setting over the mountains was spectacular.

Breakfast at the Samuel Benton Campsite

We got up on Sunday morning to fog and mist. The morning routine was similar to the evening – make coffee, get a small fire going, eat breakfast, break camp and head out. A light rain at about 7:30 got us moving quickly, and we were on the river by 8:30 heading downstream. 

The river continued to be shallow, but was not a boney as the previous day. Throughout the morning showers passed, so it was rain gear on, and rain gear off. As we passed the confluence of the Upper Ammonoosuc River, the river opened up a bit. 

Wyoming Dam Portage

The Upper Ammonoosuc River flows north and then west across New Hampshire to empty into the Connecticut River near Groveton. I had run a portion of the Upper Ammonoosuc as part of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail several years ago. There are also a couple of whitewater runs on the Upper Ammo (class IV/II and class II) that I would like to try.

After 11 miles, we approached the Maidstone Bridge and the Wyoming Dam Portage. The old Wyoming Dam is a hazard due to rebar jutting into the river. Even without rebar, it looked too boney to run at this level anyway. Fortunately the rain let up as we hiked the portage trail. After a quick lunch we continued downstream to the South Guildhall Campsite. 

Rain gear on

As we headed out, the wind picked up and rain came down in sheets. It looked like it would be long 5-mile slog down to the campsite. Fortunately, the rain and wind passed as quickly as it started, and we had clear blue skies as we pulled into the South Guildhall Campsite (Mile 317). 

The South Guildhall Campsite is a wooded site up a steep bank with great views of the White Mountains to the south. We lugged our gear up the stairs and followed our usual routine - set up camp, gather firewood, cook supper, and then gather around the campfire for the night. 

The crew - Erik, Bill, Tommy and Mena

I turned in at around 9:00, and woke up the next morning at around 5:30 to Tommy taking down his tent. The sky was cloudy, and it was pretty clear that it was going to be a rainy day, so he wanted to keep his tent dry.  I figured I would have time for a cup of coffee, and I was right, but just barely.  I had to race to get my gear packed before the skies opened up. We loaded the boats, took a picture of the group, and were on the river by 7:30.

Monday would be a short day (10 miles) down to the take-out at the Mount Orne Covered Bridge (mile 307). The river was wider and deeper in this section. It twists and turns through corn fields that seem to go on forever.  The wind was calm, but the rain got heavier as the morning went on.  We passed the confluence of the Israel River, which runs general northwest across New Hampshire before emptying in to the Connecticut River in Lancaster. There is also a whitewater run on the Israel that I would like to try. 

Mount Orne Covered Bridge

We arrived at the Mount Orne Covered Bridge at around noon. We were wet and tired, but excited about a great trip. We retrieved our cars, packed up our gear and said goodbyes before the long drive home in the holiday traffic.

Camping on the Upper Connecticut from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

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Connecticut River Paddlers Trail

Northern Forest Canoe Trail

Westfest – September 23, 2017

At the put-in

I was up at 4:00 a.m., and met Paul at the MacDonald’s at 5:00 a.m. for the early morning drive up the Westfest on the West River in Jamaica, VT. We left early so we could meet a CTAMC group at 8:00, but those plans went awry when I took a sleep-deprived wrong turn on to Route 35 in Townshend.

By the time we reached Jamaica State Park, the CTAMC crew had already taken the shuttle up to the put in.  No problem. Charlie Sweet was waiting in the shuttle line, so we paddled with him for the rest of the day. 

Charlie

The shuttle started at 8:30, but the release wouldn’t ramp up to its full release level of 1500 cfs until 10:00. The river on the first run was a little lower, and a little more technical with more rocks to dodge, but I liked it. I did the S-turn at the Dumplings - hugging the rock at the top, and then sneaking down the left side.

As I pulled my solo boat into the take out, I saw Dave Draper waiting.  The plan was for at least one tandem run with Dave in his Caption – we ended up doing two. 

By the time we got on the river for our second run, the river had reached its full release level. The Caption is a great boat, and very stable, but we had a hard time keeping water out. Maybe it was just poor route selection by the bow paddler (me), but we had to pull over to empty the boat after pretty much every big rapid. 

Paul

At the Dumplings, we took the left line, and were able to eddy out behind the second rock before heading down the left side to avoid the big waves.

With a little confidence after a successful second run, we decided to hike up to the dam to run Initiation on our third run. The line is just left of the small rock at the top (to avoid the rocks at the top on the right), then go right to avoid the big hole, and then catch the eddy right side.  We filled up with water in the big hole and got spun around backwards, but made it to the eddy before tipping over. 

Dave and Erik

Self-rescue complete, we ferried left to avoid the big rock on the right, and then rode the big waves down to the footbridge, where we emptied the boat again.  That pattern repeated itself for the rest of the run. 

After the third run I knew I was done. The shuttle line was short, so Paul headed back for one more run – a 15-minute shuttle ride up, and a 17-minute bomber-run back down. 

As tough as it was to get up at 4:00 in the morning, I did like getting an early start. We got two runs in before 11:30 with no lines at the shuttle - including the lower water run. Unfortunately, there is always too much going on to take many pictures. 

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West River Gage

Jamaica State Park

River Description from American Whitewater

Seekonk River – September 9, 2017

Below the Pawtucket Falls

Our original plan was to put-in at Bold Point and paddle over to Providence, but instead we decided to paddle up the Seekonk River to Pawtucket. We hit the tide just about right. We put-in a little before 10:00, and high tide was at 11:00, so the tide was coming in on the way up and going out on the way back down. We made it all the way up to the Pawtucket Falls, and got to see the Dragon Boat Races at the Pawtucket Arts Festival at the School Street Landing.

Pawtucket Falls and Slater Mill

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Alton to Bradford - September 2, 2017

Below the Alton Dam

I knew it would be raining on Sunday, and I wasn’t sure what we would be doing on Monday, so when Frank suggested a paddle on Saturday, it sounded good to me.

The Blackstone would have been closer for both of us, but it is getting low, so we decided to run the Wood/Pawcatuck from Alton to Bradford.  We ran the shuttle, and put-in to the Wood River below the Alton Dam.  There were a few blow downs that we had to paddle around, but we made it through fine.  

Broken dam at Brudickville

The Wood River joins the Pawcatuck River about a mile downstream.  The level in the Pawcatuck was low, but fluid - 2 feet, 40 cfs on the Wood River Junction gage.   Because of the low water, we decided to carry around the broken dam at Burdickville rather than bounce down the rocks. 

We stopped for lunch at the Burlingame Canoe Campsites, and then paddled to the take-out at Bradford Landing.  The Bradford Dam is under construction, but I didn’t take the time to check it out – another time.

Approaching the Burdickville Road Bridge

Paddle and Party at Spring Lake - August 22, 2017

Our Spring Lake Paddle and Party with Julie and Steve means that the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club season is coming to an end.  We put in at the Black Hut Boat Ramp, and paddled around the lake for pizza at Julie and Steve's house.  Always a nice night, but it is sad that the summer is coming to an end.  Bring on Fall!

The Blackstone Valley Paddle Club

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Spring Lake from Rhode Island Blueways