On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, I drove out to Western Mass. to meet up with an AMC group to camp out that night and paddle Fife Brook the next day. It's about an hour and 45 minute ride on Route 2, which is a terrible road going from a divided highway to a 4-lane undivided road with lights, to a divided highway, to a "super-two," to a country road. Then it is part of Interstate 91 for 3 miles before turning into a rural 2-lane highway with good scenery. I am going to time the way home and then take the Mass Pike and I-91 next time to see if it is quicker, which it might be since it's 65 the whole way and no lights.
Anyway, I met up with the group at the campground and we went to dinner at a nice restaurant in the surprisingly nice town of Shelbrune Falls, tucked away on a bend in the Deerfield a mile off Route 2.
When I woke up, it had just started raining, and this continued all day. Of course, this is an all-weather sport, so we just went right about our business. This was the highest level the Deerfield at, 900 cfs release plus the rain. I swam twice in my new boat's maiden voyage, no rolls, once shortly after peeling out before Freight Train and the other time while trying to surf at Miami Beach, which is the last rapid before the island. The level was so high today that we were able to run the right channel at the island, which is usually too bony to run, so the left is the normal route. I think the left side is a little easier, especially at the end where the two currents reconverge.
I did not feel as comfortable with my boat as I had on the previous Fife Brook run in the rented boat. I think I needed one trip to get used to the smaller boat. I was thinking of running the Gap, but I'm gonna wait until next time so I'm more used to the new boat. This boat has an extra balance point on its sides, which I discovered right away at Hangover Helper, when I went about a third of the way over. I was disappointed I did not get a roll. I need some practice. I'm going up to Squam Lake with my family next weekend, so I'll bring the boat for some practice sessions.
It was a good day, as I met some new people, some of whom were canoers--although the preferred and technical term is "open boaters". I got some good surfing in as well, which was good as usual.
8/28/2005
8/13/2005
Deerfield, part 2 and an acquisition
It's been a month and a half since I've been out on the river, but I did take the pond rolling course. I got lots of good instruction and practice and I feel pretty good about my ability to roll now. I am aware, however, that people often have difficulty rolling in whitewater (referred to as a "combat roll") because back in June a guy watching people go through The Gap told me he was having trouble rolling in the river despite being 100% in flatwater. We'll see how it goes today; I'm sure I'll have an opportunity to try. This is a reunion of my beginner trip as well as the other 3 beginner trips, which took place earlier in the summer. We will be doing the same section as the beginner trip, the Deerfield (Fife Brook Section).
I am also planning on stopping at Zoar Outdoor, a kayaking store near the river to check out boats. This would be a good weekend to buy a boat, on account of the fact that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has waived the 5% sales tax this weekend. We'll see how today goes.
Ron and I carpooled once again, seeing some familiar faces at the take-out, the usual gathering place for the run. Ken Green was there, as were a couple of other students from the beginner course, and so was Rob Stiles who ran the roll course.
Once everybody arrived, we headed up to the put-in just above Hangover Helper. Once again, we did some ferries across the swift current and waves at Hangover Helper. I utilized a narrow mid-river eddy to get out into the strong current and I did not flip once on the ferries. I tried a roll in the big eddy on river left, losing hold of my paddle going under and having to swim. I never actually got a roll attempt out of it, so I wasn't too unhappy about not rolling.
After spending what I thought was way too much time at Hangover Helper ferrying, we finally went downriver. I was catching lots of surfing waves none too small, having a great time.
At the first playspot, I got out of my boat and got my water bottle out of the back of my boat. In the course of digging around for the water, I pulled my sandwich container out from the back and noticed that it got completely soaked. I wrung it out and ate it right there, before the others ate their lunch. I got a couple of surfs on the wave at this playspot after I downed the sandwich--lots of fun.
We went down the river, with me successfully negotiating Freight Train rapid, the bottom of which is the usual lunch spot. There is a railroad bridge here, hence the name of the rapid. Since I had already had lunch, I had time to practice ferrying and peeling out of eddies here. There is also a rope swing underneath the bridge, which I went off a few times. Rob went off the rope swing in his boat, which was actually rather anticlimactic as he only dropped a couple of feet into the water and landed upright.
As the others got back in their boats after eating, I started surfing on the waves right under the bridge. I did not know it, but these waves are quite squirrelly, meaning they sometimes vanish or move laterally across the river. This happened while I was surfing on it, flipping me instantly as the others began to head downriver. I almost rolled, bringing my head up a split second too soon, resulting in a short swim. I was actually happy I swam because it gave me another chance to go surf there again. (I still didn't know these were squirrelly waves). I got a good long surf, then flipped peeling out (my fault). I missed my roll attempt again, not as close as before and swam again. Someone told me swims when you're trying to surf don't count, which made me feel better.
The rest of the way down, I continued to surf at every opportunity. I felt very comfortable with my eddy turns and ferries, for the first time feeling like I really knew what I was doing. I narrowly avoided flipping when Ken and I collided near a fierce mid-river eddy line below the Island, where the two channels come back together. This is the last rapid before The Gap and the toughest rapid (excluding The Gap) on Fife Brook, in my opinion.
After we took out, I drove down to Zoar Outdoor to try out a boat. Ron and I were a little early in the morning, so we stopped there and I sat in a playboat called the Vision 44. I had decided earlier that a playboat as opposed to a river runner because I had enjoyed surfing waves so much. The Vision 44 felt perfect--exactly the right size for me. I also liked the fact that the knees did not come up very high, meaning there is less resistance dragging below the water when attempting rolls.
After we took out, I took the demo Vision 44 down to the Deerfield, in a flat but moving section below the run. I took it out in the current and flipped on purpose and rolled right back up. It sure did roll easy, just as I expected. I fooled around a little more, then went back to Zoar, sold on the Vision 44 and ready to make the purchase. The one I had sat in this morning was the only one they had left, so the orange one became mine for two and a half weeks' wages.
So all and all, I had a great time on the river. The two swims did not count, and I was able to roll my new boat. I can't wait to take the new boat out and learn some playboating moves with it (although the latter will probably have to wait until next summer).
I am also planning on stopping at Zoar Outdoor, a kayaking store near the river to check out boats. This would be a good weekend to buy a boat, on account of the fact that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has waived the 5% sales tax this weekend. We'll see how today goes.
Ron and I carpooled once again, seeing some familiar faces at the take-out, the usual gathering place for the run. Ken Green was there, as were a couple of other students from the beginner course, and so was Rob Stiles who ran the roll course.
Once everybody arrived, we headed up to the put-in just above Hangover Helper. Once again, we did some ferries across the swift current and waves at Hangover Helper. I utilized a narrow mid-river eddy to get out into the strong current and I did not flip once on the ferries. I tried a roll in the big eddy on river left, losing hold of my paddle going under and having to swim. I never actually got a roll attempt out of it, so I wasn't too unhappy about not rolling.
After spending what I thought was way too much time at Hangover Helper ferrying, we finally went downriver. I was catching lots of surfing waves none too small, having a great time.
At the first playspot, I got out of my boat and got my water bottle out of the back of my boat. In the course of digging around for the water, I pulled my sandwich container out from the back and noticed that it got completely soaked. I wrung it out and ate it right there, before the others ate their lunch. I got a couple of surfs on the wave at this playspot after I downed the sandwich--lots of fun.
We went down the river, with me successfully negotiating Freight Train rapid, the bottom of which is the usual lunch spot. There is a railroad bridge here, hence the name of the rapid. Since I had already had lunch, I had time to practice ferrying and peeling out of eddies here. There is also a rope swing underneath the bridge, which I went off a few times. Rob went off the rope swing in his boat, which was actually rather anticlimactic as he only dropped a couple of feet into the water and landed upright.
As the others got back in their boats after eating, I started surfing on the waves right under the bridge. I did not know it, but these waves are quite squirrelly, meaning they sometimes vanish or move laterally across the river. This happened while I was surfing on it, flipping me instantly as the others began to head downriver. I almost rolled, bringing my head up a split second too soon, resulting in a short swim. I was actually happy I swam because it gave me another chance to go surf there again. (I still didn't know these were squirrelly waves). I got a good long surf, then flipped peeling out (my fault). I missed my roll attempt again, not as close as before and swam again. Someone told me swims when you're trying to surf don't count, which made me feel better.
The rest of the way down, I continued to surf at every opportunity. I felt very comfortable with my eddy turns and ferries, for the first time feeling like I really knew what I was doing. I narrowly avoided flipping when Ken and I collided near a fierce mid-river eddy line below the Island, where the two channels come back together. This is the last rapid before The Gap and the toughest rapid (excluding The Gap) on Fife Brook, in my opinion.
After we took out, I drove down to Zoar Outdoor to try out a boat. Ron and I were a little early in the morning, so we stopped there and I sat in a playboat called the Vision 44. I had decided earlier that a playboat as opposed to a river runner because I had enjoyed surfing waves so much. The Vision 44 felt perfect--exactly the right size for me. I also liked the fact that the knees did not come up very high, meaning there is less resistance dragging below the water when attempting rolls.
After we took out, I took the demo Vision 44 down to the Deerfield, in a flat but moving section below the run. I took it out in the current and flipped on purpose and rolled right back up. It sure did roll easy, just as I expected. I fooled around a little more, then went back to Zoar, sold on the Vision 44 and ready to make the purchase. The one I had sat in this morning was the only one they had left, so the orange one became mine for two and a half weeks' wages.
So all and all, I had a great time on the river. The two swims did not count, and I was able to roll my new boat. I can't wait to take the new boat out and learn some playboating moves with it (although the latter will probably have to wait until next summer).
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