This past weekend, I went out to the Deerfield for two days of paddling, Saturday on Fife Brook with an AMC trip and Sunday on the Dryway on a cataraft with Patrick from the Northeast Paddlers' Message Board.
It was pouring for the drive out on Saturday morning, further complicated by the fact that from Acton to Leominster Route 2 has tire-width depressions that fill with water where you want your wheels to be forcing you to drive towards the middle or outside of your lane.
It was still soggy at the meeting place, where the nine kayakers and no open boaters got together, but by the time we put in the rain had stopped. Andy Novick, the intermediate course instructor which I found out on Friday that I had been accepted into, was part of the group. There were a few other familiar faces, including Rick from the Middleboro pool sessions (who is also in the intermediate course) and Doug from the beginner class.
We spent a lot of time at Hangover Helper as Andy instructed Doug and some others on ferries and got used to the playboat he was demoing. I got a couple rolls in after some stern squirts. Despite the rain, it wasn't too cold, so I wasn't unhappy about going under here, unlike last time.
We finally moved down the river after Shahan, Kathy, a co-leader for this trip and I attempted to get everyone to follow us downstream.
At the next playspot, I got a few good rides on the wave, and had more success after I started aiming for the rock that forms the tiny midriver eddy that accesses the wave instead of the eddy itself. We also had lunch here as it was already 1 pm.
At the top of Freight Train, I caught the wave that Tony and I had missed last time on the fly (the only way to get to it) but it flipped me over pretty quickly. I rolled, but I was down the river at that point and couldn't get back to it.
At the railroad bridge, I tried to surf some more in the big hole there, finally getting flipped over by it but it spit me right out just like the other times. I did a few more stern squirts, practiced some ferries and tried to talk people into going off the ropeswing under the bridge in their boats to no avail.
I caught the surfing waves just below the railroad bridge, which I thought would be the last action until the rock garden. However, the water was so high with all the rain that it was not boring at all and there were some waves.
In the rock garden, I got way ahead of the group as usual. Kathy and I were ahead of the group for most of the trip because we both tend to paddle in the pools when others just drift. (There should be more people like us). Shortly into the rock garden, I tried to do a stern squirt from a midriver eddy and flipped, washing into the current. I rolled and went down a ways and had to wait a long time for the group in an eddy because they had all pulled into an eddy between where I had flipped and where I ended up stopping to remove some layers because the sun had come out.
In the remainder of the rock garden, it was apparent that the water was high because some of the rocks were covered and there was one place right at the end where a really nice wave had formed. There were midriver eddies on both sides, but it looked like it might be a little hard to catch because it was near the top of the eddies and the current was strong. I was able to get onto it though, but quickly flushed out after trying to carve and then flipped, which I was not happy about because I did not think I should have flipped upon resuming my ferry.
I got a few surfs shortly below at Miami Beach, but again flushed out when I tried to carve. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or if the waves were too angular and/or didn't have enough of a backwash to hold me there. The one I carved on the Sacandaga was actually more of a hole.
After the rapid below the island, it was on through the shallow part above the Gap, which was still really bony and got me hung up on rocks a couple times. A few people, including me, decided to run the Gap. I was supposed to follow Rick and we were going to run the tongue at the top, pull into the river left eddy and then go down the left side. I ended up going ahead of Rick and flipped over trying to pull into the highly aerated and swirly eddy. I missed a roll, and went through all three holes upside down in my boat, denting my helmet in the third one. I missed another two roll attempts at the bottom, but did get breaths (which is why I missed) before finally hitting one way below the drop in the rock garden below it. I was not pleased with this Gap run.
It was still a good day though, even though I have emphasized some areas I thought could have gone better. I thought my ferries were very good, particularly the one where I got to the wave at the bottom of the rock garden and the ones at Miami Beach.
On Sunday, I took a look at the whole Dryway with Patrick on his old cataraft, aka, floating strainer. It didn't look too bad. The main areas of concern for me in terms of running it in my kayak are the river wide hole at the bottom of Split Hair and the numerous pourovers in Labyrinth. Dragon's Tooth, which is the biggest rapid on the Dryway, didn't look too bad. The line is straight forward, and there are only two real moves to make, the first of which looks easy. There also appears to be a wider margin for error in terms of where exactly you must be there than there is in the Gap.
Patrick and I got done pretty quickly and after lamenting to him about my Gap run on Sunday, he suggested that I demo a creek boat and run it. I thought that was a good idea, so I went down to the Gap and got a Dagger Nomad. I paddled it between the bridge and the picnic area to get used to it a bit. I could roll it easily but noticed that it didn't turn as well as my Vision. I waited for the people from my group on Sunday to come down so I could run it with them, but the AMC beginners' class got down first, so I ran it with Artemis and Adrian. This time, I took the left side all the way, boofing into the eddy that flipped me instead of turning into it. I ran the left side clean, despite crashing into Adrian after I peeled out. (He didn't flip either). It felt great to finally run the Gap clean, even though it was with an easier boat for doing so. Maybe the boof line will make it easier to run it in my boat as well.
6/28/2006
6/11/2006
First Fife Brook Run of 2006
The leader was Harland, the same leader as on the W. Branch Farmington trip last fall, so I was expecting an open-boat-heavy crowd. There were a lot of open boaters-six-but almost as many kayakers, five. We decided to go in two groups, determined by type of boat.
The kayakers consisted of myself, Conrad, Tony, a middle-age woman whose name I forget and her daughter who couldn't have been more than 11. (A future pro boater).
It was a cold morning, autumn-like, so the temperature did not make me want to do any practice rolls. Sure enough though, I blew a ferry at Hangover Helper and rolled right away (first attempt).
We got to the first playspot (Carbis Bend) and I got some good surfs on my initial rides. I did not stay on as well after the first three though. I stayed upright the whole time here.
We headed on down and Tony and I just missed what looked like a great surf wave at the top of Freight Train. I forgot about the big hole right before the railroad bridge and punched it. Then I tried to surf it a couple of times, but it spit me right out each time without flipping me. While the others were eating lunch, I did some stern squirts under the bridge, all but one of which resulted in a roll.
After lunch, we headed down and I did one more squirt and roll. We hit the few small surfable waves before the long, flat, shallow, boring stretch before the rock garden.
The rock garden had never been one of my favorite rapids on Fife Brook because I think people catch too many eddies there and go too slow as a result. This is still true of course--I opened up a big lead on the field during this portion--but I found that the rock garden has many good sidesurfing spots. I got two good sidesurfs, but I didn't keep my upstream edge up enough on the second one and got turned over, hitting the rock that was forming the hole. I couldn't locate any new scratches on my helmet though.
We came to Miami Beach, but I didn't manage to stay on the wave at all. I did stay upright though. The trip around the island and through the squirrelly spot where the channels come back together was uneventful.
After another long, flat, shallow, boring stretch (these are the reason some people hate Fife Brook), we reached the takeout above The Gap. I was unable to find anyone willing to run it, either from my group or another group of kayakers, some of whom I had met on the West. So I had to wait for the open boaters to come down, which took forever.
In the meantime, Tony decided he wanted to run it and found a stray kayaker named Alan who wanted to run it too. When the open boaters got there, we scouted it and they decided not to run it either. I was disappointed because I wanted to go down it following someone experienced, but we decided to run it anyway. One of the open boaters lowered his boat into The Gap with a rope to catch us/our boats if we swam.
After much deliberation, we decided to run a line just right of center, the idea being to just miss the holes to the right. The order was Tony, me, Alan. We got through the lead-in unscathed, unlike my attempt last fall, and proceeded down the initial tongue. I saw Tony go over in the first or second hole because he was too far left. I was too far left too and I believe I went over in the same spot. I was able to roll before the third hole, which impressed Alan a lot, but I was facing upstream when I came up and got flipped right back over by the bottom hole. I rolled again in the pool at the bottom, as did Tony. Alan stayed up the whole time, so the open boater did not get any rescue business.
I convinced Alan to go past the takeout with me down to the place where the railroad tracks cross the road, a portion I had not run since the first day of the beginner course last summer. We got a couple of extra surfs, including at least one sidesurf by me.
It was a fabulous day overall, no swims, each roll was on the first attempt and plenty of surfing.
6/10/2006
T-ville Part 3
On Wednesday, Paul Satwicz, a neighbor and old-time kayaker, and I went down to T-ville to get some boating in. He had not paddled a whitewater river in 15-20 years, but had paddled a tidal rapid many times in that time.
When we got to the put-in, there were several other people with boats around there. Two of them headed up a path along the river looking for Cathy's Wave. We decided to follow suit.
We were instructed to walk up the path, then ferry over to the other side and keep walking up on another path there. We did that and walked up the other side until we ran into a rock wall on the side of the river. We put in here and were able to paddle upstream a ways to a spot with an artificial wall and a gazebo on the bank. There were a few waves here and it is the location of the beloved and mysterious Cathy's Wave (the level was a bit high, I guess, 4.8').
I flipped a couple of times trying to get to the smallish waves, not rolling until the third or fourth attempt on one of them. We then went down to another spot with some small waves. I didn't catch a ride on a wave at either spot. Paul said I wasn't angling my boat far enough upstream on my ferries. He said I was doing better at the second part, but it was still hard to get held on the small waves.
We then ran the rest of the river down to the main play spot. The bridge abutments were completely underwater except for one, which was forming a nasty roostertail. We ran the far right side, which is the normal route at low water and was really ripping. We then moved back to river left to run the rapid containing the play holes. We had time to try to hit the main play hole twice apiece and neither of us made it because of the rapidly rising and fast water and/or because we chickened out because of the hugeness of the hole.
Paul had a great time and I was happy to get his advice and to run as much of the river as we did. We will paddle together again, perhaps as soon as tomorrow (Sunday).
When we got to the put-in, there were several other people with boats around there. Two of them headed up a path along the river looking for Cathy's Wave. We decided to follow suit.
We were instructed to walk up the path, then ferry over to the other side and keep walking up on another path there. We did that and walked up the other side until we ran into a rock wall on the side of the river. We put in here and were able to paddle upstream a ways to a spot with an artificial wall and a gazebo on the bank. There were a few waves here and it is the location of the beloved and mysterious Cathy's Wave (the level was a bit high, I guess, 4.8').
I flipped a couple of times trying to get to the smallish waves, not rolling until the third or fourth attempt on one of them. We then went down to another spot with some small waves. I didn't catch a ride on a wave at either spot. Paul said I wasn't angling my boat far enough upstream on my ferries. He said I was doing better at the second part, but it was still hard to get held on the small waves.
We then ran the rest of the river down to the main play spot. The bridge abutments were completely underwater except for one, which was forming a nasty roostertail. We ran the far right side, which is the normal route at low water and was really ripping. We then moved back to river left to run the rapid containing the play holes. We had time to try to hit the main play hole twice apiece and neither of us made it because of the rapidly rising and fast water and/or because we chickened out because of the hugeness of the hole.
Paul had a great time and I was happy to get his advice and to run as much of the river as we did. We will paddle together again, perhaps as soon as tomorrow (Sunday).
5/29/2006
Sacandaga
I couldn't hook up with a local trip on my only day off of the holiday weekend, so I went to the Northeast Paddlers' Message Board to look for someone to go boating with on Memorial Day. I guy named Mike responded, saying he was doing the Sacandaga River in New York starting at noon. Since he was starting so late, I agreed to go despite the fact that it was a long way. Mapquest said 3 hours and 35 minutes, but I thought I could do it in 3:15.
I left the house at 8:45. It took a bit longer than expected, 3:40! I also had a little trouble finding the put-in, so I was further delayed and didn't actually make it to the put-in until 12:50. When I got there--a big eddy,--I saw two kayakers just heading out of the eddy. I hollered at them and they paddled back towards me. I asked them if one of them was Mike. They said no, but I could paddle with them anyway. I changed quickly and hopped in with them. They then said that there had been a group there that left a few minutes ago that had said they were waiting for someone. They had also said they'd be stopping to play a lot on the way down, so the two thought I'd be able to catch up with them.
Sure enough, at the first playspot, the group of three was there. I asked for Mike again and this time he was there. I said goodbye to the other two--they were doing a straight run because one of them was a first timer--and checked out the playwaves. There were two of them. I didn't really look at the first one, but the second one was a little big for me, but not as big as some of the ones on the Dryway.
I never made it all the way onto it. On my last attempt, I flipped over just as I was getting into it. I tried a few rolls, going over some waves and one small, not sticky hole that almost rolled me by itself. I made a couple more unsuccessful attempts, trying to breathe on each one to buy another attempt (which is probably why they were unsuccessful). On the second to last one, I could hear Mike's voice before I went back down, so I knew he was right there. This was a very good thing to know because, unlike T-ville, I really was out of attempts. I made the signal for a bow rescue, felt Mike's bow and pulled myself up. No swim. They were impressed by how long I stuck it out, which allowed them to catch up and me to avoid a swim.
After one small drop, we were into a long section of mostly moving flatwater. Mike remarked that this was his favorite section of the run as he took his feet out of the pegs and stretched them out on the bow. A disadvantage of having a short boat like mine is that the feet can't be taken out of the bow on a section like this. They asked me if I knew any flatwater moves in my short boat, so I tried a few stern squirts, rolling once on the second attempt and doing one really nice one. I also practiced some pivot turns in this section and attempted one bow stall, which needs a lot of work.
We finally got to the next whitewater portion, which slowly picked up. It was very similar to the lower West, except wider and with more playspots to catch on the fly. Mike caught one really nice-looking wave, but I couldn't get to it because he was on it.
This rapid culminates in a class III- drop and we eddied out right above it. There is a wide pourover in the center, so you have to go left or right. They recommended left since that's the side the takeout is on and it's right after the drop, so that's the way I went.
In the large takeout eddy, I located a wave right off shore, easily accessible from another microeddy just a few feet into the current. I surfed on this a bunch of times while I waited for the others to come down from surfing above. I was able to do some carving on this wave as I learned last weekend and stay on it a long time. Carving is the best. Next time I will try to do some full spins.
It was a great day, despite the long drive and the late start.
I left the house at 8:45. It took a bit longer than expected, 3:40! I also had a little trouble finding the put-in, so I was further delayed and didn't actually make it to the put-in until 12:50. When I got there--a big eddy,--I saw two kayakers just heading out of the eddy. I hollered at them and they paddled back towards me. I asked them if one of them was Mike. They said no, but I could paddle with them anyway. I changed quickly and hopped in with them. They then said that there had been a group there that left a few minutes ago that had said they were waiting for someone. They had also said they'd be stopping to play a lot on the way down, so the two thought I'd be able to catch up with them.
Sure enough, at the first playspot, the group of three was there. I asked for Mike again and this time he was there. I said goodbye to the other two--they were doing a straight run because one of them was a first timer--and checked out the playwaves. There were two of them. I didn't really look at the first one, but the second one was a little big for me, but not as big as some of the ones on the Dryway.
I never made it all the way onto it. On my last attempt, I flipped over just as I was getting into it. I tried a few rolls, going over some waves and one small, not sticky hole that almost rolled me by itself. I made a couple more unsuccessful attempts, trying to breathe on each one to buy another attempt (which is probably why they were unsuccessful). On the second to last one, I could hear Mike's voice before I went back down, so I knew he was right there. This was a very good thing to know because, unlike T-ville, I really was out of attempts. I made the signal for a bow rescue, felt Mike's bow and pulled myself up. No swim. They were impressed by how long I stuck it out, which allowed them to catch up and me to avoid a swim.
After one small drop, we were into a long section of mostly moving flatwater. Mike remarked that this was his favorite section of the run as he took his feet out of the pegs and stretched them out on the bow. A disadvantage of having a short boat like mine is that the feet can't be taken out of the bow on a section like this. They asked me if I knew any flatwater moves in my short boat, so I tried a few stern squirts, rolling once on the second attempt and doing one really nice one. I also practiced some pivot turns in this section and attempted one bow stall, which needs a lot of work.
We finally got to the next whitewater portion, which slowly picked up. It was very similar to the lower West, except wider and with more playspots to catch on the fly. Mike caught one really nice-looking wave, but I couldn't get to it because he was on it.
This rapid culminates in a class III- drop and we eddied out right above it. There is a wide pourover in the center, so you have to go left or right. They recommended left since that's the side the takeout is on and it's right after the drop, so that's the way I went.
In the large takeout eddy, I located a wave right off shore, easily accessible from another microeddy just a few feet into the current. I surfed on this a bunch of times while I waited for the others to come down from surfing above. I was able to do some carving on this wave as I learned last weekend and stay on it a long time. Carving is the best. Next time I will try to do some full spins.
It was a great day, despite the long drive and the late start.
5/25/2006
T-ville Late Afternoon Park and Play
I had the day off Wednesday, so I decided to head down to Connecticut to visit my grandmother and great aunt and stop at T-ville on the way back.
I got to the park and play put in and saw many cars with boats. There were only about 5 kayakers in the water and there were even two people with boogie boards.
The level was just under 4 feet, over double the height (and much more volume) than my trip there on Tax Day. The rapid was barely recognizable. I had a somewhat difficult time figuring out which hole was which. The eddies for accessing the waves and holes were pretty much washed out, which was quite problematic for me. Basically, I couldn't paddle up to where I needed to be to get on the play features; I had to walk up the bank or in shallow water, which was quite painful with my 2mm neoprene socks and the sharp brownstone rocks of T-ville.
My first few rides, I just paddled up what was left of the eddy as far as I could and paddled into the current, missing the waves. The next couple of times, I got out of the boat, waded upstream, and got in from a farther up point. I didn't get to the features this way either, not having ferried out far enough. One of these times I did have a pretty good ride through the waves, just missing getting swallowed by the main play hole. After the hole, I even did an unintentional midriver stern squirt. I got in a few rolls on these rides too.
With my feet hurting, I decided I would go for one more ride. (I also had to get home pretty quickly to meat my friend to go up to New Hampshire and hike on Thursday). This ride failed to reach the hole as well, so I went for one more absolutely final one.
I made the hole, but it endered me instantly and actually held me for a few seconds. I tried to roll twice in the hole, but I was obviously on the wrong side. Then I flushed out and tried to roll a couple more times, but I was still against the current so I didn't make it. I decided to try one more time and then wet exit. I didn't make it: first swim of 2006. I was already into the next rapid when I wet exited. I started to swim over towards the river right side when I saw a kayak on my left catch up to my boat. He said to grab his loop, so I did and got my boat with the other hand. He took me over to the left side (a much shorter walk back than the right side). I got out and secured my boat above water level then climbed out of the gorge. (I didn't want to bring the boat up until I had my shoes on). There was still the matter of my paddle however. My rescuer had considerable distance to go to it on account of having brought me and the boat to shore and I was afraid the paddle would be history. I had visions of it getting stuck in the undercut rock below the broken dam.
I ran back to my car and drove down to the dam. My rescuer had been joined there by two friends. I didn't see any of them with my paddle. But then they told me it was on the beach above the dam. :-) They caught up to it in the large pool above the dam, which I had forgotten existed. I got the paddle and the boat and got home in time to leave again for the hike in New Hampshire at a reasonable time.
Thinking about the swim, I realized it was more of a mental breakdown than a physical one. The "last" roll attempt did not have to be the final one; I got a breath on that attempt, and could have made at least one more. Luckily, the water was so high I didn't make contact with any rocks during the swim and thanks to the other paddlers, I still have all my equipment. (You only own half the paddle now, Artemis).
I got to the park and play put in and saw many cars with boats. There were only about 5 kayakers in the water and there were even two people with boogie boards.
The level was just under 4 feet, over double the height (and much more volume) than my trip there on Tax Day. The rapid was barely recognizable. I had a somewhat difficult time figuring out which hole was which. The eddies for accessing the waves and holes were pretty much washed out, which was quite problematic for me. Basically, I couldn't paddle up to where I needed to be to get on the play features; I had to walk up the bank or in shallow water, which was quite painful with my 2mm neoprene socks and the sharp brownstone rocks of T-ville.
My first few rides, I just paddled up what was left of the eddy as far as I could and paddled into the current, missing the waves. The next couple of times, I got out of the boat, waded upstream, and got in from a farther up point. I didn't get to the features this way either, not having ferried out far enough. One of these times I did have a pretty good ride through the waves, just missing getting swallowed by the main play hole. After the hole, I even did an unintentional midriver stern squirt. I got in a few rolls on these rides too.
With my feet hurting, I decided I would go for one more ride. (I also had to get home pretty quickly to meat my friend to go up to New Hampshire and hike on Thursday). This ride failed to reach the hole as well, so I went for one more absolutely final one.
I made the hole, but it endered me instantly and actually held me for a few seconds. I tried to roll twice in the hole, but I was obviously on the wrong side. Then I flushed out and tried to roll a couple more times, but I was still against the current so I didn't make it. I decided to try one more time and then wet exit. I didn't make it: first swim of 2006. I was already into the next rapid when I wet exited. I started to swim over towards the river right side when I saw a kayak on my left catch up to my boat. He said to grab his loop, so I did and got my boat with the other hand. He took me over to the left side (a much shorter walk back than the right side). I got out and secured my boat above water level then climbed out of the gorge. (I didn't want to bring the boat up until I had my shoes on). There was still the matter of my paddle however. My rescuer had considerable distance to go to it on account of having brought me and the boat to shore and I was afraid the paddle would be history. I had visions of it getting stuck in the undercut rock below the broken dam.
I ran back to my car and drove down to the dam. My rescuer had been joined there by two friends. I didn't see any of them with my paddle. But then they told me it was on the beach above the dam. :-) They caught up to it in the large pool above the dam, which I had forgotten existed. I got the paddle and the boat and got home in time to leave again for the hike in New Hampshire at a reasonable time.
Thinking about the swim, I realized it was more of a mental breakdown than a physical one. The "last" roll attempt did not have to be the final one; I got a breath on that attempt, and could have made at least one more. Luckily, the water was so high I didn't make contact with any rocks during the swim and thanks to the other paddlers, I still have all my equipment. (You only own half the paddle now, Artemis).
5/21/2006
Playboating Course
Yesterday, I accomplished one of my goals for the season, taking a playboating course. This course was at Zoar, with Jim, the instructor, and one other student, Jaime.
In the morning, we went to a flatwater portion of the Deerfield and learned some moves, most of which involved turning sharply while doing a turning stroke and submerging either end of the kayak. Some of these moves were difficult and some were easy.
After this, we went back to Zoar to eat lunch at watch a playboating video with Jim braking down the paddlers' moves. I found it hard to see which way the boaters were leaning and paddling (front or back sweep) because of the extremely frothy water they were in.
After this, we went to try out our new knowledge on whitewater. With the recent floods, there was water spilling into the Dryway despite there not being a release and that is where Jim decided to take us. I was worried that I was not up to doing the Dryway yet, but he said that we would only be doing the first part before the really hard rapids and that having seen us paddle in the morning, he knew we could handle it.
I was pretty nervous in the car and until we got to the put-in, where I saw the first rapid and it didn't look too bad.
It wasn't too bad. The current was a bit too much for me to contend with at some of the waves he wanted us to practice on, causing me to flip before getting on them and roll after washing past the access eddy. We spent a lot of time at one medium-small wave and I got a lot of rides on it including one really long one. The lessons of the morning helped me to stay on and move around on it without flipping. At the very end, I found a hole and did a long sidesurf, which we covered in the morning, which was very good. I did not flip.
We took out just above the start of the serious stuff (Split Hair Rapid). It was a good day and I'm looking forward to practicing these moves some more on subsequent trips.
In the morning, we went to a flatwater portion of the Deerfield and learned some moves, most of which involved turning sharply while doing a turning stroke and submerging either end of the kayak. Some of these moves were difficult and some were easy.
After this, we went back to Zoar to eat lunch at watch a playboating video with Jim braking down the paddlers' moves. I found it hard to see which way the boaters were leaning and paddling (front or back sweep) because of the extremely frothy water they were in.
After this, we went to try out our new knowledge on whitewater. With the recent floods, there was water spilling into the Dryway despite there not being a release and that is where Jim decided to take us. I was worried that I was not up to doing the Dryway yet, but he said that we would only be doing the first part before the really hard rapids and that having seen us paddle in the morning, he knew we could handle it.
I was pretty nervous in the car and until we got to the put-in, where I saw the first rapid and it didn't look too bad.
It wasn't too bad. The current was a bit too much for me to contend with at some of the waves he wanted us to practice on, causing me to flip before getting on them and roll after washing past the access eddy. We spent a lot of time at one medium-small wave and I got a lot of rides on it including one really long one. The lessons of the morning helped me to stay on and move around on it without flipping. At the very end, I found a hole and did a long sidesurf, which we covered in the morning, which was very good. I did not flip.
We took out just above the start of the serious stuff (Split Hair Rapid). It was a good day and I'm looking forward to practicing these moves some more on subsequent trips.
4/30/2006
West
To get some more class III experience, I headed up to the West River in Vermont for the weekend. Last fall, I did the Lower West, a class II run, but this time the purpose of the trip was to run the class III section immediately above that.
I drove up late after work on Friday night after a short detour to pick up a critical item I had left at home. I got into the Motel 6 in Brattleboro, VT at 1:20 AM. It was a beautiful night and on one straightaway on the highway I turned off my headlights (briefly!) to look at the stars.
I left the motel at 7:55 to get to the put in at 9, the meeting time. I paced the Mapquest time by 10 minutes, including a stop, so I could have slept longer :-(.
I found Josh, the guy from my pool sessions I'd arranged to paddle with and other assorted characters in our group, some of whom had met online at the Northeast Paddlers Messageboard. Josh explained that he stayed at Vern's house, another one in our group, the night before and that I could probably stay there that night. This meant that I had to drive back to Brattleboro to check out of my motel by noon to cancel my reservation as I had reserved for both nights. I would miss the first run, but that would be okay, because there would be 2 or 3 that day.
When I got back to the river, I had to wait about an hour for the group to get there after their run. Afterwards, we ate lunch and it was decided that we would run the lower in the afternoon, which was fine by me. We took a different channel around an island than I had taken in the fall. It was a lot narrower than the other side, pretty boney and no where near as pushy.
Below the confluence of the two channels, we caught up to the AMC group that included Artemis, Andy Novick and a few other familar faces. There was a pretty good rapid here and I did some ferries. I talked to Andy and Artemis a bit. Andy said he saw me catch some eddies in the middle of the river that other people wouldn't see. I'm not sure where he could have seen this, but it's good to get a compliment from him. I really hope I get to take his course in June.
The waves at Ducky Dump didn't seem as big as in the fall, but it could be just me. By the way, I've never heard this rapid called by that name, only referred to as "The Last Rapid."
One of the local paddlers had a big dinner at his house nearby and afterwards we went to Vern's. They woke me up at 6:30 AM and I was pretty tired. I went back to bed while they finished breakfast. We then drove back to the takeout and waited a while for the rest of the group to get there. It was a cold morning and I was still tired, so I rested in the car for a bit.
Finally, with the air warming up quickly, we did the shuttle up to the dam, the start of the class III section. Josh, Vern, one other and I portaged the very first rapid, which is quite big, fast and shallow, described by some as a class IV. After we put on, there was some pretty good action. There were plenty of waves and holes, a little bigger than the lower, and not as many ways to avoid hitting some feature.
I flipped a couple of times on some squirrly eddy lines on river right, but rolled each time. I followed Vern closely past Boof Rock, a class III rapid with some pretty big waves, maybe 6' or more.
After a few more bends, we reached the toughest rapid on the run, The Dumplings. I followed Josh closely through the truck-sized boulders of this rapid. We hugged the left side of the first one, then ferried hard toward river right to avoid being slammed into the second one. I ended up too far to the right, headed towards the third boulder. I tried to ferry back to the left but flipped over. I tried to roll quickly to avoid hitting the rock, but I was rolling against the current so I didn't make it. However, the current swept me away from the rock and into the middle. I tried two more rolls in some big waves, but I was still going against the current. I was expecting my first swim of 2006, but I made it on my fourth attempt, when I was finally turned around and wasn't fighting the current. I guess it's time to learn my offside roll.
There were a couple of surfing waves below here, but we were at the take out shortly. We ate a quick lunch and ran the lower again, which was a little anticlimactic.
It was a great trip (Friday night not withstanding)and I was pleased to have made it down the class III section unscathed. I am now 11/11 on combat rolls in 2006, which is excellent. That means I'd have to swim 12 times in a row to not have a 50% roll, which is the guideline for the intermediate course. Even with last year's roll, I would not swim 12 times in a row. So I'd have to say the season's off to an excellent start, with the help of all the pool sessions over the winter.
I drove up late after work on Friday night after a short detour to pick up a critical item I had left at home. I got into the Motel 6 in Brattleboro, VT at 1:20 AM. It was a beautiful night and on one straightaway on the highway I turned off my headlights (briefly!) to look at the stars.
I left the motel at 7:55 to get to the put in at 9, the meeting time. I paced the Mapquest time by 10 minutes, including a stop, so I could have slept longer :-(.
I found Josh, the guy from my pool sessions I'd arranged to paddle with and other assorted characters in our group, some of whom had met online at the Northeast Paddlers Messageboard. Josh explained that he stayed at Vern's house, another one in our group, the night before and that I could probably stay there that night. This meant that I had to drive back to Brattleboro to check out of my motel by noon to cancel my reservation as I had reserved for both nights. I would miss the first run, but that would be okay, because there would be 2 or 3 that day.
When I got back to the river, I had to wait about an hour for the group to get there after their run. Afterwards, we ate lunch and it was decided that we would run the lower in the afternoon, which was fine by me. We took a different channel around an island than I had taken in the fall. It was a lot narrower than the other side, pretty boney and no where near as pushy.
Below the confluence of the two channels, we caught up to the AMC group that included Artemis, Andy Novick and a few other familar faces. There was a pretty good rapid here and I did some ferries. I talked to Andy and Artemis a bit. Andy said he saw me catch some eddies in the middle of the river that other people wouldn't see. I'm not sure where he could have seen this, but it's good to get a compliment from him. I really hope I get to take his course in June.
The waves at Ducky Dump didn't seem as big as in the fall, but it could be just me. By the way, I've never heard this rapid called by that name, only referred to as "The Last Rapid."
One of the local paddlers had a big dinner at his house nearby and afterwards we went to Vern's. They woke me up at 6:30 AM and I was pretty tired. I went back to bed while they finished breakfast. We then drove back to the takeout and waited a while for the rest of the group to get there. It was a cold morning and I was still tired, so I rested in the car for a bit.
Finally, with the air warming up quickly, we did the shuttle up to the dam, the start of the class III section. Josh, Vern, one other and I portaged the very first rapid, which is quite big, fast and shallow, described by some as a class IV. After we put on, there was some pretty good action. There were plenty of waves and holes, a little bigger than the lower, and not as many ways to avoid hitting some feature.
I flipped a couple of times on some squirrly eddy lines on river right, but rolled each time. I followed Vern closely past Boof Rock, a class III rapid with some pretty big waves, maybe 6' or more.
After a few more bends, we reached the toughest rapid on the run, The Dumplings. I followed Josh closely through the truck-sized boulders of this rapid. We hugged the left side of the first one, then ferried hard toward river right to avoid being slammed into the second one. I ended up too far to the right, headed towards the third boulder. I tried to ferry back to the left but flipped over. I tried to roll quickly to avoid hitting the rock, but I was rolling against the current so I didn't make it. However, the current swept me away from the rock and into the middle. I tried two more rolls in some big waves, but I was still going against the current. I was expecting my first swim of 2006, but I made it on my fourth attempt, when I was finally turned around and wasn't fighting the current. I guess it's time to learn my offside roll.
There were a couple of surfing waves below here, but we were at the take out shortly. We ate a quick lunch and ran the lower again, which was a little anticlimactic.
It was a great trip (Friday night not withstanding)and I was pleased to have made it down the class III section unscathed. I am now 11/11 on combat rolls in 2006, which is excellent. That means I'd have to swim 12 times in a row to not have a 50% roll, which is the guideline for the intermediate course. Even with last year's roll, I would not swim 12 times in a row. So I'd have to say the season's off to an excellent start, with the help of all the pool sessions over the winter.
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