The first mile below the Powerhouse Rd. put-in is riffling to class II, with some low overhanging cedars to duck.
It was a sugar on snow kind of day, about a month behind schedule. We spent the day sun-drenched and quite warm, even though Joe's Pond was still covered in ice and the water could not have been much colder.
A quick boat drag around a downed tree, and we're back on the water again.
Where the riffles end, a horizon line marks the steep entrance to a long and technical class IV s-turn rapid. No fun to swim, and a pain to scout (but you wouldn't want to encounter a river-wide strainer 1/2 way down it either).
Riding low in her playboat, approaching the next sloping class III ledge.
The next horizon-line ledge, as seen from below. Everyone nailed their landing here.
Noone chose the bumpy route over this ledge, directly behind Dan, which is just as well. The capacity of melting snow to convert trees into strainers can be seen over Dan's left shoulder.
The group quickly came to appreciate John's expertise in river reading, boat handing, and instruction. He did a lot to boost everyone's confidence and safety on a river that can only be described as technical and relentless.
Listens to another tip from John: "Watch for hand-signals from below as you enter an unfamiliar drop."
A handful of concrete side-road bridges cross the brook, with a small rapid after each. The nasty covered bridge drop has a huge tree blocking the route near the end, leading everyone to carry.
The rest of us went more to boater's right here. Eve's route was the cleanest entry to this drop, but she had to contend with 2 whopping holes before she was home-free. She ended up broached on the rock whose tip is visible in this photo, and needed a little tug to come free.
The low-volume boat, again, was not ideal for Eve's intro to remote steep creeking.
Eric paddled his inflatable shredder all day, and did a fantastic job. This was the first rapid Eric and Tony shredded together. OK, so It didn't go according to plan. We debated at length before trying this stunt and decided that it would be possible to just skirt the big hole that we are dropping straight into in this photo...
...only to be unceremoniously ejected from our craft...
...while it goes airborn...leaving as to see just how fearless swimmers we truly are. Not even snorkels would help at this point. We did flush out to the bottom, battered and bruised, and we did reclaim all our paddles and gear (thanks to JD and the boaters in our group who set up safety).
A log, visible below angling out into this rapid, led several of us to carry. Eric in the shredder broad-sided the tip of the log, but was riding so high that he escaped its grasp with ease.
Life in the fast lane...
Shredding under the Morse's Mills Bridge. Tony and Eric joined forces again in the shredder to run the gorge section from Morse's Mills to the Joe's Hill Rd. take-out, and persuaded John, Jamie, and Dan to keep us company.
It was after 4 pm, and we agreed to run the gorge section as a race-run, boat scouting everything. We had checked the gorge for obstructions in the morning, while shuttling cars, and so we knew IT was clean.
People who run Joe's Brook have a hard time remembering the individual drops along the way, in part because there are so darn many of them to remember. This was John's 3rd Joe's Brook trip, and he was surprised at how unfamiliar it all felt today. Nonetheless he met the challenge head-on and set an example for the rest of us to aspire to.
Returning to the main channel after sneaking past a river-wide strainer on river left
1000 vertical feet in 10 miles make Joe's a prominent jewel in the crown of Vermont whitewater. At a medium+ level it is a substantial challenge for class III-IV boaters who are ready to become class IV boaters. By the take-out you will be tired...if not exhausted...and already looking forward to your NEXT adventure on Joe's Brook.
Leaves for Nome this summer with her law degree in hand. The Miata ragtop with boat trailer was the cleverest rig I've seen in quite a while.
