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Written by Tony Shaw

Category: Trip Reports

Published: 27 April 2003

Hits: 89

Organizer(s): Tony Shaw

Date: 2003-04-27

Kayakers (K1): Nick Beahan, Emily Shaw

Canoers (OC1): Ed Amidon, Peter Herman, Louise McCarren

Tandem Canoers (OC2): Tony and Emily Shaw

Predominantly: Novice WW

Water Level: Medium

A heavy rain had washed out the lower Browns River north of Westford, where this outing was originally scheduled. Having once done that section of the Browns when it was "in the trees" (and wishing I hadn't), I made a flurry of Sunday a.m. phone calls and we all met at 11 a.m. at Huntington Gorge. Peter paddled his inflatable kayak, and was the envy of Nick, who had one too many swims in his rigid kayak.

For novice boaters, the class II Huntington is a definite step up from the Mad River triathlon route, by virtue of its steadier, steeper gradient, the prevalence of strainers one must avoid, and an occasional boulder or ledge outcropping in the main current. Ten-year-old Emily switched to her K1 below the Audubon section, having renewed her confidence and river reading skills from the bow seat of our borrowed OC-2 for the first couple of hours on the river.

Adjacent to Dugway Rd. we bumped into Michelle Seamans, Emily’s first (and favorite) kayak instructor, and Emily did Michelle proud through several sets of standing waves in this section. Way to go, Em! In all, it was a very good day.

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Written by Richard Larsen

Category: Trip Reports

Published: 12 April 2003

Hits: 57

Organizer(s): Richard (the Magnificent) Larsen

Date: 2003-04-12

Kayakers (K1): George McIntosh,John Floyd,Jamie Dolan

Canoers (OC1): Richard Larsen,Sheri Larsen,Andy Mailleur,Mike Smorgens

Tandem Canoers (OC2): Dave Boedy and Jim Higgins,John King and George Agnew

Predominantly: Nov-int WW

Water Level: Medium low

We met at the Tweed River put-in, and ran the shuttle cars down to below Gaysville. The 9 boats then put in on the Tweed at about 10:45AM, floated to the White, and then down the White, taking out around 2PM. The river was fairly low, and very clear, until we reached the old bridge abutments at Stony Brook. The river had there recently gouged a new channel down the left side, and the newly cut bank was putting a lot of silt into the water, so it was cloudy the rest of the trip. The new channel had a decent wave-train down the left side. The indications on the river bank were that the water had been about 4' higher a week or so before, so it was perhaps this high water that carved the bank and the new channel. The trip was fun, but uneventful. We had a short lunch at the normal location at the rapid above Gaysville. The weather was much better than expected, with reasonable sunshine, few clouds, with a high near 60 degrees. (The forecast for the south-central Vermont area had been for showers, but they never materialized.)

Details

Written by Tony Shaw

Category: Trip Reports

Published: 13 April 2003

Hits: 87

Organizer(s): Tony Shaw

Date: 2003-04-13

Kayakers (K1): Mike Henry, Matt Holmes, Brian Lyster, Matt Schwartz, Chris Weed

Canoers (OC1): Randy Allen, Tony Shaw

Predominantly: Advanced WW

Water Level: Low boatable

Primary Realtime USGS Gauge Site: none

Primary Realtime USGS Gauge Flow (cfs), e.g. '797': est. ~200-

5 kayakers and 2 open canoers had a fantastic day on Joe's. Although the level was frustratingly low in some places (where the gradient eased and the streambed widened), the big drops (where the water channels down) were all quite passable and plenty challenging! Every rapid was run by at least one boater, with the exception of the covered bridge drop in S. Danville (too steep and complex for anyone's tastes, even at this level).

The ice was not yet off Joe's Pond, so the water was predictably cold, but the sun shone brightly and adrenaline ruled the day -- noone quit on account of the cold!

There were a few strainers poking out from the banks here and there, but only one riverwide strainer (where the gradient eases below the falls, in the 'storied' covered bridge section).

GMP has provided me with the following information, which can be useful for future outings on Joe's Brook...

The turbine releases 125 cfs at full load (1100 kw), but on this day it was running half load (50-60 cfs, equivalent to 300 kw). The bladder at the dam when fully inflated is 1.83 feet, but the state requires GMP to lower it when necessary so as not to completely dewater the stretch of river immediately below the dam. We observed 3 or 4 inches of water spilling over the partially deflated bladder 4/13/03, and GMP reported the pond level for that day fluctuated between 1.7 and 1.8 feet.

Mike went back within the week (at my urging) to complete the run below Morses Mills, where there is an interesting class IV gorge, and was loving that stretch he professed. I hope other managed to catch Joe's (while it ran) this spring!

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Written by Jamie Dolan

Category: Trip Reports

Published: 29 March 2003

Hits: 58

Organizer(s): Jamie Dolan

Date: 2003-03-29

Kayakers (K1): Jamie Dolan

Canoers (OC1): Andy Meilleur

Predominantly: Nov-int WW

Water Level: Medium

Talk about making hay while the sun shines. We caught the Huntington rising up to a medium level on a beautiful 50 degree day. What a great way to start the season. We put in at the Audubon Center and took out at the usual spot on Dugway. Without a doubt, running Dugway was the most difficult part of this trip (easily Class III probably IV). Though the water was still a bit too cool to do aggressive playing, we managed to have a boat load of fun. We poked our noses in a few places and found a couple of good waves to surf. The cows were checking out the scene (and Andy checking them out) but no electric fences impeded our run. Of course there was still snow on the river banks but no floating ice to contend with. With luck, we’ll be able to catch the Huntington on the rise once or twice more this season.