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Written by Tony Shaw

Category: Trip Reports

Published: 04 May 2002

Hits: 25

Organizer(s): Fritz Seftleber

Date: 2002-05-04

Kayakers (K1): Julie "bombproof" Prior, John "didn't dump" Floyd, Scott "how many fish did I see" Hayden, and Tom "not again, but I have my dry suit on" MacCarthy

Canoers (OC1): Fritz "over again" Senftleber

Predominantly: Intermediate WW

Water Level: Medium low

Primary Realtime USGS Gauge Flow (cfs), e.g. '797': 500

Made it through the first little drops on this beautiful afternoon, warm sunny, water at 500cfs.

We made it to the double drop with the "gotcha rock" at the bottom. All scouted, set up the throw bags and let Scott take the lead. Rolling up as you feel that "gotcha rock" getting closer, is tough. No damage just wet. My turn next. Eddy out after the first drop, perfect, eddy out after the second, perfect, I am done! Not quite, the final ferry over the "gotcha rock" got me. No damage. Next came the "new to the sport" crowd. All dry and clean all the way through. Scott immediately started mentioning his karma for the day, I mentioned that HE should go first next!

Needless to say we all swam later,(except for didn't dump Floyd) probably a total of a dozen or more between the whole team. You do not learn if you do not fall (tip over). All had the right gear and the right attitude, plus plenty of throw bags!

One of the memorable moments was watching bomb proof Prior pull off a roll x 2 mid stream as well as watching her go off Horse Shoe Falls. She is still working on mastering a new paddling technique specifically for drops and the like. Ask her about it if you see her on the river!

One thing we all learned is sunglasses, specifically wet sunglasses in the shade, do not improve your paddling.

Live and learn.

We did a little "green up" at the end. Wouldn't it be nice if we could all give a little back to this wonderland that we paddle by?

We all had a great time, running time 3 plus hours.

Details

Written by Michael Fullerton

Category: Trip Reports

Published: 13 April 2002

Hits: 26

Organizer(s): Mike Fullerton

Date: 2002-04-13

Predominantly: Intermediate WW

Water Level: Medium

Painted Gauge Height (ft) e.g. '3.3': 4

Seven paddlers answered the call, three kayaks and four solo canoes. Two announced the intent of taking out at East Hardwick but offerred shuttle service. The weather was warm, something unusual for the Upper Lamoille, but the water was cold and the combination bred a low fog that made things difficult now and then.

The smell of burning brush mingled with the pungent odor of last winter's manure, recently freed from the Liquistore tank. The river had been at 3' on the Wolcott St. guage the night before but rose to nearly 4' overnight. We ran without difficulty until the last rapid above East Hardwick where the river exacted it's toll. A kayak hit a rock and ejected it's owner. Paddler and paddle were quickly rescued but the boat escaped and ran the dam and falls in town. We found it parked on a rock about 20' off shore as neat and safe as if someone had just left it there to have lunch.

We thought for a while then sent people down the steep bank with a rope and carabiner. A kayak ferried out to the stranded boat (it had picked a rock with a very handy eddy) and attached the carabiner. People on shore belayed off a tree and the boat was brought home minus float bags but otherwise unharmed.

The swimmer decided to call it a day and another paddler had shoulder problems. That left the leader and two people who had never run the river before with high water and thickening fog. We opted to run the upper portion again rather than risk the heavier water below. The second run was uneventful despite the annoying fog.

I was sorry to miss the best part of the river at a really good level, but common sense suggested that we wait for another time.

Details

Written by Richard Larsen

Category: Trip Reports

Published: 24 April 2002

Hits: 33

Organizer(s): Richard Larsen

Date: 2002-04-24

Kayakers (K1): Julie Prior

Canoers (OC1): Fritz Senftleber, Tony Shaw, Peter Downey, Richard Larsen

Predominantly: Intermediate WW

Water Level: Medium low

Primary Realtime USGS Gauge Flow (cfs), e.g. '797': 1500

This was the first of the Wednesday evening trips that actually happened in 2002. The temperature this evening was in the 50s, and the river lower than normal at this time of year. We put in just above Two-Island Rapid, and floated thru the first rapids without incident. We didn't see much in the way of birds, just some Mallards - no ospreys this time. The only problem was the sun angle, which was directly in people's eyes most of the trip. We arrived at the 5-Chutes area fairly quickly, so most of the boats played around in the current, and a few tested the water temperature and their swimming strokes - but no real problems. The total time on the river was about 2 hours. The sun was just setting as we finished, and the air cooling rapidly.

Details

Written by Allan Berggren

Category: Trip Reports

Published: 13 April 2002

Hits: 26

Organizer(s): Allan Berggren

Date: 2002-04-13

Kayakers (K1): Dan Moore, John Deming, Miriam Langner, Allan Berggren

Canoers (OC1): Bruce Healy, Andy Meilleur, Tony Shaw, Carol Anne Eldridge ,Laurie Wunder

Deck Canoers (C1): Bill Lowman

Tandem Canoers (OC2): Paul Berry & Penny Lowman, Tom & Diane Sawyer

Predominantly: Int-adv WW

Water Level: Medium high

Painted Gauge Height (ft) e.g. '3.3': 4.9

Primary Realtime USGS Gauge Site: Mascoma Lake outlet

Primary Realtime USGS Gauge Flow (cfs), e.g. '797': 800

Large group of combined AMC and MVP paddlers met at the Mascoma. Gauge was jacked up to 4.9 at the dam, USGS said 800 for the race being held. At that level, the course is brisk, with shallow eddies, lots of cross-curling standing waves, and holes are medium to large.

The Excelsior rapids at the bottom is bright and bold, with a pleasant aroma of river, and a light body--oh, that's right, this isn't wine. There were a series of large holes in right center, and others which could be maneuvered among. Anyway, several paddlers new to this stream scrunched up their courage and ran what is, at that level, a solid 4 section, with one magnificent combat roll (Dan Moore) and no swims.

After the Mascoma, John Deming convinced me to go to the Black River, which to our surprise was running at 2 on the bridge gauge, 800 cfs on the Springfield gauge. This is about as nice a level as one could hope to find it. Our marker "knuckle rock" was almost submerged (and passable over, with some pushing), and there were tons of features to play. The narrows section of the gorge is hydraulic without being grabby.