Bow and Stern March 2004

The Official Newsletter of the Vermont Paddlers Club
in partnership with the American Canoe Association

	Volume XXX No. 1 < < < Go with the Flow > > > \/ \/ \/

1. From The Editor
2. Vermont Rivers Conservancy Update
3. Gear For Sale/ Wanted To Buy
4. Trip Reports
5. Magalloway Weekend (ME): August 29-September 1, 2003
6. Otter Creek Falls -- At Night!: September 10, 2003
7. Big Branch: September 24, 2003
8. Poultney River: September 30, 2003

9. N.Br.Winooski/Gihon: October 28, 2003
10. Middlebury Gorge: November 1, 2003
11. Joe's Brook: November 1, 2003
12. Mill River (Clarendon Gorge): November 19, 2003
13. Wardsboro Brook/Ball Mtn Brook: November 29, 2003
14. Mill Creek, "Easy Street" Section (Danby): December 1, 2003
15. West Branch Deerfield: December 27, 2003
16. Member Discounts

17. Around Vermont In 30 Rivers: A Challenge
18. VPC Website Gets Extreme Make-over
19. Tony Shaw Becomes Second "30 Rivers Club" Member
20. VPC Exposes Itself
21. The Fiddlehead Slalom
22. 2003 Treasurer's Report
23. Spring Trips Schedule
24. 2004 Pontook Dam Releases - Androscoggin R. (NH)

NB: With the passage of time, a good number of the links embedded in back issues of the Bow and Stern may fail. If you notice any broken links in particular that merit repairing/replacing (and you know the correct URL to which the link should point), please email the webmaster. Thanks!

Magalloway Weekend (ME): August 29-September 1, 2003
Organizer: Tony Shaw
Participants: Kayakers (K1): John Barrows, Marvie Campbell, Rick Covill, Maura Crandall, Paul Kenyon, Eric Rossier / Canoers (OC1): Eric Bishop, Bob Campbell, Ken Glusman, Andy Meilleur, Sam Nijensohn, Fritz Senftleber, Tony Shaw / Canoers (OC2): Marvie Campbell/Tony Shaw, Eric Bishop/Bob Campbell, Eric Bishop/Tony Shaw / Duckies: Peter Herman
Water: Internet Gauge (cfs): 900
Character: intermediate WW

An eclectic group of boaters and outdoorspeople met up north for a Labor Day Weekend of hiking, biking, flatwater, and whitewater boating. In addition to the Magalloway class III participants listed above, we also enjoyed the company of Faith Knapp, Lucille and Dick Allen, Becki Bates, and Lynn McDermott, who opted in turn for novice whitewater stretches of the Androscoggin River around Errol, eagle and loon watching on Lake Umbagog, and a leisurely Upper Connecticut River trip en route back to Vermont on Monday. For the first time the VPC maxed out the cabin capacity at the private and secluded Johnson Brook cabin. 10 of us enjoyed a roaring fire in the woodstove, a starry night, a filling meal, and some old fashioned northwoods revelry. Evening guests waxed eloquent on subjects like what can happen when you DON'T let your teenagers jump off of bridges, and what can happen when you DO let your parakeet fall into the mayonaise jar. Becki treated us to a heaping dose of corny humor ("Really...you saw a fox driving in? What was he driving???"). Dick brought along his copy of the Hoagland essay "Walking the Dead Diamond River", which embraces a conservation ethic for these private mixed-use woods. Those who slept on the screen porch and those in the Aziscoos Campground in Wilson Mills were greeted with near freezing temperatures Sunday Morning, though it warmed to near 70 each day and didn't rain. Some heard coyotes yipping in the night, but none observed any big game during the weekend. Still, signs of moose and deer were abundant. Eric B. and Tony detoured on Friday through South Danville VT to dismember several deadfalls obstructing Joe's Brook with Eric's chainsaw, in anticipation of a Joe's run this fall if weather permits (or next spring for certain). The rest of the Friday group arrived after dark, and some were less than impressed with the patchwork of divergent College Grant logging roads, the printed Dartmouth Outing Club directions, and the accompanying map. Can you say "SUCK"??? By daylight, at least, everyone seemed to enjoy their elected outdoor activities: Saturday, Sunday, and even Monday. Bob and Marvie returned to paddle the Errol section of the Androscoggin, where they got their first whitewater instruction about 20 years ago. Eric B. rode west by bicycle on Sunday for 50 miles or so before his motor transport (a.k.a. Andy Meilleur) caught up to him. And Tony completed his 'Around Vermont in 30 Rivers' odyssey on a scratchy class I Connecticut River float from Colebrook to Bloomfield with Becki and Lynn. Most assuredly there is something for everybody during the VPC Magalloway weekend. Hope you can fit it into your schedule in 2004!

Otter Creek Falls -- at night!: September 10, 2003
Organizer: Alden Bird
Participants: Kayakers (K1): "Slick" Rick Cooley,Katie Hawkins,Remy Mansfield / Canoers (C1): Alden Bird
Water: Internet Gauge (cfs): 420 / USGS Gauge Name: Middlebury
Character: int-adv WW

Immoderately fun. We met at 9pm under a full moon and warm air. We walked barefoot over the blacktop through downtown and we could hear the water in the falls below and we could smell the Otter Creek in the dark. Every river has a smell. You know that.

The water felt warm on my bare arms in the dark at the put-in. We paddled out of the shadows and down toward the falls.

The moon gives softer light. You know what i mean. I drifted down under the bridge through the water -- warm, like pond water, and we eddied out.

I went first. I peeled out, cut around something -- a log -- and started looking. I saw it, the lip, coming -- fast, faster, and i shoved off into the dark of the vermont night. pushed off.

I landed flat, hard. My friends heard the impact from up above. But it was like landing in warm snow, white in the moon light, and you wouldn't have known it was me, it was still dark enough. You really must try paddling at night.

It was great. We all eagerly went back for a second run. This time I went last and watched all my friends shove off from the lip and drop away. That is something you really must try at night too.

This sport reminds me of sex -- you need other people, you meet and do something that you couldn't (well, safely, in our case) do alone, and you have an infinitely pleasureable time doing it. Often you arrange to meet total strangers...and this time it was at night, so it felt like we all stole off in secret from the takeout back to our lives. Hell Yeah!

Big Branch: September 24, 2003
Organizer: Alden Bird
Participants: Kayakers (K1): Richard "Corey" Cooley,John Adler / Canoers (C1): Alden Bird
Water: Painted Gauge (ft): 2.75
Character: advanced WW

Many creeks get harder when they are low. The New Haven is like this. You are more likely to flip if you hit a rock at high speed than a wave.

Apparently the Big Branch is the same way, according to my companion who had run the river a foot higher. If I were to go back, I would want some more water.

This is the steepest and most continuous river I have ever done. To do it right you have to Concentrate, Concentrate, Concentrate. When I got to the takeout I felt like I had just taken the damn SATs or something.

Unfortunately one of our three dislocated his shoulder in the "Cave" rapid right at the start and, writhing in pain, had to call it a day. We hauled his boat up and out of the gorge for him. This took a while. End result was that I didn't get back to school in time. Missed class for some class V.

The few times I looked up I noticed that I was hurtling down through a very pretty gorge. That's why we say "gorgeous," ain't it?

Poultney River: September 30, 2003
Organizer: Alden Bird
Participants: Kayakers (K1): Katie Hawkins / Canoers (C1): Alden Bird
Water: Internet Gauge (ft): 440 / USGS Gauge Name: below Carver Falls dam
Character: int-adv WW

I would have had no idea this river existed, save for the earlier trip report written on this website. excellent, excellent resource.

Anyway, we ran the river from the Vermont Welcome Center off Route 4 to the Carver Falls dam. Four miles, classically pool/drop, with about a mile of flatwater at the end to remind one that . . . there are probably rapids under there -- way under there -- thanks to the dam.

The first rapid was a fun, if rocky, slide. The next rapid is the famous Big Slide. You tend to go so fast down this thing that you can't stop yourself (from doing it again!)

There were some more slide-type rapids with interesting eddies and some fun playholes.

The four-foot ledge had a wicked hole on river left. One could laugh at this hole while boofing around it though.

Just below the ledge is the best rapid on the river -- an angled chute with a smart diagonal wave and another large, large hole at the bottom. Watch out for this baby! After that, there are a few more small ones, then flatwater.

I would want more water next time. At 440 it wasn't bony yet -- just low. Class III-IV. I would want more though to make the slides faster and less rocky. I think the river is yellower today with the plastic I left on those slides.

N.Br.Winooski/Gihon: October 28, 2003
Organizer: Tony Shaw
Participants: Kayakers (K1): Mike Henry,Eric Rossier / Canoers (C1): Alden Bird / Canoers (OC1): Tony Shaw
Water: Internet Gauge (ft): 4.1 / Internet Gauge (cfs): 875 / USGS Gauge Name: below Worcester
Character: advanced WW

The NWS recorded nearly 2 inches of rain Monday in Burlington, and a few of us with flexible schedules took the opportunity to take advantage of the runoff Tuesday.

We had wanted to go to Danville to run Joe's Brook, but almost a foot of water was spilling over the dam according to GMP dispatch Tues. morning -- too juicy for everyone's taste. We picked instead the North Branch of the Winooski in Worcester, because it drains a small basin south of Lake Elmore, and thus requires this kind of daylong heavy rain just to be navigable. The level was perfect. Aside from its stunning natural beauty, pool-drop is the attraction on the "other" North Branch, sporting a high class V falls every 1/4 mile for 2 1/4 miles - all of which can be run! We took 3 hours to complete the run - scouting carefully, soaking up the sunshine, taking photos, and grinning ear to ear! Everyone paddled deftly, rising to the occasion. Alden turned in two memorable performances beyond the comfort level of the others -first cleanly running the last twisting drop above the culvert on the far right, and finally richoting effortlessly down the final falls drop from-left-to-center (where everyone else kept right).

I would have been satisfied to call it a day at 3:30, but youthful exuberance prevailed and we took Alden and Mike to Johnson for a "race run" on the Gihon. The level here had dropped 2+ feet since midnight from the appearance, but was still more pushy than I have seen it. The hole below Bedhead was unsettling, and everyone carried. Eldorado upended 3 out of 4 in our party ("I think we're getting tired..."). Everyone took Spinach to the right (except Mike who took it on Sinclair Rd...in hot pursuit of his runaway kayak).

Alden nabbed the AWOL boat, and we ran the last 3 drops together. Multiple routes were open in Pincushion, where Eric advises staying far left. Tony missed his line, swimming not once but twice in Powerhouse ("now definitely tired..."). Everyone had a clean line through Pancake.

If I don't paddle again in 2003, this day's sweet memories will carry me through the winter until next spring!

Middlebury Gorge: November 1, 2003
Organizer:
Participants: Kayakers (K1): Ed Clark, Fred Coriell, "Huntington" Mark, "Waitsfield" Kenny, Katie Hawkins / Canoers (C1): Alden Bird
Water:
Character: advanced WW

A sunny Saturday morning. It was warm and majestic in this Gorge of Gorges. At the put-in I looked down, and, after a week of serious rain and serious paddling, realized that my equipment was in tatters! My boat was coming unzipped at the seams, my secondary paddle cracking and my skirt ripping. How did this happen? I noticed that I had broken my favorite paddle and only dimly recalled the incident. There was an amount of duct tape on my paddle jacket that appeared to have been applied in haste, perhaps while in a rapid. Yet . . . how could I give this much thought, with such a river at hand? Two in our party chose to meet us below the Birth Canal, so it was four of us who sank our teeth into the tasty rapids from the top. The ragged, torn skirt that I noticed I was using kept popping off, which worried me less than one might imagine. Ah, to have run class V for a week straight! I felt in control and excited during the dramatic passage into the Birth Canal. Our descent from here was careful and smooth, culminating in all four of us "cleaning up" Rebirth and out of the crux. We met up with our two friends below here, and ran down to Tester, today's hardest drop. Three boats portaged and three ran. Fred took two runs and had one right-side-up run -- the only one of the three of us! From here we chased each other down the endless class IV drops of the lower gorge. I eddied out several times just to enjoy the early scenery. This is a place that only kayakers can visit. At the takeout I persuaded Katie to join me in running the 42-footer (jumping off the 125 bridge) which we both "ran cleanly!" This river has haunted me ever since I began boating, and today for the first time I felt at peace with it. As a freshman I used to joke that running the Gorge would be the "pinnacle of my boating career" but who would have imagined me actually running it someday? and in C-1? Not me, not for an instant.

Joe's Brook: November 1, 2003
Organizer: Tony Shaw
Participants: Kayakers (K1): James Andrus, Damon Bungard, Chad Chamberlain, Jay Goss, Mike Henry, Matt Holmes, Linda Weiss / Canoers (OC1): Eric Bishop, Tony Shaw
Water: Painted Gauge (ft): 1.8-1.7
Character: int-adv WW

We are learning the hard way that the outflow from the Joe's Pond dam is feast or famine. Whenever rain begins to swell Joe's Pond, GMP is permitted to keep the dam bladder inflated unless the pond level hits 2.0 feet, at which point the state requires them to deflate it fully to curtail shoreline flooding on the pond. This inevitably creates dangerously high flows in the small steep creek below on its 10 mile tumble to the Passumpsic R.
Once things start drying out and the pond recedes to 1.9 feet, GMP gradually reinflates to bladder over the course of several hours, effectively dewatering the run. The 2 turbines turn out at most 124 cfs, so this contribution is never terribly significant.
There is no online gauge, but you can read the pond level by leaning over the railing at the wayside parking area in W. Danville or by calling GMP dispatch in Colchester. A level between 1.8 and 2.0 feet (rising) or 2.1 to 1.9 feet (falling) is most likely ideal, but these windows of opportunity can be brief.
The morning of Nov. 1 the Joe's Pond level was falling toward 1.8 feet, GMP was reinflating the bladder, and we endured a very scratchy run. There were roughly a dozen of us that arrived in 2 parties (a Joe's Brook record, I'm sure). The weather was pleasant, the setting idyllic, and everyone seemed happy to be out paddling. The covered bridge rapid in South Danville proved runnable at this level; likewise the short flume beneath the take-out bridge on Joe's Brook Hill Rd. This flume, however, IS undercut, so make sure you're not swimming!

Mill River (Clarendon Gorge): November 19, 2003
Organizer: Alden Bird
Participants: Kayakers (K1): Jim Zamecnik / Canoers (C1): Alden Bird
Water:
Character: advanced WW

Jim and I had seperately wondered about this run for a long time. The Mill had caught my fascination ever since I first drove over it on Rt. 7, just south of Rutland. We had both done some scouting, and we were both eager to see things from the water. The first gorge, from the put-in where the Long Trail crosses 103, was fun class III. The water was low and the rapids were fun, distinct and bony. There is next a long section of class I broken by the three-stage class IV cascade just above the covered bridge. an extremely fun rapid. we got to the bottom and Jim said excitedly, "Wow, that's the biggest thing I've ever run!" There is another half mile of class I, which was bony. Then there is a sharp left turn and the rock walls rise up, signaling the start of "Devil's Gorge." The first drop is an injury-making class V at low water, and is, according to good sources, class VI at all other levels. I gave it a good hard look and decided to risk broken bones on the steep portage rather than in the pothole filled rapid. The rest of the second gorge is narrow, ledgy class III with one class IV. These drops are fun. In one place the walls close in to less than 10 feet. We took out just before the Rt. 7 bridge. All in all, a great run in two massive gorges. This run has been done very infrequently. I doubt it's been run by more than 10 parties. But there's good stuff in there, and it can be run when other stuff isn't going. Otter Creek in Rutland was running at 644 cfs.

Wardsboro Brook/Ball Mtn Brook: November 29, 2003
Organizer: Mike Henry
Participants: Kayakers (K1): Mike Henry
Water:
Character: int-adv WW

Took advantage of the soaking rain in S. Vermont on Friday to paddle these two rivers I've been hoping to hit for some time. I paddled the last mile or so of Wardsboro Brook down to the confluence with the West. This was a great run, with some good surf waves. My improvised ride looked dissappointed to have his kid for the day, and lamented about the difficulty of finding a good baby sitter. He informed me that the upper section also has some good rapids and that Ball Mtn Brook was running at a fun level. Ball Mtn Brook is a lot of fun, pretty much continuous rapids for 4 or 5 miles. The only hazard of note were some river wide strainers on "Elwoods Corner" (at the base of a land slide). It is fast run and seemed to get harder as it progressed. Or it could have been the fact that I couldn't feel my hands. The lady at the Jamaica Store took pity and invited me in to warm up and have a free cup of coffee, for which I was most grateful. An older gentleman, who was a kayaker "many moons ago" gave me a ride back to my car. All in all a great day of whitewater and meeting some fantastic folks on the country roads of S. VT. Until spring.....

Mill Creek, "Easy Street" section (Danby): December 1, 2003
Organizer: Alden Bird
Participants: Canoers (C1): Alden Bird
Water: Painted Gauge (ft): 1.5 / Internet Gauge (cfs): 430 / USGS Gauge Name: Walloomsac, Bennington
Character: advanced WW

On my way back up from CT I celebrated the start of December (my native month) with a rush of a ride down the Mill Creek in Danby.
On the way up I had scouted the Roaring Branch and found a suitable run, but cold temperatures. I also checked out the Big Branch and found a low, unappetizing level of 1.5 feet. I headed across Route 7 into Danby and found the "Easy Street" section of Mill Creek to be at a low, boatable level. The last slide looked so worthy, I signed myself up for a solo run.
It didn't look so big from the road, but my, how things change when you get closer!
I blinked through the snow as I sloshed down the drops "blue angel" style, dropping through some tight stuff and one notable falls/slide that holds a good boof in store for just about anyone with a name and face.
The last slide is REALLY BIG and laugh-out loud fun. There are five parts, all on top of each other. This is Vermont's answer to the Eagle section of the Beaver in NY! great stuff.
suffice to say it had me pasted somewhere near the backdeck!
check this out next time you're at the Big Branch, or just down that way.

West Branch Deerfield: December 27, 2003
Organizer: Alden Bird
Participants: Kayakers (K1): Doug Piatt / Canoers (C1): Alden Bird
Water: Painted Gauge (ft): 1 / Internet Gauge (ft): 3.2 / Internet Gauge (cfs): 520 / USGS Gauge Name: Walloomsac River
Character: advanced WW

This is the longest section of good rapids I've done in the state. It's 3.5 miles, all good action. I think of the run in four stages:
First, the top section, from Readsboro Falls to where the river crosses under the road. About a mile. There is a cl V drop at the top, a IV right after it, and then a long section of awesome cl III+ boogie water, total non-stop fun.
From the bridge down are about four or five cl IV New Haven Ledges-type drops. Then a section of easier water.
The Tunnel Trio is three drops right before the river goes under the road again. Two class IVs, and Tunnel Vision, a monster cl V. There is a cool rapid in the tunnel too, paddling in there is very strange!
From the Tunnel to the take out is the best section. It's pedal-to-the-metal small class IV drops the whole way. You bang right down into Readsboro, where two larger cl IV drops, High Chair and Low Chair await. These are just above and just below the gauge, right behind Readsboro General Store. Low Chair is one of my favorite rapids ever. More class III+ boogie to the end.
Great stuff. My new favorite river in the state. Definitely worth the drive.

1. Register as a participant online (http://www.vtpaddlers.net/paddle/30rivers/index.php) or with the VPC secretary.
2. Cover 6 miles or more per river segment, when possible.
3. Paddle at least one river in each county.
4. Report your progress annually to the VPC secretary or via the 30 Rivers Log Book online.
5. No time limit, but only count trips after June 5, 1995 (when the 30 Rivers program came into being).

• MEMBERSHIP OFF 30-40 HOUSEHOLDS IN YEAR 2003 VS 2002
• NO CANOE AND KAYAK SCHOOL IN 2003
• FEWER MEETINGS / MAILINGS - REDUCED COST
• EXTRA EARNINGS IN ROLLING SESSIONS - ONE VENUE CUT RATE
• ONE SPONSORSHIP NOT DONE IN 2003, TO BE 'REPAID' IN 2004

Key:

Note: Release Rate 1 (minimum release) applies to dates and times not noted on this schedule.

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