Bow and Stern June 2005

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

	Volume XXXI No. 2 < < < Go with the Flow > > > \/ \/ \/

1. From The President
2. Executive Summary
3. Treasurer's Report
4. Trip Reports
5. Green Narrows (NC): March 25, 2005
6. NB Lamoile: April 9, 2005
7. Big Branch: April 15, 2005
8. White River: April 16, 2005
9. Guerilla Ammo: April 17, 2005

10. Lower Lamoille: April 17, 2005
11. Moose River: April 24, 2005
12. Black River: April 28, 2005
13. Ammonusuc River: May 1, 2005
14. Hudson Gorge: May 7, 2005
15. Lower Hudson: May 22, 2005
16. E.Branch Pemi: May 27, 2005
17. Weekend In Fantasy Land Maine: May 27-29
18. Big Splash River Festival Flotilla: June 4, 2005

19. ACA Affiliation
20. From The Safety And Education Director
21. The Editor's Corner
22. Who's Who In VPC - We Need Help!
23. 2005 Summer/Fall Dam Release Schedules
24. Fiddlehead Slalom 2005
25. Summer/Fall Trips Schedule

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!

• FUNDS FOR WEIR REMOVAL NOT IN ABOVE.
• $1,300 received total, and spent for geomorphic assessment - balance $0.00
• ABOVE INCLUDES ALL CHECKS WRITTEN BEFORE 5/31, CASHED OR NOT.
• SIGNIFICANT LOSS ON BRISTOL ROLL SESSIONS - FEW PAYING ATTENDEES.

Green Narrows (NC): March 25, 2005
Organizer: Alden Bird
Participants: Canoers (C1): Will Lyons, Alden Bird
Water: Internet Gauge (ft): 100% / Internet Gauge (cfs): 250 / USGS Gauge Name: Saluda, NC
Character: advanced WW

(I hope that whomever edits the Bow and Stern can leave this out -- I feel a little bad even putting it here, but I wanted to record it, and it feels so good to write it up somewhere "official.") "Nature's first green is gold Her hardest hue to hold" - Robert Frost It was the first hot day of the year. Along the highway the trees were spotted with gold. The hills were becoming green again. North Carolina was everywhere in bloom. With a feeling of excitement that bordered on dizziness, I drove slowly and wonderously through Asheville, a wonderfully new place for me. I felt like Marcel Proust upon reaching Combray. It seemed to me an enchanted city. 40 minutes later, I wound my way down the 36 switchbacks of the take out road as into paradise and walked down the sandy beach to the river at the take out. The water was sparkling green and people were swimming and sunning themselves on the beach. "The first trip out of the box for the new paddle season is always the toughest. Do I have all my stuff....?" - Fritz Senftleber What a way to start off the season! The first creek of 2005 and all I need are shorts and a drytop. As we descended the half mile put in trail through the hot air, I sweated though I had not yet put on a shirt of any kind. "It was such a lovely sun-drenched day and the water was sparklingly clear and I was in the company of low-key friends...what more could you ask for?" - Tony Shaw I had never descended a creek with another c-1er before. But this time I had one of the South's most prolific with me -- one who paddles on the same side (right) as I, and who even has the very same boat that I do! Not to mention his many runs of the Green. Talk about a perfect guide. The Green is the most fun river I have ever done. I have never run a river that was so clean and had so many good boofs. I have never so wanted to interupt the passage of my life and continue returning to the put in of a river indefinitely. All of the rapids were incredibly clean and distinct and wonderful as real people. The constant image that I saw in the drops was Will's blue C-1 leaping off some boof into the air, bow high above the stern in a wheelie. The Green was the perfect level of challenge. After all, this was the first creek of the year for me. We both portaged the two hardest rapids, Gorilla and Sunshine, which are both as difficult as Tunnel Vision in Vermont. Will had run Gorilla many times, but chose to walk today. It was by far the most impressive waterfall I have ever seen. I'll be back. "He was like a man who stands upon a hill above the town he has left, yet does not say 'The town is near,' but turns his eyes upon the distant soaring ranges." - (Asheville native) Thomas Wolfe The Green's final waterfall is a scary, ominous constriction - reminding one of Rebirth on the Middlebury Gorge. This waterfall on the Green, dubbed "Hammer Factor," was a fitting last test -- not only of one's balance in a canoe, but also of one's mind. If one can feel the same sense of joy (blind to the fact that he has portaged, and blind to the "distant soaring ranges") that he imagined would be in his heart, when, the year before, he stumbled upstream on the trail in daze of pleasure and first beheld this secret waterfall, then he has done as well as a spring day. At the end, I paddled the final "bonus rapid" (a rocky, emerald class II rapid) and down to the main beach, instead of using the normal kayaker take out just upstream. I did this because I had so long imagined myself one day descending this rapid and climbing out on the sand like Odysseus. Life occasionally works out exactly as one expected. The Green is magic.

NB Lamoile: April 9, 2005
Organizer: Various
Participants: Kayakers (K1): James, Simon, Paul, Scott, Jim, Jim, Luke and Cheryl
Water:
Character: int-adv WW

After a series of postings canceling the NB Lamoille I was a little disappointed but understood James's reasons. After a few late e-mails and quiet discussions, an unofficial trip transpired. At 10 am Saturday morning a group of well balanced paddlers decided to help James redeem himself on the river. We started off on the upper section and all most everyone ran the first drop. We then hit the small surf wave below the bridge and paddled off. I was surprised at how fun the river was turning out although I expected all the drops to be ledgy like the first few drops. But has we continued down stream in to the section known as the "gorge"...more dense tree lined in, in my opinion, than the walled in gorge I expected. But the formation of the river surprised me and it tuned out to be a lovely continuous technical class 3+. As we ventured down James warned us of the "event area from the week before" and that a couple of us should scout. We hopped out and I somehow missed everyone that was left in the water run it. I looked at the line but was a little hesitant, but decided I could make it. I got Simon to run it directly in front me just in case I messed up I made the perfect line...But to everyone's delight James redeemed himself and made it through uneventful...Blame the Java James...It is always the boats fault!! We continued down stream and suddenly we were at the take out or put in for the lower section...But nobody took off...I think it was just too perfect of a day, Blue sky's sunshine and a great group of paddlers. We scouted mill drop and Simon and I decided to run it first..We perfectly landed the lines...But I missed the must make eddy and caught the micro eddy above the next drop...unfortunately I missed the ferry to the right hand slot and slowly flipped and went down in to the left hand slot...taking the biggest hole beating (I actually swam before the hole) but it doesn't matter what ever way I would have landed the hole I would have "had my ass handed to me" as my friend D likes to say. Everyone else made it through totally unawares of my swim...I should have kept my mouth shut!! I carefully scouted the next set of ledges with everyone else and decided with Luke to just check out the bottom drop...The advance paddlers of our group were making it look easy and tempting...but I was unsure. Luke decided to run and unfortunately took the second hole beating of the day...but without him his boat decided to run it anyway!! This made this decision to portage around easy. So I joined everyone at the bottom drop, Luke was reunited with his boat and we all ran the bottom drop..what a perfect ending to a perfect day. The whole group was inspirational, new friends were made, redemptions were earned and sandwiches & MM's shared. Fantastic!!

Big Branch: April 15, 2005
Organizer: Alden bird
Participants: Kayakers (K1): Steve Graybill / Canoers (C1): Joe Stumpfel, Alden Bird
Water: Painted Gauge (ft): 2
Character: advanced WW

Was lucky enough to show my Washington DC friends down several Vermont creeks on this day. In the morning we ran the Middlebury Gorge. I had forgotten . . . Soon after we departed for Rutland, bound for the Big Branch. Suffice to say that it was a "zone experience." Nobody missed a move the whole way down. We didn't get out of our boats once. It was intense. I just remember constant boofing, bashing, dropping through chutes and around boulders amid all those steep-as-hell fields of rocks. Long stretches of not eddying out, heaving the bow of my C-1 out into the air off vertical drop after vertical drop. The one highlight that sticks in my head is from the hardest rapid, Mushroom. In the eddy above, I sketched out the dangers to avoid on the left side of the rapid. I descended the tight staircase first, out of sight of the others. As I hit the famous "sky-boof" on the right, it occured to me that I had not mentioned this. I pulled into an eddy and waited for Joe and Steve. Seconds later I saw it! Joe came flying around the corner in perfect position to make the move. Did he see the big boof? Yes, he did! Would he try to jump off it? Would he be comfortable enough with my directions and with this creek to try something I had not mentioned? Yes, he would! He hit the boof and his bow flung up into the air and his stern followed. He hung in the air, totally out of the water, for a full second, and then landed about two feet away from me, touching down on his stern and sizzling into the eddy. On his face was a look of wonder, surprise -- and silly laughter. When we got to the bottom (the final rapid is impressive to anyone) Steve claimed that this was his new favorite creek and Joe proclaimed it "harder than the Upper Blackwater or the Green Narrows." It was a pleasure to show them down my favorite river. Now I understand the look in the eye of all those locals, eager to please me with their rivers, whom I followed while exploring rivers for my guidebook last year. I really wish I had a picture of Joe in that rapid. I remember conferring with him briefly, right afterwards, then peeling out into the next rapid and letting my own bow take to the air off another 5-footer. The Big Branch is the river that makes the bows want to fly.

White River: April 16, 2005
Organizer: Richard Larsen
Participants: Kayakers (K1): John Floyd, Eve Soutiere, Kevin Stevenson / Canoers (OC1): Richard Larsen, Sheri Larsen, John Danyew, Len Carpernter / Canoers (OC2): George Agnew / John King
Water: Internet Gauge (ft): 5.9 / Internet Gauge (cfs): 2500 / USGS Gauge Name: West Hartford, Vt
Character: nov-int WW

We had a week without rain leading up to the trip, so the water was low, but still seemed doable based on the available gauges. So, we put in at the Tweed River access, paddled the short distance to the White, and went to the Route 107 access about 3 miles beyond Gaysville. We had reports of strainers in the river at and below the old abutments where Stony Brook enters the White, so we approached these areas cautiously. There was no major problem right at the abutments, but about 100 yards beyond the abutments all the available water went to a left-side channel that did have a tree fully across the flow - and a good current to push boats into it. A couple of boats were able to bounce and scrape down a right-side channel, but for the most part we landed on the center rock-island and lined boats down. There were no problems in the trip. We did have a swimmer from playing in the holes at the lunch rock, but it was no big deal. In spite of the low water, it was a good day, with nice weather and a good group of paddlers.

Guerilla Ammo: April 17, 2005
Organizer:
Participants: Kayakers (K1): paddler 1 / Canoers (OC1): Paddler II
Water: Internet Gauge (ft): 2.75 / USGS Gauge Name: Bethlehem, NH
Character: intermediate WW

The club trip on the Moose was cancelled due to lack of water. I moved the official trip to the Ammonoosuc, hoping for the best. Nobody called (!?) so that got canclelled too. Eventually, two paddlers decided to go and see what it was like. the level was 2.75, just enough water to be fun but not stressful. Two boats was not really enough for a trip, but what the heck, it was a warm sunny day, the river was mellow and we are adults, capable of assessing and assuming our own risks. The water was clear and sparkling, a beautiful New Hampshire mountain river with colorful rocks. Song sparrows sang from the bank. We saw mergansers at the height of their plumage. From the highway, 200 yds away, came the spring thunder of Harley Davidson engines. It was perfect. We ran only the upper section from the big pine tree to Pierce Bridge, deciding that the harder rapids below needed three boats at least. As the ribald song goes, "it felt so nice, I did it twice". The only other people we saw were a couple in recreational kayaks taking out where we put in. They had skied Cannon mtn in the morning, were finishing a paddle trip, and planned to do a bike ride before dinner. They called it a perfect Sunday. We agreed. Our sympathy to all those boaters who did not paddle the Ammo with us.

Lower Lamoille: April 17, 2005
Organizer: Richard Larsen
Participants: Kayakers (K1): Nick Jewett / Canoers (OC1): Richard Larsen, Sheri Larsen
Water: Internet Gauge (cfs): 4000
Character: intermediate WW

The trip planned for April 16 was moved to the 17th, because the river was at 9000 cfs on the 16th. The 9000 cfs level is runnable for open boats, but the potential swims can be long, so we waited a day for the level to drop. We put in just below the Fairfax dam (which is an impressive sight at 4000 cfs) and paddled to the takeout between the bridges below Five Chutes. We ran into Weed and Zilic in Two-Island Rapid, and our group paddled down with them. No drama, no swimmers, just a good float down the river.

Moose River: April 24, 2005
Organizer: Michael Fullerton
Participants: Kayakers (K1): John Pandolfo / Canoers (OC1): Richard Larsen, Michael Fullerton, Andy Meilleur / Canoers (OC2): Laurie Wunder and Thomas Meredith
Water: Internet Gauge (cfs): 780 / USGS Gauge Name: Victory
Character: int-adv WW

The 'official' Moose trip for April 23 was canceled because of rain, and reborn as an 'unofficial' trip on April 24. We met in North Concord, and put in where the river drops out of Victory Bog. We ran down to the takeout about 3/8 mile below the bridge, on the dirt road on the river-right shore. The river level was very good. At the 750-800 cfs level, the steep drops by the old and current gauging stations are class 2+, maybe 3-, with pretty continuous class 2 much of the rest of the way until the left turn at the start of the bridge rapids. From here, and then 300 yards to the bridge and 200 yards beyond, is a hard class 3 at this level. No one had any major problems, although there was a short swim going around the right turn below the bridge. We were 'blessed' on the trip with leaden skies, and moderate fog, but at least it did not rain - and the paddling level was excellent.

Black River: April 28, 2005
Organizer: Allan Berggren
Participants: Kayakers (K1): Ryan, Ward, Covill, Berggren
Water: Painted Gauge (ft): 2.5 / Internet Gauge (ft): 4.5 / USGS Gauge Name: N Springfield
Character: intermediate WW

Bill Ryan, Mike Ward, Rick Covill and I spent a delightful evening in Downers. Water level was 2', rising to 2.5' at Downers, downstream gauge at North Springfield was 4.5', rising to 5'. At this level, one finds brisk drops through the gorge, lovely waterfalls along the banks, a surfeit of surfing waves and holes, and no unpleasant drag from those round projections from the bottom. This was my first experience paddling with Mike, who has major sea kayak experience and a nice roll, and eagerly ate up any guidance given, so he was turning in tight eddy turns in midstream and surfing credibly. You will find him worthy company for rapid progression through III and IV waters. Levels will certainly hold through the weekend, and possibly into midweek next.

Ammonusuc River: May 1, 2005
Organizer: Richard Larsen
Participants: Kayakers (K1): Franks Well, Stewart McDonald, Norm Stanton / Canoers (OC1): Richard Larsen, Mike Fullerton / Canoers (OC2): Laurie Wunder and Thomas Meredith
Water: Internet Gauge (ft): 3.9 / USGS Gauge Name: Bethlehem
Character: int-adv WW

This trip needed help from the weather gods. The river was low as of Saturday AM, at 3.1', but rain was expected Saturday PM and overnight. But, of course, we could not take too much rain. By Sunday AM, the river was at 3.9', an excellent level, but someone forgot to turn off the rain. A cold, misty rain continued all day until 3PM, and the air temperature stayed at 45 degrees most of the time. So, we had excellent flowing water, but miserable atmospheric water! One planned paddler chose not to paddle because of the rain, so we had the advantage of a 'transportation specialist' who would meet us at each road crossing. We planned to go from the big pine tree at the new parking lot west of Twin Mountain, down to the railroad beyond Alder Brook. As it turned out, we all got out after a cold 4 hours on the river. The trip we had was great, but enough was enough. The remnants of the flood of the previous Sunday, where the river jumped from 5' to 10' in about 6 hours, provided intereting aspects to the trip. There was debris in all the alder branches 5 and 6 feet above stream level. And, the spillway at the dam was plugged by mangled trees, sending the water over the top rather than through the spillway. At a 3.9' level, the river is really good 3+ / 4- water. Boat Breaker, Powerhouse, and a couple of other steep drops are impressive, but still quite doable in an open canoe. Since this was the trip organizers birthday, a post-trip treat of brownies was provided by Sheri Larsen.

Hudson Gorge: May 7, 2005
Organizer: Rod Wentworth
Participants: Kayakers (K1): Dan Beideck, John Pandolfo, Cheryl Robinson, Rod Wentworth, Simon Wiles / Canoers (C1): Dave Stanely / Canoers (OC1): Mike Fullerton
Water: Internet Gauge (ft): 4.2 / USGS Gauge Name: North Creek
Character: advanced WW

We enjoyed a very nice day, sunny and about 50 degrees, which was a bit of a surprise since the weather forecast prior to the weekend was not too good. We arrived at the put-in somewhat after 10 am, so that the release from Indian Pond had already started. Simon carried up to run the otter slide before we all headed down river. This was the weekend when slalom races were also being held in the section of the Hudson downstream from the gorge take-out and along the road. I don't know if that was the reason, but there were few kayaks on the river. There were rafts but not extreme numbers. The water was still cool but not arctic, and the cool spring weather had kept the black flies in check. There were a few around but they weren't yet ready to bite. The "bubble" from the Indian Pond release resulted in a peak on the Hudson River of 4.8 feet at the North Creek gage. By the time we got to Harris, we were behind the bubble and there were quite a few rocks showing. Everyone had a good time and there were no swimmers.

Lower Hudson: May 22, 2005
Organizer: Richard Larsen
Participants: Kayakers (K1): Jamie Dolan, David Hill / Canoers (OC1): Richard Larsen
Water: Internet Gauge (ft): 3.1 / USGS Gauge Name: North Creek
Character: nov-int WW

As of 6PM the night before, there were 8 people signed up for the trip - but, one by one, most came to their senses and backed out, so only three boats actually went on the water. The day was cold, around 50 degrees, and the rain was steady for the time while driving over to New York, although it did stop for most of the on-water time. And, there was no water to speak of in the river, only 3.1' at North Creek. We shortened the trip to be just Riparius to the Glen Bridge, to keep down the abuse to the boats. At this level, most of the trip was just trying to avoid hitting too many rocks on the river bottom, not really whitewater. At the major 'rapids', the goal became to follow the main channel of water as it twisted among the boulders. I think you need to have a level of at least 3.5 - 4.0 feet to have a decent trip. At the end of the trip, we got an extra surprise, in that the usual takeout on the right (west) shore just below the Glen Bridge was posted and blockaded. We were able to take out about a hundred yards above the bridge on the east shore, where there is a big parking area.

E.Branch Pemi: May 27, 2005
Organizer: Luke Helrich
Participants: Kayakers (K1): Lukas Helrich James Raboin Will B?
Water: Internet Gauge (cfs): 1000 / USGS Gauge Name: E. Branch Pemi
Character: int-adv WW

The choices for this Friday trip were E.B.Pemi or the Contootook, with New Hampshire getting the river pleasing rain that we were missing. Luke was pumped for the Pemi, and it was closer, so we hoped the gauge coorelation was right and headed east. The book description was right on, it looked a little low when we got there, but there was plenty of water for paddling. We put in right at the footbridge at the parking lot for hiking, not wanting to walk up river. Right away the action started, boulder dodging and keeping with the main flow. There were lots of eddies, and plenty of nice whitewater down to the Loon Mountain Bridge. At that level it was nice class lll, with no scouting required. A few play waves are there to play on in that section, mine and Lukes mindset that day was river running, so we did not play much, to the dislike of Will, who rightfully said we should have surfed more. At Loon Mountain Rapid, there is a horizon line, and we scouted, and ran the conservative line on the left side, there was just enough water on the end of it to get back right to the main flow. No incidents, expect my bruised ego later when thinking a few years ago I would have wanted to run the right side, now I find myself content to run the easier lines. Sucks getting old! Below that, there is some awesome class lll whitewater, lots of fun maneuvering around rocks and holes. We did portage the old dam area, it looked a bit scetchy with rebar and logs in the river, and big holes if you missed those. Below a split island and under the bridge before the I93 bridge there was one beautiful wave we all tried surfing on, it is tall, steep, and fast. We took out just below the confluence with the main Pemi, on river left. Good parking and a nice beach to pull up on. A great run to experience, we were all impressed by White Mountain whitewater and want to hit the Swift sometime!

Weekend in Fantasy land Maine: May 27-29
Organizer: Cheryl Robinson
Participants: Kayakers (K1): Cheryl Robinson, Jim Poulin, John Pandolfo, (Sat) Joe, Troy, Mike and Brian.
Water: Internet Gauge (ft): blown out / Internet Gauge (cfs): 20,000
Character: advanced WW

Early Friday we set off from a very dry Vermont, Excited about the weekends paddling ahead of us. As we headed in to Maine...a very different picture appeared, everything was going off Huge...Massive. We hoped it was just isolated but as we headed nearer and nearer the forks every dam we saw was just spilling more and more. We arrived at the campsite and peered at the Dead, if we got any more rain it would flood the campsite. We talked to the owners who advised nobody would be running the Dead or the Kennebec gorge and we should opt to run the lower Kennebec...to say the least I was a little disappointed. We agreed to reassess the situation in the morning. We rose to a clear but cloudy day, but the levels on the river hadn't dropped. We discussed living in a fantasy world were everything would be perfect, clear skies runnable rivers...at this moment it was a fantasy..it clearly looked non of us were prepared to run the rivers this high. We found a couple of other paddlers who advised the dead was running at 23,000 CFS. We discussed options and parted our ways still unsure of what we were going to paddle. The strangest thing then happened a guy walked past with the group we had just spoken to. Jim instantly recognized him. It turned out he was in Chile with Jim 7 years ago, they were on a river together when Jim had a near death experience...they hadn't seen each other since. Within 5 minutes we had a plan for paddling, Enchantment brook which would run off into the Dead. I was a little apprehensive I only had my playboat I didn't quite fancy running a steep creek in it, I think John felt the same way. Excitedly on the way to the put in I expressed that to see a Moose and some sunshine would make the perfect weekend...Jim laughed and said I was living in Fantasy land again. But as we turned the corner a Baby Moose appeared...I grabbed the camera and we laughed at how strange the weekend was turning out to be. Enchantment Brook, Didn't look much from the put in and didn't look to high, Joe (Jim's friend) advised it was on the way down and we would have to hurry. Just before putting on I asked him to confirm the river class...he replied "Three / four with one waterfall which you will run and possibly one portage". As we began down the river uneasy that me and Jim were in playboats, I began to sense I was being lulled into a false sense of security...I was right the first few rapids were grade 2/3 with nice pools between. As we headed round a bend I saw a horizon line, Joe had us eddy out and we watched him run the waterfall blind on the left, another guy run the drop right. Joe waved at us to head left...I looked worriedly at John and Jim and expressed I was concerned to run a waterfall blind. Jim said he would go first and I could follow, I watched his line intently and waited for my signal to go and slowly paddled to the edge to scout as much as I could before committing to a line, as I peered over it turned out to be more a small slide than a waterfall with a funny curler at the bottom. Which I found to be a rock, my boat hit it squarely and I winced in pain at the shock through my ankles...I wished I had my creek boat. The river continued into continuous steep class 3 rapids, when all of a sudden Joe eddied out, we obediently followed...after all he was the only one to have paddled this before. We looked down river to see a huge horizon line with just a mass of whitewater below..."Oh MY GOD"...Joe then explained we needed to catch the eddy right on the lip of the drop...I seriously questioned this and my ability to make the eddy, but it seemed I had little choice if I wanted to scout or portage. The worst thing was...we couldn't see the eddy. We watch as Joe went first and disappeared behind a tree, it didn't look easy. Jim went next and I tried to memorize his line. I set off and tried to go hard left, but has I did I noticed there were awkward ledges above the eddy, I paddled hard around them and give the biggest sweep into the eddy, has I crossed the line Joe and Jim quickly brought me a shore. John followed I watched him make the eddy but then slowly slip back out...for a few seconds I stood dumfounded and shocked...he couldn't possible go down. In a mad rush three of us grabbed his kayak and dragged it into the eddy, it was a close call...a bit too close. One look at the drop and I knew in my playboat it would be almost suicide to run it. It was ledge steep and holey...it needed precision lines and no mess ups. Out of seven only Joe ran it the rest portaged. The rest of the river became steeper and more continuous. I was enjoying the run and kept smiling at Jim and John who just had huge grins back at me. At one point it was almost a down river race with people vying for the same lines. We came up another Horizon line, Joe eddied out with Jim and I sailed on by, I was quite proud that I managed to boat scout and pick a good line I plopped into the eddy below and watched up stream. It was at that point I though looking at the ledges I probably made a stupid decision to run it alone...but what the hell I ran it well. I watched as the rest of the group came down running different lines but in group formation. I noticed Jim eddy out above me and watch as John braced high, but then become unbalanced he was over. I prayed he would roll as rescue would be difficult and we were on a blind corner who knows what was ahead. He tried rolling but then I watched him bob into the water. I looked at Jim and we both knew, for us we wouldn't be able to rescue him in our playboats...I felt selfish, but knew that it could be disastrous if we tried. We watched as Joe pushed and manipulated him into the eddy. I give a big sigh of relief and put my thumbs up to see if he was okay...The response wasn't good a shaking head and thumbs down. I watched as Jim and Joe looked at John, he was holding his shoulder. They looked at me and asked me to ferry across, which was directly on the other side...I wondered if I could make. I am not the confident on my ferry glides let alone to make another eddy horizontally across. I paddled as far up my eddy as I could, edged my boat and paddled as hard as I could...I made it. It turned out John's shoulder had popped out and back in. I had the first aid kit so we give him some painkillers while we discussed options for continuing on. It was either Hiking out from here or paddling at least to the dead then reviewing there. John seemed confident he could make it to the bottom of the Enchantment..so we continued, John following Joe and Troy following him behind (because he had a creek boat). The water had dropped and the last few ledges and rapids were scrapey and boney, but fun. At the bottom we sat in the eddy and watched the Dead flow by at an incredible speed. This looked like it was going to be fun, we took a breather and then headed out. The first rapid was huge wave train, we whooped and screamed at the waves and each other. Our smiles were glowing. I managed to get in front significantly and was mortified when I heard a whistle being blown...Joe was actually getting my attention, in the roar of the water I hadn't noticed everyone behind me eddy out. I looked for an eddy but everything was in the tree's. I came to a ledge and noticed a small safe eddy. I waited and waited, I couldn't see up stream. I was getting worried but held out, I noticed Joe come down, I came out of hiding and joined the group...mid stream I noticed we were missing John. It turned out he had flipped in the first rapid and his shoulder had gone again, making it impossible for him to roll...thankfully Troy had give him the hand of God back up. After much deliberation in their eddy they decided it was too dangerous from him to carry on and he should hike off leaving his boat on the river bank. For a minute I felt bad for him, but we knew as a group we had made the right decision. The Dead continued to be a huge rapid, with huge waves and relentless. My arms shook and abs ached and my smile was huge...My fantasy world hit again, when for all of 10 minutes the sun shined. We came to a break in the rapids and Jim shouted for a break we managed to pull into a camp, The people looked at us as though we were crazy. We discussed how much more was to come and to our surprise we were finished and the rest was just a float down stream to the campsite. As we took off our grins now a permanent fixture to our faces we hugged and congratulated each other for the first paddlers to run the Dead at this level 20,000 CFS. BEERS all around, we had run 8 miles on the dead in 40 minutes. They guys ran shuttle and we watched the time, Joe had advised it would take at least four hours for John to Hike out. Just as Jim and I agreed every half hour we'd drive up the trail to check, he walked in holding his shoulder. We tried to hide our enthusiasm for the river but it didn't work, he could see we had a great time...John didn't seem too disappointed he had enjoyed what he had done. Saturday night we partied, drank beers and margaritas. Built a huge campfire, had great food...expertly cooked by chef Jim. We chatted about how the weekend had turned perfect, besides the one issue of John. The combination of a creek and big water was perfect and almost unreal, how many times do people get to do this. We awoke Sunday morning and discussed boat recover options, we opt for everyone hiking in with my boat and Jim would paddle John's kayak out. The river had dropped significantly we suspect to around 10,000 cfs. We had arranged to meet some other kayakers, but they soon dropped us when they heard about our expedition. We began the hike in, I was hooked up using my PFD to my kayak so I could pull it along. I think we were all thinking it was going to be along hike in. It actually didn't turn out that bad, we got down to the river level preying that no Raft company had picked up the kayak...we couldn't see it. Were we to low or to high?? I got down to the river level and looked up stream, I noticed a rocky ledge that resembled the eddy I had caught. We decided I would stay put and put on from my position. Jim and John hiked up river. I was pleased to see 10 minutes later Jim floating by in a pink boat. As we went through the first rapid we notice the river had significantly changed due to the lower water. There were more holes, each rapid required technical moves. It was hard going, but much more fun than the day before. We kept looking for the Popular rapid knowing it was going to be hard and full of holes, we thought we had paddled it until we saw the P rock, Our stomachs knotted if the previous rapid was hard what was popular going to be like...it didn't disappoint a huge raging mass of white water with what felt and looked like dangerous and vicious waves on the left hand side, we still had technical moves to make. We eddied out below, our hands and arms shaking from then intense paddling. We looked at each other huge grins and hugged, and said "fantastic paddling". The adrenaline was on a high even as we floated out, we were met by John at the takeout and I think he knew it was good we were both talking at 100mph and grins that brought sunshine to the dull cloudy day. It took a few hours before the adrenaline subsided, even as we drove home our smiles still fixed to our faces...The last strange event of the weekend a second sighting of a moose and a patch of blue sky that followed us all the way home even when it rained hard...we kept thinking we would wake up from fantasy land and think it was a dream...it wasn't it was fantastic.

Big Splash river festival flotilla: June 4, 2005
Organizer: Connecticut RiverFest
Participants: Kayakers (K1): flotilla open to everyone / Rafters: Contradance on the Connecticut, musicians along
Water:
Character: flatwater

Join the Saturday, June 4 Big Splash river festival flotilla for all, about 3 miles from Norwich Landing at 11am, to Wilder Picnic Area, site of the festival. Shuttle available from Wilder Picnic Area at 9:30, 10, 10:30am Saturday June 4. 50 exhibitors, international music, activities, boat builder, arts, alternative fuel and energy discussions, children activities all day 10:30-6:30. Rt 5 to Gillette St by the church with the purple clock, to the river.

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