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Apr 17-18, 2026: Swift River

K1: Brent Elwell, Steve Forin, Ken Gordon, Sean Green, Mark Nelson

OC1: Kenny DeCoster TC

For 10 days, I watched the NH river gauges and several weather forecasts wondering how I was going to pull off paddling in the White Mountains. Fortunately, warm weather and some rain arrived in time and the Saco and EB Pemi gauges rose. I was surprised the smaller streams were, for the most part, too low to paddle. The EBP was “practically” threatening to flood Lincoln, NH, so the six of us checked the Swift’s painted gauge in Cabin Gorge which was 1.75. We decided to start at Rocky Gorge and let the water level fall some before getting to the lower section.

I don’t know if I’ve run Rocky Gorge that high before. We had a good Class III warm up before the big drop with the big hole. One kayak rolled, while the TC had a short swim after he got washed into the hole slightly sideways. Otherwise, everyone had good runs down to the falls. While the rest of us portaged, Sean scouted the various lines down the falls- there was quite a bit of water creating significant holes. Steve led Sean down the right sneak route with great success while the rest of us soaked in the warm sunshine. 

On the Blackberry section, you are normally bumping down a rocky slope, but today, we had water and waves. We took out at the covered bridge and rechecked the gauge which had dropped to 1.5. We ate lunch and continued down the lower section. At Cabin Gorge, the kayaks all successfully ran the main middle drop, while I got stuck in a little slot sneaking along the right shore. I also bypassed the Staircase on the far left channel while everybody else ran the ledges. The river was very fluid and I appreciated fewer rocks and pushier water. The sun was glorious and kept us warm over the 7.5 miles of whitewater. The next morning, Sean googled “kayaking the Lower Swift” and found a short video of our group running the lower section shot from the shore by a visitor. I’m sure it will go viral.

The next day was 10 degrees cooler and the level had dropped to .8. We lost Mark, and Brent left to hike with Gary Cole, but Steve got two of his local friends, Jim and Pete, to join us. We put in above Cabin Gorge and all had good lines down the drops in the gorge. At Staircase, I boat scouted the right hand route through the pool drops but the boulders had moved over the winter and blocked any clear channel. I portaged while almost everyone else had good runs down the main channel. At this level, there are more rocks to miss but the rapids are so good, you don’t mind bumping into some of them. The NH Rivers weekend was an exhilarating time- the rapids are demanding and take all your focus. I got to share one of my favorite rivers with a bunch of great paddlers.

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Apr 18, 2026: Carrabassett River (Middle)

We rescheduled our 2026 Carrabassett trip at the last minute due to a rotten forecast on our original date, and this turned out to be a good decision. We picked the day with a break in the rain, and were even blessed with some sun toward the end our trip. We ended up with 7 boats, with folks traveling from as far as Portland and Lac-Mégantic. Kevin Morrissey poled his Old Town Tripper for parts of the trip. Mike and Nolen Timberlake each paddled their own solo canoes, and their sheepadoodle, Oakley, rode in the bow of Nolen’s OT Camper. Troad (Julia) Richmond, Stephanie Timberlake, Rob Herrick, and Nick Farley were in kayaks. Trip coordinator, Mike Timberlake, has run this stretch from Kingfield to Rt. 146 in New Portland at flows from 1,000 to 4,000 cfs on the Anson gauge. For this trip the flow was at 2,100 cfs, which was a good amount of water for covering up most of the rocks and giving us a few fun riffles and rock gardens to play in as we floated along without much effort. We stopped at the historic Wire Bridge for lunch, and then continued downriver without Stephanie and Oakley, covering a distance of about 12 miles in just under 4 hours.

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Apr 11-12, 2026: If it’s April, it’s Millers Time!

TC: Paul Leclerc, Upper Millers

TC Pat Cavanagh, Lower Millers

K1: Paul Leclerc, Pat Cavanagh, Ken Gordon, Jean Miller, Paul Bicknell, Bill Stafford, Sean Green, Ben Gorman

OC1: Kenny DeCoster, OC2: Brendan Regan & guest

R1: Zach Yinger, Paul Sarli

Shredder: Patti & Tom Rutka

Due to low precipitation in the Winter and into Spring, a few water-driven, northern New England Chowders migrated south. The weather was mid 50’s and the promised abundant sunshine was a weatherman’s dream. We met at the new easy parking take-out and shuttled to the put-in. There was a bit of confusion through the grapevine as to Ken and Kenny already being there, which they were not, and I had to suffer Kenny’s humiliation (rightly so) the entire trip. The release was 1900 cfs, the highest I’ve ever known it to be. I was worried it would be too washed out, but it was perfect. Along with a few other groups, there were plenty of boats on the water. We had lucky 13 – for the time being. At the first corner rapid, the OC2 flipped, emptying its occupants into the cold dark waters. After collecting ourselves again, we headed for Freight Train. The turbulent waves tossed the OC2 aside. They made the decision to portage back to the put-in and leave the Millers for another time. A short while later we had a swimmer. And for the 1st time, I actually helped rescue and ferry a swimmer to shore, rather than be rescued myself. At the last rapid, the largest and longest, we had another swimmer. He and his boat made it to shore, but his paddle didn’t. As it were, the first swimmer attempted to retrieve the paddle but got flipped and swam again. So much for Karma. Fortunately, I carry a 4 piece break-down for such an occasion. And with that, Kenny partially forgave me. We continued down to the take-out, said our farewells to those not running the Lower then Pat, myself, Sean, Zach, Kenny, Ken, Patti and Tom headed out.

Although the release was a very high release, it didn’t translate into the Lower. The Lower Millers is a wider river and before the water gets to it, it fills in a lot of open space, flat water between the Upper and Lower sections where they run the annual canoe races. The Lower greatly benefits from natural flow, which unfortunately this year was paltry. However, the class IV Funnel never disappoints. After running through the numerous wave trains, we pulled off to scout our lines of choice.

One by one we entered the foreboding rapid. Pat went first and nailed a roll in the turbulence. I followed, rolled as well, but got pushed back down and nailed it on the second (or maybe 3rd) try. The TC’s were showing off. Everyone else ran it perfectly. After a few more rollicking wave trains, we were on terra firma. Nothing like having a long Millers day with new and old friends. And I’m pretty sure I’m all good with Kenny again.

 

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Apr 4, 2026: Souadabscook Stream at -4″

Helen Hess(TC), Mike Timberlake, Reid Anderson, Matthew Kellett, Kyle Duckworth, Patti Rutka, Kenny DeCoster (OC-1), Ryan Galway, Krea Galway (OC-2), Devon Carter, Charlie Berliant, Ron Chase, Ken Gordon, Mark Nelson, Tom Rutka, Elliot Rappaport (K-1)

Sixteen paddlers in 15 boats headed down Souadabscook stream for a brisk and sunny day of low-water fun. The level was still well below the bottom-most numbers on the gauge in spite of a wee bit of rain in the prior week. This was Krea’s first run on the Sou and she was happy to scope things out from the bow of the tandem with Ryan. Mark was also boating the Sou for the first time; living in Maine full time now allows the delights of spring paddling. It’s always great to have first-timers on this sweet little run. There were plenty of surfing opportunities, and we stayed a while at the feature below Emerson. Mike got a chance to run the rapid in three different boats, including Reid’s and Matt’s, while the rest of the group surfed it up. Kenny also swapped out his teeny boat for Helen’s Ocoee for a more elegant surfing experience. A few of us opted for only the short run and took off just below Papermill bridge while the rest of the group continued down to the waterworks. Charlie and I were among those who exited early, but we decided to rejoin the group below at the final take-out for beverages, conversation, and Laura Neal’s excellent cookies. “Best part of the day,” said Charlie.

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Mar 29, 2026: Sheepscot 375cfs and chilly!

Despite the frozen ground and the low flows, 12 brave souls came out for an early spring float on the Sheepscot. With such low water and a capable crew, we ended up spending our time on the river chatting up a storm while hopping between eddies and catching the little surfs we could find. The Sheepscot was a super pleasant time in nature, as always, and the frozen globs of ice hanging over the water were a treat to look at. Overall, it was an excellent first day on the river for the season and has me looking forward to an fun summer of paddling with the club!