Ryan Galway TC OC-1, Mason Galway C-1, Kenny Decoster OC-1, Craig Mckinnon OC-1, Sean Klutz OC-1, Ron Chase K-1, Bill Stafford K-1, Paul Bicknell K-1, Steve Fortin K-1.
It was a gem of a day in east central New Hampshire. The forecast was for temps in the mid 60s and sunshine and a release of around 300cfs on the Little Suncook river. Pretty hard to beat for the middle of October. I was joined by 8 others for a day of class 3-4 whitewater. Many of the attendees were the usual suspects but it was also nice to be joined by a new club member Sean Klutz. I love having more open canoes in the group and I hope he will join us on some more future trips.
This run starts out with a blast. Just a hundred yards or so from the put in the river thunders through its steepest drop. A shallow narrow section littered with river wide holes rocks and the occasional strainer. Mason, Ron, Paul, Bill, Steve, Kenny and I decided to run this drop while Sean and Craig put in just below. Everyone had great runs with no flips or swims. The run carried on with more narrow steep class 3 rapids followed by a paddle through a short marsh. The marsh terminates with a fun 6 foot boof off a dam to start the second half of the run. The rapids continue as class 2 and 3 and everyone was having a good day until we got stacked up on some strainers. Unfortunately this resulted in one of the kayaks getting pinned and flipped upstream and the paddler washing under the log. The paddler was ok, but I was told at the end of the day it was a humbling experience. The excitement didn’t end there with the boat being set free I had to chase it alone and was finally able to corral it a ways down stream. I was then able to get a bag to the boater and ferry them across the river. We also had to rescue another boat as it drifted into the strainers. In the chaos a paddle was lost and a kayaker was able to use my back up single blade to finish the run. This was a fun day that ended well but made me aware that it is important to have your safety gear every time you are on the river. That day multiple throw bags were used as well as rescue vests and tethers and a back up paddle. All of these items are important and were essential to making it off the river safely in one piece. If you don’t always carry these items please consider doing so in the future.