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Mar 21, 2026: Souadabscook Stream – Ice Breaker

K-1: Charlie Berliant, Mark Berry
OC-1: Brendan Regan, : TC: Kenny DeCoster

Looking back at my email trip announcement to the club on Wednesday night, I was way too optimistic about the Saturday weather forecast of partly cloudy and 45 degrees. Arriving at Papermill Park take out, we were greeted with gray overcast and a brisk 36 degrees. So, I’m eternally grateful that Mark, Charlie and Brendan were brave enough to make the Ice Breaker happen.

Brendan had never paddled the Sou before and so we tried to behave ourselves and show him how to get down the river safely. The gauge was .6 the kayaks took advantage of the first surf wave and the Emerson waves. Everybody had good runs down the drops and were successful avoiding the submerged tree below Papermill Bridge. Brendan took the race portage back to the parking lot while the rest of us survived the icy plunge over Grand Falls and bounced down to Papermill Park.

We had a surprise visit from club member, Deb Harris, at the take out who had come to watch the finale but missed it by a few minutes. By the time I got up to the parking lot to shuttle up for the second run, people were already changing into dry clothes and talking about getting warm. Then, I noticed my fingers weren’t working and remembered while we were paddling, I saw Charlie’s breath rising up into the air with 4 snowflakes falling. There is a lower limit to paddling the Ice Breaker and we look forward to warmer days. Thanks to Charlie for keeping track of the ice melt and water levels and trying to get us onto Marsh Stream.

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Mar 25, 2023: Souadabscook Stream “Icebreaker” – 6″ on the gauge

Participants: Helen Hess OC1, Sean Kluttz OC1, Reid Anderson OC1, Kenny DeCoster TC OC1, Ella Reilich-Godino and Regan Greer OC2, Ron Chase K1, Charlie Berliant K1

Many years ago, I paddled the ” Ice Breaker” when it was 33 degrees, cloudy, and windy and I told myself never again. I don’t want to freeze to death. I always insist in the trip book description that the temperature has to be above 40 degrees. Last week, people were so eager to paddle that I got out voted and gave in. Eight of us braved the 36 degree cloudy overcast weather to paddle the Soudabscook with a gauge reading of one half. At this level, the river isn’t pushy and most of the rocks are covered. We ran class III drops, rocky rapids, and various surf waves of varying intensity- a little something for everyone.

Helen brought along two alumni friends from COA. As fairly new paddlers, Ella and Regan had great lines through the rapids, maintained their composure with an unintended boof in Crawford Rapids and mastered a tandem surf on the smooth wave. It’s great to have new open boaters along who enjoyed the river so much. Everyone else had good runs down the river. Only the TC couldn’t stay upright and rode the run out of Grand Falls on the side of his canoe bracing against the gravel bottom.

Five paddlers “skimmed the cream of the Sou”* and got off the river at Papermill Park, while three of us continued on – losing all feeling in our fingers and toes. Along the forested section, I saw a small brown head sticking out of the water. It dove almost immediately. I believe I spotted my first swimming mink! There wasn’t much surfing at the snowmobile bridge and we took off at Laskey Lane so that we wouldn’t have to scale the snow banks at the regular take out- the water district. I can’t wait to get on the Marsh Stream next week.

* an apt description of the upper Sou uttered at the put in by our President.