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Oct 22, 2022: Little Suncook, Epsom, NH

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.

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Apr 5, 2022: Contoocook River

For many years, the Contoocook River in Henniker, NH has been a spring club favorite.  The Class II/III 2.5 mile run includes the exciting Freight Train Rapid which is a little more difficult.  Five seniors not acting their ages met to challenge their skills on an early spring trip at an excellent level, 6.5 on the gauge.  No ice cream headaches on this day.  Everyone was on their game.  Most of us enjoyed a second helping.  Sorry, no photo.  I somehow managed to lose them.

Participants:  Steve Fortin, Carolyn Young, Frank Yulling, Jean Miller & TC

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Oct 16, 2021: NH Drawdown Trip – North Branch Of The Piscataquag

Trip Participants Ryan Galway OC-1 TC, Mason Galway OC-1, Kenny Decoster OC-1, Nick Beaudoin K-1, Emma Earler K-1, Brian MCCormack, Paul Leclerc and friend Pat K-1, Hal Earle K-1.

One of the things I really enjoy about being a TC is leading people down new rivers for the first time. I enjoy this because I am grateful for all of the times other club members have taken me down new rivers and it feels good to return the favor. On this trip, if I remember correctly, Kenny and I were the only two who had run the river before so we had lots of people to show some new lines. For those who haven’t run this river before, it is a narrow with fast current and hazards like wood everywhere. Due to the lack of space we pretty much ran the river in single file one behind the other over the span of 9 boats. This seemed to work well and we seldom had any issues with people being on top of each other. In addition to the narrow fast moving water, there are a series of large drops spaced out over the run. The first of which is called slab city which is a steep river wide drop of about 6 feet. This was the first test of the group about a 1/2 mile in. Everyone had a stellar run with cheers in the pool at the bottom. Following slab city, we had a little trouble doing the limbo under a low tree which resulted in a swim, and a missed line that resulted in another. The rest of the large drops were aced by all. Following the last large drop called Buzzels, is a river wide drop which is called turnover ledge. This is traditionally not a difficult rapid but it is better known for the playspot that it creates, which is about perfect for enders. We shared the spot with another group so it made for a fun positive atmosphere with some competitive encouragement. One real highlight was seeing Emma attempt her first ender which ended up being the best one I saw performed there that afternoon. Great job Emma! Shortly after we completed the run ,which was followed by some relaxing and enjoying a cold beverage on a warm fall day.

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May 1, 2021: Lower and Middle NH Swift

Participants:  Brent Elwell, Kevin Rogers, Kenny DeCoster, Kirk Ross, Hal Earle and TC

River levels this Spring have caused several trips to be canceled and my NH Rivers trip was in danger until heavy rains on April 30 saved the day and provided us with great paddling in the North Conway area.  After a brief discussion at the meeting area, we reached consensus on the Middle and Lower NH Swift.  We don’t usually paddle the Middle Swift, but the water was high enough that we were in hopes that it would come down a bit on the Lower if we did a warm up paddle up higher.  This plan worked out well as the Middle, between Rocky Gorge and Lower Falls, was very fluid and provided us with a good warm up and more time on one of the most beautiful rivers in New England.  Gusty winds did provide challenges for our open boat crew, as the gusts had a tendency to change the canoe’s direction at the worst possible time on occasions resulting in a pinned canoe and a chance to practice swiftwater river rescues.

We portaged Lower Falls and immediately noted that the water was still higher than the gauge in Cabin Gorge was indicating.  A good part of the discussions on the trip involved how and why the gauge level seemed inaccurate.  No good answers, but the river from Lower Falls to Cabin Gorge was quickly paddled.  After a quick scout of the Cabin Gorge rapid, we all had good runs and were pleased to have one of the “Big Two”, the other being Staircase, behind us.  The rest of the trip was an extremely enjoyable run down one of the most sought after whitewater rivers in New England.  It’s difficult to beat the combination of bright sun, warm weather and an excellent level on the Lower Swift, and the post trip confab at the take out was an enthusiastic recount of the day’s action. 

Photo of Kirk Ross running Staircase on the Lower Swift

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Apr 18, 2021: Contoocook River, NH

For days, forecasters promised that the rains would come, and we would be joyful paddling New Hampshire and Western Maine Rivers Class III-IV. But Saturday’s scattered showers barely bumped up the river gauges and paddlable rivers were in short supply. Bill Stafford and I headed west to New Hampshire and joined Ryan to escort Mason Galway on his first run on the Contoocook. The gauge had risen overnight to 7.7, a medium level. There were nice surfing waves and fewer rocks than the 6.9 gauge level trip in March. With warm temperatures, it was a beautiful (sunnier than Maine) day on the river.

The Contoocook rapids are progressive starting with class II and building up to the Class III+ finale. As you can imagine, Mason in the Galway tradition didn’t need any warming up or escorting. He sailed down S-turn and Freight Train like an old pro. Only the TC got into trouble by investigating the bony river right line on an early rapid. He was lucky that the river gravel didn’t shave off his beard. We’re looking forward to a rainy season to flood us with paddling opportunities.

TC: Kenny DeCoster