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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 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 22, 2025: Sou Class III+ and Marsh Class III-IV

K1: Mark Berry, Jake Bourdeau, Devon Carter, Mike Eastman, Mac Henry, Kevin McKenzie, Greg Winston,  TC: Charlie Berliant.

OC1: Reid Anderson, Ryan Galway, Matthew Kellett, TC: Kenny DeCoster

12’ Raft: Sean and Jade Kluttz

The river gods were smiling upon us. I couldn’t believe the Saturday’s weather forecast held up all week promising 50 degrees and sunshine. It was in stark contrast to last year’s weather that morphed into overcast skies and sleet cancelling the trip. But the Marsh trip’s weather on Sunday looked worse with wind chills in the 20s. Charlie was on the ball and moved his trip to Saturday afternoon which created one fine day of paddling on two rivers.

14 paddlers jammed the Manning Mills bridge as gear was deposited by the side of the road. New members and a couple of newer members hadn’t ever paddled the Sou or Marsh. It was fun to turn them on to great whitewater. With the gauge reading 1.5+, we had plenty of water. I didn’t miss the rocks I normally scraped over. 

The first river wide wave provided great surfing opportunities for everyone, while the downstream smooth wave had disappeared. The Emerson waves proved to be a bit more challenging to ride. Everybody seemed to find the far-left line on Crawford rapid. I hugged the shore and found the green tongue that led to the ledge drop instead of getting nailed by the nasty guardian hole just to my right. 1/3 of the paddlers had the common sense to portage Grand Falls, everyone else ran the falls and stayed upright. The next challenge was right around the corner where it was wise to miss the monster hole river center blocking the approach to the alleyway. We all rendezvoused at Papermill beach. Nobody had swam and there were just one or two rolls. Ryan and Devon continued to the waste treatment plant, the rafters said goodbye, and the rest of us moved on to the Marsh.

Vehicles were left at the take out and we met at the RR bridge put in. Charlie got his wish- the gauge read 3- and we paddled a bigger river with bigger water. The single bladed paddlers got washed downstream while kayakers fought strong eddy lines to climb onto waves. I had never seen so much water flowing over Flat Rock. Mark and Greg managed to drive into the far-right channel and skirt the hydrologic turmoil in the middle and make it to the bottom smiling. Charlie took the right hand sporting route. One adjusting stroke dropped him into the huge hole. He stayed upright surfing the froth for what seemed like hours. He flipped just as he was leaving the hole and rolled up before the final drop. An unbelievable performance- caught on camera.

Charlie Surfs Flat Rock… Click the image for the full video!

We hung out at the take out soaking up the sun and celebrating our good fortune of spending a fantastic day on the water.

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Apr 7, 2024: Souadabscook Stream – Class III

K1: Mark Berry, Jake Bourdeau, Devon Carter, Eric Chase, Daniel Fowler, Ken Gordon, Jessa Solis, Matt ?

OC1: Ryan Galway, TC: Kenny DeCoster

Slice2: Bryan and Alyssa Wolf

The forecasted 15 mph wind wasn’t blowing down the Sou stream valley. With no wind chill, 41 degrees, even with all the cloud cover, we had a decent day ahead of us. By the 11 am meeting time, we had 8 paddlers ready to go. 20 minutes later, we were 12. Two of the paddlers were first timers to the Sou. The water level was 1 foot and the river was very fluid. The surfing at the first wave was outrageous and at Emerson, the waves were more challenging to ride. 

The trouble happened in Crawford Rapid. After negotiating the ledge drop, a paddler ran up on the strainer sticking out from the left shore. The stern caught the current , the boat flipped over backwards, got sucked under the tree, and thankfully the paddler wet exited to the safety of the eddy. The paddle, stuck in the snag, was retrieved by a live bait rescue line. This is the third person being swept under a strainer that I’ve observed in as many years. It doesn’t take much to get knocked off one’s line and get into trouble. It was a very scary experience and rescue is more than difficult. Stay away from strainers!

2 people portaged Grand Falls (on the left side race portage to avoid the Lincoln log pile on the regular portage on the right side), while everyone else stayed upright careening down the left slot in the falls. Both of the canoes filled up and looked like floating bathtubs. 3 boaters got out at Papermill Park and the rest of us floated down the moving flatwater to the snowmobile bridge waves which provided plenty of surfing opportunities. I was glad to see that the left channel at the cement plant rapid had been completely cleared of the trees. Back at the parking lot, I couldn’t convince anyone to take on a second run as the sun started to shine, so we dried off and talked of upcoming river trips.

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Mar 14, 2024: Souadabscook Stream, Class III

Participants: Ken Gordon K1, TC Kenny D OC1

I had a scheduling conflict on Saturday and I was determined to paddle in dry weather. Ken Gordon signed up for the midweek run on the Sou. On the pre-trip scouting mission, I wrote off Grand Falls because Ken was not going to be able to rescue me as I was washed down to Papermill Park. We had fun running down all the drops through bigger waves and catching smaller eddies at the bottom. The first surfing wave provided great entertainment while the second smooth wave disappeared at this level. The other good surfing waves at Emerson were also washed out. This was made up for by all the water pouring over Crawford’s ledge. Skirting a guardian hole next to the giant boulder on the left made it challenging to negotiate the monster ledge drop. We stayed upright and happy. (the right side of Crawford has serious strainers blocking the whole channel). The portage around Grand Falls was a class IV due to our having to push our boats over multiple downed trees. The S Turns rapid below Snowmobile and Cement Plant and just above the 202 Bridge had strainers blocking both sides of the island. We were able to bop over the right channel, but any drop in water level is going to turn it into a mandatory portage. The smooth wave on the right side of the snowmobile bridge proved to be the highlight as Ken gracefully surfed the smooth wave. I, admittedly, wished I had 2 blades as my stubby Option didn’t break through the eddyline and I went flying downstream.

Arriving at the take out early we decided on a second half-run to Grand Falls. The hole at the put in was too much of a temptation for me. Starting off front surfing, then side, and an exciting back surf, I went for a second round where I got thrashed. Boy Scout, No Name, Emerson, Crawford, and Papermill bridge were just as much fun a second time. We took out at the race portage above Grand Falls  on the left-hand side so we wouldn’t have to face the trees again. After a great day on the Sou, I didn’t get home until after dark and slept through the night for a change.