The Vermont Paddlers Club

Thursday May 9, 2024

950 cfs is a pretty sweet level for the EBP, IMO. After leaving a car at the Lincoln Family Park (behind the fire station in North Woodstock), we stopped on the bridge to Loon Mt to agree on our intended lines above and below the bridge. There was little appetite for carrying upstream above the footbridge at Lincoln Woods, so we put-in there. The Hancock USFS campground was nearly empty, likely because it had been cool and rainy most of the previous week. The 5 day rain total reported in Woodstock (USGS) was 1.4 inches. Notoriously flashy, the EBP had spiked to nearly 4000 cfs after Sunday's soaking rains.

The 3 of us were perfectly happy with 950 cfs today, "non-threatening" (Paul's words) but plenty continuous and plenty splashy. We set safety at the abandoned dam site and all ran the sneak route river left without incident. The 2 big holes in the middle there looked nasty (and so did one or two other holes along the way). We completed the 6+ mile run in around 2 hours end-to-end.

Little sun or wind, and no one else on the river, with the temperature around 50 degrees. Stopped at "Big Cones" in Wells River, VT on the drive home, where $3.50 buys a medium waffle cone that is a meal in itself. Don't even THINK about ordering a large!

Sunday Jun 30, 2024

TLDR: pretty summer day, bone zone, 5.5 hours on the water, no one died (or even swam), no shortage of wood (often in bad places).

On CreekVT.com Scott Gilbert says to expect Joe's to be running when the Sleeper's River gauge is in the range of 275-900 cfs. That gauge spiked just shy of 500 cfs in the wee hours June 30, but by the time we launched on Joe's at 1pm it had fallen to 166 cfs. Ooof! But being the eternal optimists when it comes to Joe's, and buoyed by the June 29 rainfall totals posted on cocorahs.org* in the range of 1.0 to 1.5 inches over in Greensboro and Craftsbury (near the Joe's headwaters), off we went.

It was a beautiful, warm and sunny day (I think Chris got a sunburn) and I paddled in my shortie splashtop for the first time this year. It would have made a considerable difference if GMP had been able to restart the generator at their powerhouse for our afternoon run, after it had tripped off mysteriously mid-morning, but the technician working there at the time (my man, Dave) was unsuccessful in his attempt to do so. That turbine, when running at full load, will add ~120 cfs to the downriver flow. I did get a text just before leaving home from Will Seegers whose eye-witness report was "up/boatable" at a "bare minimum" level. Thanks for that, Will! The pond height remained around 5.2 feet throughout the day.

5 and a half hours on Joe's dodging FU rocks and stopping to scout for wood above every horizon line (there are SO many) is physically demanding, and I think we were all dehydrated and gassed by the time we reached the (arguably) worst strainer hazard, a ways below the Morses Mills bridge. Ryan and I were able to charge left to avoid pinning among the half-submerged limbs of 2+ uprooted trees sticking out into the current. Chris not so much. Although his paddle went missing under the jumble, the good news was that he was wedged in his kayak amongst the limbs heads up and stable, giving me and Ryan time to scramble over the log pile and extricate him from the boat. Chris lost his appetite for continuing downriver after this "tragedy narrowly averted", so he carried up to the road through some blackberry brambles and someone's mown field, where he waited beside the road until Ryan and I finished out the run. The lower gorge was free of wood and hugely entertaining (as always), and Ryan had a ballet-worthy run through the serpentine rapid at the take-out bridge on Brook Hill Rd.

Chris evened the score 2 days later, returning to Barnet where he was able to recover his paddle, and subsequently spend nearly 3 hours with his handsaw making that drop safer for the next party who drops in. Thanks for your efforts, Chris!

It's sad that the flooding events of 2023 (July then December) have left Joe's in a somewhat harrowing condition for boating. Getting in there when it drops with saws to make for even safer passage would take a chunk of time and energy, but I think it could be done.

* Searched: Stations in Orleans, Vermont. Report date on 6/30/2024

Wednesday-Sunday Aug 21-25, 2024

2024 Ottawa River Trip Report

August 21 – 25, 2024

 

Preamble

There were 14 paddlers with an additional 4 non paddlers to join the fray. As is the case some came for a few days at the beginning or the end and some stayed for the entire five days.

The weather was gorgeous for the trip. Sunny every day, with the exception of a quick shower on Saturday evening (during cocktail hour!). Temperatures were in the 60’s on Wednesday, warming to the 80’s by the weekend.

This weekend was also Gatineau Fest. (another Quebec classic a couple hours northwest of Montreal) That and higher Ottawa levels kept crowds at bay this weekend.

Speaking of levels, the river was holding at -0.50 early in the week before we headed north. Then, on Tuesday the level jumped to +2.5. It stayed in the mid 2’s from Wednesday through Friday and then just as it went up, the came crashing down on Friday night to just over 0. I chatted with Owl staff and a few raft guides, and no one had an explanation. It’s just the dam operator’s folly!

Ryan and his family had been there since Monday. The whole Zajac crew took an Owl raft trip down the Middle channel on Tuesday. What a great idea!

Full participant list:

Paddlers: Jim Poulin, Kelsey King, Mark Malchoff, Paul Carlile, Peter Caffrey, Rubin Bennett, Tanner Kadleck, Peter Carlile, Jeff Milchen, Jamie Dolan, Leah Hardacker, Becca Shapiro, Kerry Whalen, Ryan Zajac

Non-Paddlers: Dawn Decker, Hannah, Elliot and Everet Zajac

Mascots: Kala the Pooch and Rio the Puss

Once again Owl Rafting was our home base. They are so paddler friendly! We took full advantage of their facilities – camping, showers, live music, fire pits and SAUNA (which was great after the cool runs early in the trip). Thank you Owl Rafting!

Never too early to think about next year, mark your 2025 calendar. Since this format seemed to work for so many, we will do it again! See you at Owl Rafting for a week (OK, technically 5 days) on the Ottawa River:

Wednesday August 20 through Sunday August 24, 2025

 

So here is a daily breakdown of all the daily juicy deets…

 

Wednesday, August 21

Level: +2.75

Weather: cloudy and 65 degrees

Participants: Paul, Mark, Jamie, Ryan and Jim

Afternoon Run

After the drive and a 3pm-ish arrival we opted for a full Middle run.

We scouted McCoy’s as Ryan mentioned it looked different than he remembered. It was the same as far as we could tell. Note that the Zoom Flume sneak route has been cleaned out from 2022’s tornado. Someone was busy with the chain saw – Chris – did you come up to Canada when we weren’t looking?!?

We had an uneventful run of McCoys – doing the usual “thread the needle” line. The group played around below the Horseshoes for a bit to get our big water legs under us again. At this level Baby Face was more “big boat” friendly. We then headed downstream. Ran all the usual Middle runs without scouting (walked Garvins of course). We floated into Iron Ring expecting a small drop and some squirrelly water. It is still a small drop at this level, but the water boils were quite dynamic. A couple of wall hits, rolls and a swim woke us up! Big No Name was quite interesting at this level last year so a couple of us took a quick peak. Everyone worked down the right-hand line without incident. Took off just as the sun was setting. A great start to the trip!

We headed back to camp and the group completed the day by relaxing over dinner with a few adult beverages.

 

Thursday, August 22

Level +2.6

Weather: sunny and 75 degrees

Main Participants: Paul, Mark, Jim, Jamie, Ryan and Leah

Middle Participants: Paul, Mark, Jim, Jamie and Ryan

Main Run

We opted for a Main run to start the day. No scout of McCoy’s rapid as we saw it yesterday afternoon. We spent a little time at Horseshoe and Baby Face, but just like yesterday, Baby Face was difficult, but not impossible, to attain at this level. After the lengthy flat-water paddle, we arrived at Upper Lorne (home of the Garburator). Ran through without a scout. Garb was not in, but it was still a big wave/hole! The Waikiki wave was in, and a few gave it a go. It was dynamic but did not hold a boat for very long. We proceeded down to Push Button which we found washed out.

We moved downstream to Butcher’s Knife and Normans. Not sure if Normans is less crazy at this level but everyone came through OK. Coliseum was BIG. Once through the very wide V-wave next to the Big Kahuna (what’s with all the Hawaiian references?!?), all hell broke loose. The preferred line would be hit the V, work left to get around Mikey’s Hole on the right. Well, that was the general plan, but some went right, some went left. I managed to be offline (that lead in water was fast!), went pretty much straight and hit most of the big stuff after the V. Two rolls later and I was at the bottom. Whew!

We found that the river right wave hole at Blacks is quite surfable at this level, so we spent a bit of time checking that out before heading to the takeout.

Afternoon Run

We headed back to camp for a quick lunch break and then headed back to the put in. We blasted though McCoy’s with a little play on Baby Face. The right horseshoe was good for small playboats, and we watched the locals surf and loop. A few of us gave it a go as well.

This time we were ready for Iron Ring and its mayhem. After that everyone’s energy level was getting low (or was it thoughts of beers back at camp?) and we quickly ran through the rest of the rapids – with a few surfs at Little No Name.

Saunas and warm showers were the rule of the day at this point as all were a bit chilled. Then we tucked into apps and adult beverages before setting about telling tall tales of the day’s adventures and mishaps.

We were all tired after our day, but it was a banner day all around and that is why we ventured north to this wonderful whitewater playland.

 

Friday, August 23

Level +2.4

Sunny with temps in the mid 70’s.

Main Participants: Paul, Mark, Jim, Kelsey, Leah, Becca, Tanner and Rubin

Short Main Participants: Leah, Tanner, Rubin and Kelsey

First Run - Main

Two of the new paddlers this year were Leah and Becca. (the two other Ottawa rookies being Peter and Jeff) Turns out that Becca had been banging around in Canada for a couple of weeks and Leah did not know she was going to be at the Ottawa. It also turns out they were roommates! The reunion was loud and exciting with the rest of us not knowing the details of what was going on until the screaming subsided.

No need for a scout of McCoys since everyone in this group knows the line. There were a couple of rolls, but everyone did fine. While heading down through Baby Face, Rubin was paying attention to his own shit not noticing Becca surfing Baby Face until it was too late. She “boofed” his boat and clipped Rubin’s chin with her bow. Just a scratch. (especially given what was coming – read on!) Talk about a little chin music!

Mark had a long swim in Coliseum. It took four boaters to give chase (Jim, Paul, Leah & Kelsey) and we still did not get him out until after Dog Leg! Damn, we need to work on our rescue skills.

Leah and Tanner switched boats at Brain Douche and ran the last few rapids in their newly acquired crafts. When we got to the takeout, we were going to jump into Leah’s car for the shuttle but first let’s get a bite to eat! It was then that Leah discovered her snacks were in her boat and it was currently surfing Blacks under Tanner’s direction. Then she also realized that her car keys were in the same location. We waited for the entire group to assemble before setting up for the second run.

In past years, we would head back to camp between runs. This sometimes led to demotivation (in other words, cocktail hour) and cancelation of the second run. This year we had a plan, bring lunch/snacks and head right for the put in for run #2. While there was some complicated shuttle design to minimize travel, we managed to get boats and people to appropriate places, which included some to go back to camp for rest and relaxation. (in other words, sauna and beers)

 

Second Run - Short Main (Upper Lorne to the Takeout)

A small group of four opted for a short main run. I was not one of them and cannot account for any tall tales, but the run seemed pretty uneventful by all standards.

Some new folks came in Friday afternoon/evening (Kerry, Jeff, Pete and Peter) to add some energy to the tired group. That was a fun infusion.

Paul broke out his candle pot for the first time and we watched the flickering flames until it was time to retire – which wasn’t long!

We got a note from Ryan, who left Friday morning, that he and the family had broken down near Montreal and were holed up in an airport hotel. We would continue communication to see if we could assist in any way when the group headed back to Vermont on Sunday. As it turned out, Hannah and the boys took a bus to Montpelier on Sunday morning and Ryan rented a U-Haul and towed the VW camper back home on Monday.

 

Saturday, August 26

Level +0.25

Weather: sunny with temps about 80

Middle Participants: Paul, Rubin, Tanner, Kelsey, Jim, Pete, Peter, Kerry, Jeff and Mark

Short Main Participants: Jim, Paul, Kelsey, Pete, Tanner and Rubin

Morning Run – Middle Channel

As discussed above, the level dropped by almost two feet overnight. For what reason we do not know. But we will take it!

We scouted McCoy’s since Jeff and Peter had not seen it before. They opted for a Zoom Flume run with Kerry. Not a bad idea for the first time down the Ottawa!

The Middle was a good warm up for those that came into town last night. It also provided for some good play. At this level, Iron Ring was back to being a small drop with manageable squirrelly water at the bottom.

Just above Butterfly, I noticed a group of kids getting ready to jump into the river and swim through the rapid. But they were waiting for us to run the rapid. I also noticed Tanner head over there – I figured he needed a nature break. Once below the rapid, I watched the kids swim down through. Then I saw Tanner was one of them! He couldn’t let them have all the fun! That’s our Tanner, just a big kid at heart.

We all walked Garvins. Well not everyone. Tanner decided to give the Dragon’s Tongue slot (the BIG one) a go! The group cheered as he styled it! Kelsey got it on video so we can prove it happened.

Second Run – not what was planned

Again, we skipped plans to head back to camp between runs. Peter, Kerry, Jeff and Mark helped with the shuttle and then headed back to camp. The rest of us (six) geared up for an uneventful run down the main. Little did we know…

Garb was just coming in at this level – down to about 0.0 on the Upper Lorne put in gauge (which does correlate to the upstream Owl gauge). A few folks gave Garb a go with Pete and Tanner getting the best rides. Others just peeled out and tucked back into the eddy behind Whale Rock. During one of these peel outs, Rubin flipped in Garb, missed a few rolls and swam. He did not manage to get right (through Waikiki) and floated through the rocky middle section of Lower Lorne, forever to be known as Rubin’s Rocks. Paul and I provided chase. Rubin knew he took a hit to the shin but did not understand the damage done until we got him out of the water. Two big gashes on his right shin. Those are going to leave a mark. We signaled for the paddles that had wandered down to Push Button that they needed to come back. We aborted the trip at that point. Kerry earlier had volunteered to run Rubin’s truck down to the takeout to make it all easier, but we opted to leave his truck at the Garb put in. Good move as if this plan had actually worked out, we would have been stuck at the put in needing a ride with no vehicle!

We loaded up and somberly headed back to camp. During the trip Kelsey asked if anyone had ever made a trip to the hospital in the decades we have been running this trip. I answered, “not once”. So, another Ottawa first but one we will not relish.

Rubin and Tanner headed to Renfrew for hospital care. The rest of us stayed back at camp for tequila night. While we did consume, our spirits were with Rubin a half hour away. Dawn had written a new Ottawa song, and she planned to perform it during cocktail hour with her on uke & vocals, Rubin on fiddle and Tanner on guitar. Guess we will need to wait until next year for that performance. To add to our damp mood, a brief, but very wet, band of showers came through. It sent folks scurrying for the sauna and inside the RV. Once past, the candle pot returned and so did the kayakers.

Rubin sent me texts with updates: a four hour wait in the ER, getting stiches now, 17 stitches total, grabbing a bite at Wendy’s, will be back at camp soon. We stayed up to greet their 11pm arrival into camp. There were gory tales with talk of bloody booties, floors and towels. Everyone was relieved to have Rubin back and (sort of) in one piece.

 

Sunday, August 25

Level -0.0

Weather: sunny and 80

Middle Participants: Jim, Paul, Peter, Kerry and Jeff

Main Participants: Tanner, Pete, Kelsey, Leah and Becca

The Last Run

One of the nice things about the Ottawa is the plethora of run options. We all had different plans for today before we hit the road. Pete opted for dawn patrol on Garb, arriving there at 6:30am and then met the crowd at the put in. The rest of the group split into two – one for the Middle and one for the Main. Rubin helped with the shuttle to make it all easier. Side note: the hospital nurse had explicitly told Rubin to stay off the water the day after his injury. She could tell he would be the type to suit up and jump in without a second thought!

We all started together at McCoy’s. We also set separate shuttles, so we did not have to coordinate our run times. That was for naught as both groups got to the takeout at the exact same time!

Jeff scouted McCoys and decided to give it a go! It turned out like many maiden voyages down this rapid – he was introduced to Phil, and not in a good way.

Both groups were low energy and there was very little play – even though it was there for the taking. The Main had more paddlers so there was some competition for the best play spots. The Middle was very quiet, we felt like we had the river to ourselves.

On the Middle run, Peter and Jeff had some exciting moments in Big No Name, which does happen from time to time. Kerry styled the left line by herself.

We were back in camp just about 2:00. A little later than normal but to be expected with full runs being the option for the day. We packed up, showered, ate some lunch and said our goodbyes. We all vowed to meet up again next year. Same Ottawa Time, same Ottawa Channel (see what I did there?). Everyone was on the road around 3:00. Rubin and Paul passed me before we even hit Ottawa, and I had a good head start! Dawn and I stopped for a creemee in Alburg on the way home – they are huge! (can you say dinner?!?) With a later start I assume everyone got home after dark. We rolled in around 10pm and Rubin mentioned he got home around 9.

I never heard from anyone Sunday evening so I will assume the ride home (including the border crossing) was uneventful and everyone had sweet whitewater dreams that night.

 

I hope everyone enjoyed the trip as much as I did!

 

See y’all next year…

 

JimP