Camping from Dan MacFarlane on Vimeo.
24 July 2011
17 July 2011
River Report: T-Ville
River: Farmington River
Section: Tariffville Gorge
Discharge: 878 CFS
Gage height: 2.16 ft
Class: II-III
Date: 9-July-2011
Tariffville Gorge or T-Ville as it is known is home to the Whitewater Triple Crown. Erin and I headed there this weekend for our first paddle on this section of river. The gage level of just over 2 feet put it in the class III- rating. There are several play holes here, however we opted for more of a river run by carrying our boats slightly upriver. From here we were able to work on our ferries and other maneuvers, including our first encounter with some slalom gates. It was hard work with more paddling that usual against the current.
We eventually made our way down to the main features of this section, where the play holes are found. There were half a dozen play-boaters here forming an orderly line to enter, and then get ejected from, the main hole. We surfed in and out of the current, ran over some small drops, and got the feel of some of the larger holes we've seen so far. Needless to say we also got some roll practice in the current.
After a few hours tiring ourselves out, we carried out boats back to the car in search of some lunch. I'm sure we'll be at T-ville again as it seems like a great place to work on or skills.
Section: Tariffville Gorge
Discharge: 878 CFS
Gage height: 2.16 ft
Class: II-III
Date: 9-July-2011
Tariffville Gorge or T-Ville as it is known is home to the Whitewater Triple Crown. Erin and I headed there this weekend for our first paddle on this section of river. The gage level of just over 2 feet put it in the class III- rating. There are several play holes here, however we opted for more of a river run by carrying our boats slightly upriver. From here we were able to work on our ferries and other maneuvers, including our first encounter with some slalom gates. It was hard work with more paddling that usual against the current.
We eventually made our way down to the main features of this section, where the play holes are found. There were half a dozen play-boaters here forming an orderly line to enter, and then get ejected from, the main hole. We surfed in and out of the current, ran over some small drops, and got the feel of some of the larger holes we've seen so far. Needless to say we also got some roll practice in the current.
After a few hours tiring ourselves out, we carried out boats back to the car in search of some lunch. I'm sure we'll be at T-ville again as it seems like a great place to work on or skills.
10 July 2011
River Report: Zoar Gap
River: Deerfield River
Section: Fife Brook
Discharge: 850 CFS
Gage height:
Class: II
Date: 3-July-2011
Out first trip of the season to the Fife Brook section of the Deerfield River in Massachusetts. This section is dam controlled and due to the recent rain the release was running all day. As we neared the river, heavy rain was falling By the time we reach the put-in the rain had mostly passed and we met another group of paddlers we recognized from the Farmington River.
Once on the river, the first rapid, "Hangover Helper", did it's job as the cold dam released water woke us up. We let the commercial rafting trips pass us as we paddled downstream. There was a steady fog and slight drizzle lingering in the air. The weather must have deterred most people from the river as we only encountered a few other groups on the river as we paddled the 6 or 7 miles downstream towards the Zoar Gap.
While most of this section of river is class I-II, the the Zoar Gap is said to be class III making it the hardest part of this run. Erin and I were well ahead of the group at this point and decided to read-and-run the rapid. I led the way and dropped into the eddy at the top from between the two rocks on river left. Erin followed but dropped over the ledge a bit further left. Erin continued to make it safely through the holes at the bottom of the rapid with a great run. I however, proceeded to flip in a similar place as last year. This time thought, I was armed with my new and improved roll and in spectacular fashion (according to Erin) managed to roll up onto a sloping rock face on river left before being washed back into the water, upside down. My second roll was clean and I caught the eddy below the rapid to catch my breach.
We decided to run the rapid again by carrying our boats back upstream. For the second run I took a similar line as Erin and finally made it through the Zoar gap without flipping. By the time our third run came, we had been joined by the rest of the group. I took another slightly different line and again made it through without incident.
Here's a video of our final run through The Gap:
Section: Fife Brook
Discharge: 850 CFS
Gage height:
Class: II
Date: 3-July-2011
Out first trip of the season to the Fife Brook section of the Deerfield River in Massachusetts. This section is dam controlled and due to the recent rain the release was running all day. As we neared the river, heavy rain was falling By the time we reach the put-in the rain had mostly passed and we met another group of paddlers we recognized from the Farmington River.
Once on the river, the first rapid, "Hangover Helper", did it's job as the cold dam released water woke us up. We let the commercial rafting trips pass us as we paddled downstream. There was a steady fog and slight drizzle lingering in the air. The weather must have deterred most people from the river as we only encountered a few other groups on the river as we paddled the 6 or 7 miles downstream towards the Zoar Gap.
While most of this section of river is class I-II, the the Zoar Gap is said to be class III making it the hardest part of this run. Erin and I were well ahead of the group at this point and decided to read-and-run the rapid. I led the way and dropped into the eddy at the top from between the two rocks on river left. Erin followed but dropped over the ledge a bit further left. Erin continued to make it safely through the holes at the bottom of the rapid with a great run. I however, proceeded to flip in a similar place as last year. This time thought, I was armed with my new and improved roll and in spectacular fashion (according to Erin) managed to roll up onto a sloping rock face on river left before being washed back into the water, upside down. My second roll was clean and I caught the eddy below the rapid to catch my breach.
We decided to run the rapid again by carrying our boats back upstream. For the second run I took a similar line as Erin and finally made it through the Zoar gap without flipping. By the time our third run came, we had been joined by the rest of the group. I took another slightly different line and again made it through without incident.
Here's a video of our final run through The Gap:
07 July 2011
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