Pretty heavy rains in the northeast, especially in CT. The guage in my backyard filled to 4 inches and overflowed as did my joy. But river levels have been disappointing so far.
Went out yesterday to Satan's Kingdom section of Farmington. A very short paddle, but it was very scratchy at about 3.8 feet on the guage posted on Americanwater.org.
There were three sections of scratchy class II- rapids. And seemingly long sections of flatwater (exarcebated by the rocks). Never again Satan's Kingdom. Presented with this amount of water, paddling community will disappear.
But then there are other rivers close by Natchaug (couldn't find anyone to lead me down here), Bull's Bridge (still low), Tariffville (am I tired of running this section), and a few others, and I had to chose Satan's Kingdom, a wasted evening.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Dryway Aug 26th
Quick post so as not to lose out on the steam, and make this another of those abandoned blogs...
Aug 26th, was back on Dryway/Monroe Bridge section of the Deerfield river. It's a class III-IV river, which I had paddled once before. Usual releases on this river are either 900, 1000 or 1100 cfs (cubic feet per second, a cubic feet is about 7.5 gallons or 28.4 liters). On this Saturday, it was more like 1200 cfs or more as a result of the rain the previous night. That's about 34,000 liters of water rushing past you per second.
In the context of larger rivers, that might be a trifle of water. But Dryway is a respectable river. The class IIIs are on the tougher side of the scale, and class IVs are probably on the easier side of the scale depending on the water levels. (Analysis of the rating system sometime soon...)
Back to my experience. Last time I had paddled Dryway at 1100 cfs, I had rolled just once as a result of inability to stay upright, at Labyrinth (Cl IV). While on this occasion, the additional 100 or so cfs of water made the river a bit more pushy. And I rolled through False Tooth (cl III+), Dragon's Tooth (cl IV), and Labyrinth (cl IV).
Suppose, based on the rolls, I am not yet a class IV kayaker, but a class III one who can do class IVs on good days. I don't like the rating game, but it helps me be motivated, and attempt the harder stuff.
Aug 26th, was back on Dryway/Monroe Bridge section of the Deerfield river. It's a class III-IV river, which I had paddled once before. Usual releases on this river are either 900, 1000 or 1100 cfs (cubic feet per second, a cubic feet is about 7.5 gallons or 28.4 liters). On this Saturday, it was more like 1200 cfs or more as a result of the rain the previous night. That's about 34,000 liters of water rushing past you per second.
In the context of larger rivers, that might be a trifle of water. But Dryway is a respectable river. The class IIIs are on the tougher side of the scale, and class IVs are probably on the easier side of the scale depending on the water levels. (Analysis of the rating system sometime soon...)
Back to my experience. Last time I had paddled Dryway at 1100 cfs, I had rolled just once as a result of inability to stay upright, at Labyrinth (Cl IV). While on this occasion, the additional 100 or so cfs of water made the river a bit more pushy. And I rolled through False Tooth (cl III+), Dragon's Tooth (cl IV), and Labyrinth (cl IV).
Suppose, based on the rolls, I am not yet a class IV kayaker, but a class III one who can do class IVs on good days. I don't like the rating game, but it helps me be motivated, and attempt the harder stuff.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Confessions
I am a kayaking addict. I also refer to my plastic sub as my mistress.
My indiscreet affair with whitewater Kayaking began one winter night in Jan 2005 at an CT-AMC sponsored pool session. The term 'rolling' took on an entirely new meaning in my life. I was trying to kick my nicotine addiction and instead of losing one, I added on a new one.
At the pool session, I barely learnt to execute an eskimo roll, but that got me hooked to kayaking.
Come March, and I was rearing to be on the river. I equipped myself with the necessary gear (no I wasn't interested in renting out or trying out gear, I bought the gear outright!)
After much cajoling and begging, I convinced folks to take me on the river. By July 2005, I had my roll nailed, and I had attempted the first of class III runs. I also took many swims in the interim. But was I deterred - not one bit.
The bug had bitten me hard. Countless others before me have been bit by the kayaking bug. Most times individuals get the bug and to their surprise realize the same doesn't hold any interest amongst their old friends or family. In my case it was similar. My wife didn't want to do anything with whitewater kayaking. Kayaking, yes. Whitewater rafting, yes. Whitewater kayaking, she thought I was out to eliminate her in favor of my new found mistress (sigh - trust...) To my friends, kayaking was a one-time thingy one needs to check of their things-to-do list, but a lifestyle pursuit didn't make much sense.
So equipped with my new found addiction, I had to go find my support group. That wasn't that hard. Even if the addicts are few, their comraderie is legendary. What was hard though is to find experienced leaders to teach me the ropes. Cheapskate that I was (besides I had invested a ton in my gear), I didn't see value in instructionals, atleast in the beginning.
By end of 2005 season, I had been on the water about 40-50 paddling days, run a few class IIIs, one class IV (which I swam), my river running skills were somewhere close to lower intermediate level, my roll was solid, and had been through a River Rescue and Safety course wit Bruce Lessels.
So going forward, this blog is going to roll into my diary/journal/trip report/escape when I am not Kayaking or keeping up with my other roles in life.
My indiscreet affair with whitewater Kayaking began one winter night in Jan 2005 at an CT-AMC sponsored pool session. The term 'rolling' took on an entirely new meaning in my life. I was trying to kick my nicotine addiction and instead of losing one, I added on a new one.
At the pool session, I barely learnt to execute an eskimo roll, but that got me hooked to kayaking.Come March, and I was rearing to be on the river. I equipped myself with the necessary gear (no I wasn't interested in renting out or trying out gear, I bought the gear outright!)
After much cajoling and begging, I convinced folks to take me on the river. By July 2005, I had my roll nailed, and I had attempted the first of class III runs. I also took many swims in the interim. But was I deterred - not one bit.
The bug had bitten me hard. Countless others before me have been bit by the kayaking bug. Most times individuals get the bug and to their surprise realize the same doesn't hold any interest amongst their old friends or family. In my case it was similar. My wife didn't want to do anything with whitewater kayaking. Kayaking, yes. Whitewater rafting, yes. Whitewater kayaking, she thought I was out to eliminate her in favor of my new found mistress (sigh - trust...) To my friends, kayaking was a one-time thingy one needs to check of their things-to-do list, but a lifestyle pursuit didn't make much sense.
So equipped with my new found addiction, I had to go find my support group. That wasn't that hard. Even if the addicts are few, their comraderie is legendary. What was hard though is to find experienced leaders to teach me the ropes. Cheapskate that I was (besides I had invested a ton in my gear), I didn't see value in instructionals, atleast in the beginning.
By end of 2005 season, I had been on the water about 40-50 paddling days, run a few class IIIs, one class IV (which I swam), my river running skills were somewhere close to lower intermediate level, my roll was solid, and had been through a River Rescue and Safety course wit Bruce Lessels.
So going forward, this blog is going to roll into my diary/journal/trip report/escape when I am not Kayaking or keeping up with my other roles in life.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)