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.