| June 2001 |
| Volume 3, Issue 2 |
| THE |
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RAP |
| Inside this Issue: | The Season Is Here! | ||||||
| Paddling in Maine | 2 | Boating season has truly started now, judging by the number of calls we get about what?s running in the area. We had an incredible couple of weeks of abundant water during the spring runoff and now the reservoirs are nice and full for our summer releases. People were running everything from the Cold, the West, the Dryway, Wave-o-saurus, and pretty much every creek in the area. After a brief dry spell, the water table has now been replenished by a healthy couple of inches of rain, so we should be in good shape for the summer releases on the Deerfield. So now?s the time to brush up on River Rescue Skills and/or take an instructional clinic, from novice to Rodeo so you can get a head start on the summer. |
There are some great boat deals inside, and keep in mind, if you belong to a paddling club, you are always entitled to a 10% discount on accessories in our Outfitters Shop.
We have a whole lineup of new boats to try. The most popular ones to be demo?d lately include the Ego and SuperEgo from Dagger, the Dominatrix from Riot, the Switch from Necky, and the EZ and Big EZ from WaveSport. We are eagerly awaiting the Sub7 from Pyranha and the first boat, the Session+, from a new boat manufacturer, LiquidLogic. We have a full lineup of paddling accessories from IR, Bomber Gear, RapidStyle, Lotus, & Kokatat, so come see what?s new. |
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| Club Discounts | 3 | ||||||
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10th Annual Zoar Outdoor Film Series |
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| River Rescue Clinics | 3 | ||||||
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Releases for Various New England Rivers
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The Outfitters Shop |
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April 1 - October 15 Tuesday - Friday Saturday - Sunday (closed Mondays) |
9am - 5pm 8am - 6pm |
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October 16 - October 31 Wednesday - Sunday |
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November 1 - February 29 Tuesday - Friday |
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March 1 - March 31 Wednesday - Sunday |
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I remember distinctly my first paddling trip to Maine. I had been paddling for a season and a half and had just done my first run of the Dryway, with the obligatory swim of Dragons Tooth. I went to Maine with a group of paddlers who were all more advanced than I was and I planned to try the Kennebec, starting with the lower section and maybe doing the Gorge if I felt up for it. I had a successful run from Carry Brook down to the Forks on the Kennebec the first day; I even felt like it was a little tame for me, although it was good to get a sense of what that volume of water (4800-6000cfs) feels like.
There was no scheduled release on the Dead, but we got a huge rainstorm (adding to the fun of camping out!) and we heard from the outfitters up there that the Dead was running. No one could tell us how high and it wouldn?t have meant anything to me anyway. So we ventured up to the put in, making several wrong turns on the way and not seeing anyone else on the road up. When we got to the put in, the people in our group who had done the Dead before thought it looked quite high, but they weren?t really sure. Perhaps this was the point at which we should have opted out, but if you?ve ever driven the Dead shuttle, you would know how hard it would be to drive all the way back out without paddling! We knew that Poplar Falls was the biggest rapid and we thought that there was a sneak on the right side, so any time it looked like we were coming up to a big rapid, we all ran it river right! Little did we know that Poplar was very near the end of the sixteen-mile run and river right wasn?t necessarily the best line! It is amusing in retrospect to think of all of us running every rapid on river right like little ducks in a row! I do remember there being many large and scary holes and having to concentrate very hard to avoid them. I also believe that I found the largest hole in Poplar Falls Rapid that day and it mercifully spit me out after a brief thrashing. I learned a great deal that day about reading water! Since I had survived relatively unscathed from the Dead at high water, I decided to give the Kennebec Gorge a try the next day. Most of the Alleyway (the heart of the gorge section where most of the big rapids are) is a blur because someone in our group was swimming so we ran it very quickly following her. She was okay |
but somewhat low on oxygen by the time she made it to shore. I do remember some really big wave trains that I could not see over the top of. Anyone tackling the gorge should feel quite confident in their rolling ability.
The final major rapid on this section is Magic Falls. There is a definite horizon line which is fairly intimidating looking. Scouting is not too hard; it just involves a 10-minute hike down the shore. I had guided this rapid in a raft before so felt confident that I could find the line. I managed to hit the big wave with the rooster tail and got a face full of water and avoided the dreaded Maytag hole which is just downstream and a couple of other holes that are in the runout of the drop. I still recall the elation I felt looking back upstream at Magic Falls knowing I had not only survived it, but managed to hit my intended line. Below you?ll find some hopefully useful logistical information about paddling the three most popular whitewater runs in Maine and a little extra about 2 other Maine gems, the Rapid and the Magalloway Rivers.
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While you?re up there, the Kennebec is definitely worth a look as well. You can put in at the dam below Indian Lake and run the 4-mile class III-IV gorge or you can put in at Carry Brook and run the 8 miles of class II-III back into The Forks. The Kennebec is big water (it releases at 4800 or 6000 cfs) but not very technical. Most of the play is big waves. Beware of big boily eddy lines! The Penobscot is about 2 hours via dirt road west of The Forks in Baxter State Park. It is the most challenging of the three, with the Ripogenous Gorge section containing (according to Lessels Classic Northeastern Whitewater Guide and the local rafting companies) class IV and V rapids. This section culminates in the notorious Cribworks rapid, the first class V rapid that I ran. It is easy to scout and/or portage. There are other sections downstream of this that are more class II and III, including a very fun and friendly waterfall called Neswadnehunk Falls (please don?t ask me how to pronounce it!), which has a flatwater pool right below it and can easily be run multiple times. Both the Kennebec and the Penobscot run every day of the week. The flow phone for the Kennebec is 800-557-3569. Listen for Harris Dam. The flow phone for the Penobscot is 207-723-2328 - listen for Ripogenous Gorge or McKay Station. The Rapid and Magalloway Rivers are also in Maine, near the NH border (not too far from Errol, NH), and both have scheduled releases in the summer (see back page). The Magalloway is rated at class III and the Rapid is III-IV. Their releases are complementary because they both feed into Lake Umbagog. Both are fairly technical runs and the Rapid has a fantastic play hole called Smooth Ledge where you can easily spend several hours. For more info about all of these runs, see Bruce Lessels? Classic Northeastern Whitewater Guide. |
River Rescue Clinics
Anyone who paddles should have at least a basic knowledge of river rescue skills. The more challenging the water you paddle, the more broad your knowledge of rescue skills should be. We offer one- and two-day Basic River Rescue Clinics. Encourage your paddling buddies to learn these skills as well since it could very well be you they are rescuing.
Our clinics are taught by highly experienced instructors, including Bruce Lessels, President of Zoar Outdoor and Kevin McMillan, Director of Rafting Programs here and in July, our guest instructor for the 2-day clinic on the 27th and 28th will be American Whitewater?s Safety Chairperson and well-known safety guru, Charlie Walbridge.
Clinic Dates:
Outdated clinic info removed.
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10th Annual
Zoar Outdoor Film Series (refers to 2001) June 9th Canoeing the Arctic Barrens Evan Perkins and Jim Abel led a 72-day canoe expedition to the most remote region of the Arctic Barrens north of the Hudson Bay in 1999 and will present slides from this incredible trip!
June 30th Purple Mountain Majesty
July 28th Mallory & Irvine Everest Research Expedition
August 25th Costa Rica Rios
September 29th Chilean Whitewater Come join us for some exciting adventures! These programs are free and open to the public. A simple summer barbecue starts at 5:00 pm for $5/person and shows begin at 6:00 pm in the Zoar Outdoor Pavilion. |
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Club Discounts!! MVPers, AMCers, NYKCCers and other paddling club members all get 10% off accessories in our Outfitters Shop all the time and $50.00 off the purchase of a new kayak. Just let us know when we are ringing up your purchase what paddling club you belong to. |
Outdated new boat sale info removed 7/15/2001
| West River Ball Mountain Dam and Townsend Dam |
Sat. April 28 & Sun. April 29 | 8:30am-4:30pm | 1500cfs |
| Sat. September 22 & Sun. September 23 | 8:30am-4:30pm | 1500cfs |
| Farmington River Otis Reservoir - New Boston section |
Sat. Oct. 13 & Sun Oct. 14 | (Farmongton Slalom Race) |
| Sat. Oct. 20 & 21 |
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Dead River Spencer Dam | |||||
| Saturday, May 5 | 7000+ cfs | Sunday, June 24 | 1300 cfs | Sunday, August 12 | 1300 cfs |
| Saturday, May 12 | 7000+ cfs | Saturday, June 30 | 2400 cfs | Saturday, September 1 | 1300 cfs |
| Saturday, May 26 | 1800 cfs | Sunday, July 1 | 1800 cfs | Sunday, September 2 | 5500 cfs / 1300 cfs |
| Sunday, May 27 | 5500 cfs | Wednesday, July 4 | 1300 cfs | Monday, September 3 | 1300 cfs |
| Monday, May 28 | 1300 cfs | Saturday, July 14 | 2400 cfs / 1300 cfs | Saturday, September 15 | 3500 cfs |
| Saturday, June 2 | 5500 cfs / 3500 cfs | Sunday, July 15 | 1300 cfs | Saturday, October 6 | up to 6000 cfs |
| Saturday, June 9 | 5500 cfs / 3500 cfs | Saturday, August 4 | 2400 cfs / 1300 cfs | ||
| Saturday, June 16 | 3500 cfs | Sunday, August 5 | 1800 cfs | ||
| Saturday, June 23 | 1800 cfs | Saturday, August 11 | 1800 cfs |
Rapid River
Subject to modification due to low lake levels.
| July 20 | 1300 cfs | August 4 | 1300 cfs | |
| July 21 | 1300 cfs | August 5 | 1300 cfs | |
| July 22 | 1800 cfs | August 10 | 1300 cfs | |
| July 28 | 1300 cfs | August 11 | 1300 cfs | |
| July 29 | 1800 cfs | August 12 | 1800 cfs | |
| Flows start at 6pm before 1st scheduled day and end 12noon last day. | ||||
Magalloway River
| June 23 | 900 cfs | July 8 | 1200 cfs | |
| June 24 | 900 cfs | August 18 | 1200 cfs | |
| June 30 | 900 cfs | August 19 | 1200 cfs | |
| July 1 | 900 cfs | August 25 | 1200 cfs | |
| July 7 | 1200 cfs | August 26 | 1200 cfs |
For Deerfield, West & Millers Release Dates
click here
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The Zoar Rap is edited by Evie Locke. Contact me at Zoar Outdoor with suggestions, feedback, ideas, etc. Copyright 2001 Zoar Outdoor Adventure Resort Inc. |
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