Post by Dave on Apr 12, 2009 11:44:13 GMT -5
Mitchell, Kyle, Mark and myself ran the Magaguadavic from Brockway to Second Falls over the weekend. Kyle and Mitchell had run this river before. It was new to me and Mark.
The water was fast and high. The ice had only broken up over the last week. Kyle and Mitch were running Pocket Canyons. Mark and I had good old Disco 169s (maybe not the best boats for this river in high water).
The first day was pretty uneventful. We passed through the Brockway Meadows fairly quickly. We were able to find a few shortcuts due to the water height. The water running under the covered bridge at Flume Ridge presented a few big waves, but we all made it through ok. We made camp a couple of kilometers below Pomeroy. The forecast had called for a possibility of rain. We were lucky. Temperatures dipped below zero overnight, but the rain never came.
The next day was filled with wild rapids and a couple of portages. All the rapids for the most part consisted of huge standing waves. Rocks were not a worry. The Discos took on a lot of water (I'll blame the boats and not the paddlers!), but no one swamped or tipped.
Long rips was our first big challenge. We had to line our boats down. This was a tedious job, and there was no way around getting a little wet. Poor Mark thought he was going to lose a toe to frostbite.
Our second portage, MacDougall Falls. It was unbelievable, and no one dared run it. It almost looked like there was a line running through the center ... If only the water wasn't so cold. We portaged around. Luckily there was a fairly well beaten trail we could use.
By the time we reached the takeout at Second Falls, I was completely exhausted. It was a great run and great way to kick off the season for me. I imagine Mitch will post some pics on his site.
As a side note, I had a chance to try out my SPOT satellite tracking device. I was able to send "OK" messages all along the river. Despite some of the bad reviews I had read, the device seems to work great.
The water was fast and high. The ice had only broken up over the last week. Kyle and Mitch were running Pocket Canyons. Mark and I had good old Disco 169s (maybe not the best boats for this river in high water).
The first day was pretty uneventful. We passed through the Brockway Meadows fairly quickly. We were able to find a few shortcuts due to the water height. The water running under the covered bridge at Flume Ridge presented a few big waves, but we all made it through ok. We made camp a couple of kilometers below Pomeroy. The forecast had called for a possibility of rain. We were lucky. Temperatures dipped below zero overnight, but the rain never came.
The next day was filled with wild rapids and a couple of portages. All the rapids for the most part consisted of huge standing waves. Rocks were not a worry. The Discos took on a lot of water (I'll blame the boats and not the paddlers!), but no one swamped or tipped.
Long rips was our first big challenge. We had to line our boats down. This was a tedious job, and there was no way around getting a little wet. Poor Mark thought he was going to lose a toe to frostbite.
Our second portage, MacDougall Falls. It was unbelievable, and no one dared run it. It almost looked like there was a line running through the center ... If only the water wasn't so cold. We portaged around. Luckily there was a fairly well beaten trail we could use.
By the time we reached the takeout at Second Falls, I was completely exhausted. It was a great run and great way to kick off the season for me. I imagine Mitch will post some pics on his site.
As a side note, I had a chance to try out my SPOT satellite tracking device. I was able to send "OK" messages all along the river. Despite some of the bad reviews I had read, the device seems to work great.