Participants: Helen Hess OC1, Sean Kluttz OC1, Reid Anderson OC1, Kenny DeCoster TC OC1, Ella Reilich-Godino and Regan Greer OC2, Ron Chase K1, Charlie Berliant K1
Many years ago, I paddled the ” Ice Breaker” when it was 33 degrees, cloudy, and windy and I told myself never again. I don’t want to freeze to death. I always insist in the trip book description that the temperature has to be above 40 degrees. Last week, people were so eager to paddle that I got out voted and gave in. Eight of us braved the 36 degree cloudy overcast weather to paddle the Soudabscook with a gauge reading of one half. At this level, the river isn’t pushy and most of the rocks are covered. We ran class III drops, rocky rapids, and various surf waves of varying intensity- a little something for everyone.
Helen brought along two alumni friends from COA. As fairly new paddlers, Ella and Regan had great lines through the rapids, maintained their composure with an unintended boof in Crawford Rapids and mastered a tandem surf on the smooth wave. It’s great to have new open boaters along who enjoyed the river so much. Everyone else had good runs down the river. Only the TC couldn’t stay upright and rode the run out of Grand Falls on the side of his canoe bracing against the gravel bottom.
Five paddlers “skimmed the cream of the Sou”* and got off the river at Papermill Park, while three of us continued on – losing all feeling in our fingers and toes. Along the forested section, I saw a small brown head sticking out of the water. It dove almost immediately. I believe I spotted my first swimming mink! There wasn’t much surfing at the snowmobile bridge and we took off at Laskey Lane so that we wouldn’t have to scale the snow banks at the regular take out- the water district. I can’t wait to get on the Marsh Stream next week.
* an apt description of the upper Sou uttered at the put in by our President.
