Participants: Reid Anderson (TC), Carolyn Atwood, Troad, Carol Futrell, Mike Timberlake, Paul, Paul, Ken, Brent
After a bit of discussion at the dam about shuttles and plans, our group solidified and headed off downstream. A few folks had been on the river (some in different craft) at higher water, and some had never been on the Kennebec at all. As such, I sort of fell into a defacto TC position. Despite the discussion at the dam, we managed to put on quite early and were able to make it to Magic before any of the “ramp up” flow caught up to us (I believe we were at Magic when the first step up in flow was scheduled to begin). It was easily the lowest I had seen Magic, which was not a upsetting as we all agreed we would prefer that than the other way around! Our run to the Stairs was completely uneventful and very enjoyable (I find those two often go together), playing around with eddies here and there, having conversation, and being able to enjoy the scenic beauty deep in the gorge. The only downside to our run being so early and so smooth was that we waited at the Stairs for longer than we would have liked, which left a few getting a bit chilly and having to find the spots of sun to stand in or shove off for the far side to wait in the sun closer to Northern’s lunch site. With the trickier stuff out of the way, we set off for the lower portion, taking our time enjoying the wave trains and slower waters on our float out to the ball field, arriving at the leading edge of the bubble before any commercial trips. Many thanks to Allan for his shuttle service and the engaging discussions that came along with it!