Jul 21: 2024: Kennebc River at Fish Flow

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!

Sep 15, 2024: Kennebec Gorge at 5000cfs

Suzanne and Gary Cole TC, Greg Winston, TJ Farnum, Peter Hockmeyer

Another gorgeous day for mid September. We had the pleasure of showing TJ, who had done the river once before, our favorite surf waves and the lines we run through the rapids. We lingered here and there, enjoying the river, the day and each other’s company.

Sep 17, 2023, Kennebec Gorge at 5000cfs

Kayakers: TC’s Suzanne and Gary Cole, Jeff Sweet, Ken Gordon, Paul LeClerc, Pat Cavanagh, Peter Hockmeyer, Matt Porter, and in a tandem duckie: Clyde Mitchell and Jessa Solis.

Clear blue skies and warming temperatures greeted us on the day after the storm. Once again, we made our way down the river surfing and squirting where we could. We had some rolls below Big Mama and in Magic but it all worked out well. Jessa and Clyde continued down while the rest of us took out at Carry Brook. There was a group of Connecticut boaters on the river and it was nice to see more than the usual number of kayakers enjoying a day on the Kennebec. We even saw Peggy Dwyer with a raft full of friends – that was a blast from the past. 

Sep 16, 2023: Dead River at 3500cfs

Kayakers: TC’s Suzanne and Gary Cole, Ken Gordon, Clyde Mitchell, Devon Carter, Pat Cavanagh, Paul LeClerc, Jeff Bickford, Jeff Swett, and in a Shredder: Bud Gilbert, and Scott Gee.

Hurricane Lee was looming large, but after carefully checking the weather, we decided we could probably get a day in on the river before the winds and rain hit. As it turned out, we had a couple of strong gusts and maybe some light rain, but the real rain held off until we were off the river. With nine kayaks and one shredder, we had an early start and as a result were off the river by 2:30. We made our way down stream, surfing our favorite spots and enjoying a more relaxed river than at 5500. Since we were early, we waited to have lunch below Elephant Rapid at Poison Ivy Beach (poison ivy easily avoidable). Braces and rolls were working well until the second half of Lower Poplar where we had two swimmers. It was not an easy place to get boats and bodies to shore, but we managed and no one was worse for wear.

There is currently no Webb’s shuttle, so we ran our own. Three of us hung out in a car at the public takeout, while another car took the drivers back to the put-in to get theirs. Addie Webb said she would be running Webb’s Shuttle next summer. We really hope she does!

Jul 23, 2023: Kennebec River, Ballfield to Forks Plantation Takeout

We had beautiful weather for our Kennebec River trip from the Ballfield in West Forks to a takeout in Forks Plantation about five miles downriver.  Held on the second day of the summer picnic, we waited for the 5,000 CFS release to arrive.  John and his friend paddled a tandem canoe and Nancy and Ron solo kayaks.  We were the only hard boats on the river but there were lots of tubers.  It was a very pleasant way to end a busy weekend.

Participants:  John Preble, John’s friend, Ron Chase, and TC Nancy Chase