PDA

View Full Version : NH,ME,MA> Next Kayak Trip p Planning



atrane21
05-25-2014, 21:51
Ok so im ready for the next yak trip!! Lets starting the planning!!

Lets hear your ideas.

Snaggletooth
05-25-2014, 21:55
Yes ... , I'm interested. Hit some islands off Boston , Connecticut river ,Or the Saco again. Idc

dingbat
05-26-2014, 12:50
I'd like to do a piece on the Connecticut. I've done Canaan to Guildhall, and would like to do the next piece. Possibly Guildhall to Barnet. But if you guys wanted to start an annual trip piecing the river together, you wouldn't have to twist my arm to do Canaan to Guildhall again. Fun piece of river. Some bony areas, class II rapids, couple portages over fords, and a breech dam or two to navigate. Very pretty country.

http://www.connecticutriverpaddlerstrail.org/access_points

Weekends of June 7-8, and 28-29 should work great for me. I can take extra days on either end of them. 14-15 will work, but I can only take the Mon, Tue after. Have to work Fri the 13th.

atrane21
05-26-2014, 13:44
Im up for whatever. Islands sound cool, Connecticut sounds like a nice float, and of course the saco we could just continue on from where we left off.

prsmith25
05-27-2014, 15:21
would anybody consider a 4 day paddle/hang at Stephen Phillips memorial preserve up in maine?

atrane21
05-27-2014, 15:22
What dates are u shooting for? I may be up for that? Any other details?

Snaggletooth
05-27-2014, 16:37
I'll post this since Im the one that brought it up. Excuse my ignorance but I don't know how a canoe would do in the ocean. Also we would have to be aware of the tide. Just a thought I'm open to any location.
Rumer has it some spots on the islands are haunted.
If it turns out too dangerous to paddle maybe we can ride over on the ferry boat and camp sometime in the future.

http://www.outdoors.org/publications/outdoors/web/paddling-boston-harbor-islands.cfm
http://www.reserveamerica.com/camping/boston-harbor-islands-sp/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=MA&parkId=32603

Description
The Boston Harbor Islands offers primitive service camping within sight of downtown Boston on 4 different islands - Peddocks, Bumpkin, Grape and Lovells. While you are camping, you can see the sunrise over the harbor and experience the islands in a whole new light. This rustic camping adventure offers a unique experience and may also require additional planning. On the islands there are composting toilets only, no showers, no supplies and access to fresh water is only available on Peddocks Island. Campers must bring one gallon of water per person per day. Please plan to carry it all in and carry it all out.
The camping season generally runs from the end of June through Labor Day weekend. Reservations are required and can be made through ReserveAmerica. Individual campsites accomodate 4 adults or 2 adults and their dependent children and group sites are available for larger parties. One night reservations are accepted.

Island access is by private boat or ferry service only. Please see additional details about the ferry service below.
Resident staff live on the island during the visiting season and provide island supervision, park and campground management as well as offer island tours and educational programs.
New: Peddocks Island campground offers newly constructed yurts and campsites!
IMPORTANT: MA State Parks prohibits the transportation of firewood into or out of MA State Park Campground facilities. Firewood from annual maintenance and clearing is available on islands. Small campfires are only allowed at or below the high tide line. Transportation of firewood into or out of MA State Park Campground facilities may result in eviction, or substantial fine, or both.
Facilities:
Camping on the Boston Harbor Islands can only be accessed by boat. Public ferries travel to Grape, Bumpkin, Lovells, Peddocks, Spectacle and Georges Islands during the summer season. Passenger ferries are located at Long Wharf North in Boston, the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, and the Hingham Shipyard in Hingham. For a ferry schedule and to purchase tickets please visit Boston Harbor Cruises or call 617-227-4321.

Snaggletooth
05-27-2014, 16:43
I'd like to do a piece on the Connecticut. I've done Canaan to Guildhall, and would like to do the next piece. Possibly Guildhall to Barnet. But if you guys wanted to start an annual trip piecing the river together, you wouldn't have to twist my arm to do Canaan to Guildhall again. Fun piece of river. Some bony areas, class II rapids, couple portages over fords, and a breech dam or two to navigate. Very pretty country.

http://www.connecticutriverpaddlerstrail.org/access_points

Weekends of June 7-8, and 28-29 should work great for me. I can take extra days on either end of them. 14-15 will work, but I can only take the Mon, Tue after. Have to work Fri the 13th.
I can't make the 7-8 ,The 27-29 is the Harold Parker Hang, 14-16-17 Im free. (Im off on Sun, Mon and Tuesdays) can take a Saturday If I must.

dingbat
05-27-2014, 17:56
would anybody consider a 4 day paddle/hang at Stephen Phillips memorial preserve up in maine?

That's on Mooshead, which is part of the Norther Forest Canoe (ok... and kayak) Trail, correct?

http://www.northernforestcanoetrail.org/

Yes, I would.




Excuse my ignorance but I don't know how a canoe would do in the ocean.

As well as the guy rigging and handling it does...so I'm not sure either, guess we'll have to find out:thumbup1:


I can't make the 7-8 ,The 27-29 is the Harold Parker Hang, 14-16-17 Im free. (Im off on Sun, Mon and Tuesdays) can take a Saturday If I must.

Just now realizing the 15th is father's day, so I may be out for that depending what my kid is up for, and what sort of situation I'm willing to take her along in to. If you want to do islands that day I'm out, but don't sweat it. It sounds cool enough that I'm sure I could talk you into doing it again at a later date, maybe in July or Sept. I may look for a simple over-night that weekend, or just hang out with the fam. at home. I think we have enough paddling destinations that we just have to start picking dates for each one and knocking them off. 5th-8th of July I should be up for anything. If you want to do islands that weekend, great, but if you make islands June 14th-17th, I'll make the CT July 5th-8th.

How's that sound?

Snaggletooth
05-27-2014, 18:00
Yeah, I can't go Father's Day either sorry I forgot about it.

dingbat
05-27-2014, 18:07
Alright, so pick a date for islands. Does July 5th-8th work for you? When you have islands date, I'll work CT around it.

Oh and Gerry, I'm not taking a ferry to go camping when I have a whole side yard full of perfectly crappy small boats.:laugh:

Pretty good island intel. here:
http://www.wtpaddlers.org/trips.html

Snaggletooth
05-27-2014, 18:46
I can do the 6th-8th I already tried to get the 5th off and cannot.

Well if it has to be a small crappy boat count me in!

dingbat
05-27-2014, 18:51
That might work perfect for islands then since they don't have to be done in any particular order, it would be easy to set an itinerary, and anyone who wanted to come out anywhere from the 5th through 8th could just meet the group wherever they are on a given day. Shall we start getting some sites lined up? Roll call?

Hell, if I went out for overnight on the 5th, I might be willing to meet you back on the mainland morning of the 6th if no one else is coming out that morning.

atrane21
05-27-2014, 20:26
Id be in for that weekend. Ill probably have off friday the 4th so I may head down then and stay a bunch of days! Haha
Havent had a chance to go through all the details but is there free primitive camping or is it reservations/payment required?

dingbat
05-28-2014, 21:27
Best I can tell, it's reservations required for the primitive camping. I don't see anything available for the night of the 4th or 5th, but we can string some stuff together for the 6th on. Sites look like aprox. $6/night for up to 4 people if I'm reading it correctly.

atrane21
05-29-2014, 10:05
that being 4th of july weekend is probably why it's all booked. I'd love to go out there for the 4th i'm sure boston has some good fireworks that we could watch from the island.
Also, just read that there is no fires allowed at the camp sites.

edit: any chance you guys would want to do that CT river that weekend instead?? This would be a long weekend and could get more time out for less $$$ haha.

dingbat
05-30-2014, 08:32
I'm fine with that, but I'm working on the 4th so the earliest I could get there is Sat morning and it sounds like gastar is working that day.

atrane21
05-30-2014, 09:24
ok i can check work my schedule and try to get monday off. So i could sat-mon MAYBE tuesday.

Snaggletooth
05-30-2014, 11:36
I can't get the 5th off. You can w/o me on that one though if you want to go that weekend.

atrane21
05-30-2014, 11:59
I can't get the 5th off. You can w/o me on that one though if you want to go that weekend.

if u can do 6-8th still we can meet you at a put in point sunday morning and we can all cruise the rest of the way!

sunshower
05-30-2014, 14:44
We would be in but both work that July weekend. Boo!

Snaggletooth
06-01-2014, 18:24
If that works I'll go with the flow

dingbat
06-02-2014, 15:22
Time to pick a section then. :thumbup1:

Snaggletooth
06-03-2014, 19:02
http://www.connecticutriverpaddlerstrail.org/recommended_trips
I can't decide , I see several I like. Lyman Falls? Canaan to Gilman sounds fantastic but its a four day trip.

dingbat
06-03-2014, 21:02
Cannan to Guildhall is 2 or 2-1/2 days of paddling. Covers the best parts of that trip too, which is watching the river change from a rocky stream, to the broad, farm valley, river that runs the rest of the way down through MA and CT. Atrane and I could explore some of the stuff up stream of that the day before you arrive and we could meet in Canaan Sun morning.

atrane21
06-04-2014, 06:53
I'm open for what ever you guys decide. i'm just ready to get out again! haha

Am i looking at the right place? Canaan, VT by the canada border correct?

dingbat
06-04-2014, 10:14
Yessir.



10char

Snaggletooth
06-05-2014, 11:48
Canada is wY to far for me on this one

atrane21
06-05-2014, 11:52
We could always go back to the Saco and start where we finished last time and keep going.

dingbat
06-05-2014, 18:48
There's plenty of bits of the CT to do. Closest one is 2 or 2 1/2 hours from you guys. We can choose another section. Just tell me your max travel time.

atrane21
06-05-2014, 19:13
As I said im up for whatever. Travel normally isnt a big deal for me (drive a prius haha) but cheaper the better! Haha

atrane21
06-09-2014, 06:55
Do we have an idea on where we're going yet??

dingbat
06-10-2014, 21:01
CT river starting at Guildhall is 20 min further from Boston than our put in at the Saco. Anything further south is even less time.

Jerry? How far can you go?

A friend and I did Turner's to Holyoke last weekend. 35 mi. in 14 hours of paddling. Put in 6pm Sat. Paddled for 2 hours and covered almost 10 mi. in swift current. Camped on a really cool island where we couldn't see a single light other than the moon. Woke up to a deer snorting at us 5-8 feet from our hammocks at 2:30am.:scared: It ran to the other side of the island and snorted again. Put in at 8:15 next morning. Current had dropped significantly and light south breeze had us drifting up-stream if just sitting. Paddled nearly non-stop for 12 hours. Awesome trip, but, Uff-da! I'm still whooped. Was my friend's first time trying a hammock. I think he thought it was a hell of a lot better than sleeping on the ground. Would have been a nice pace if we broke the section up in to 3 full days. As it was, we did it in a day and 2 hours.:tonguesmilie:

Snaggletooth
06-10-2014, 22:37
I would say no further than last time at this time. Thanks for sharing your trip report

atrane21
06-11-2014, 06:53
Sounds like an awesome trip!! Thanks for the invite! Haha

Could you come up with a route thats a little closer for gastar? We should probably get something nailed down shortly since the 4th is coming up quick.

dingbat
06-11-2014, 12:45
Closer or same drive time?

Woodsville, NH, below Ryegate Dam, is the same drive time from Boston as Fryeburg, ME.
Hanover, NH is approx half an hour less drive time.

In Hanover, there is Ledyard Canoe Club. According to the gal I spoke with today, we can park at the club free of charge, and use their dock to take out, or put in. I was thinking we could do Woodsville (need to figure out parking or shuttle) or Knoxland (sounds like a tough put in but parking is convenient) to the Ledyard Canoe Club. Trip distance approx 42-45 river miles. If you guys feel this is too many miles for the time we have, we can find a closer put-in. Next three access points put us at 36, 33, and 27 river miles to the Canoe Club.

So, How much time we got, and how hard do you want to work?:)

Access Points (http://www.connecticutriverpaddlerstrail.org/access_points)

atrane21
06-11-2014, 12:47
Im good with getting some mileage. Are you still up for doing an extra day dingbat and then meeting up with gastar?

dingbat
06-11-2014, 13:10
Absolutely.

Starting the 5th? Going 'til what day?

atrane21
06-11-2014, 16:33
What ever day u want haha

dingbat
06-11-2014, 17:31
Word.

I'll figure out the logistics, but I'm thinking 7/5 we drop a car at Ledyard. Drive w/gear and boats with my car & trailer to Ryegate. I'll have to figure parking within walking distance there or get a taxi. Figure where we'll stop that night, and what the next put-in after is. We can meet Gastar there the next morning-noon, 7/6 after we get going. That'll give him time to get up and sorted. All paddle and camp. 7/7, Paddle and camp again. 7/8, Paddle, take-out Put gear in car, leave boats at Ledyard. Drive north to get cars, back to Ledyard to pick up boats.

I'll work out the details of where to park and gastar's put-in if this sounds good to everyone. I can spec. out some possible camp locations too.

atrane21
06-11-2014, 18:10
Sounds like a plan! Anyone else excited?! Haha

atrane21
06-12-2014, 07:42
Just put in the leave days so i can make the whole trip. Should hear back shortly (shouldn't be a problem).

Snaggletooth
06-12-2014, 22:57
Sounds
Ike a plan!

atrane21
06-26-2014, 11:18
Are we still on for this?

dingbat
06-29-2014, 20:52
Yup. Got to nail down some details this week.
Just got back in to town.

atrane21
06-30-2014, 07:01
As much as i hate to do this i'm going to have to skip this one. I want to go soooo bad, especially after the great hang this past weekend. But after looking at the calender this will be the only time i can get down to PA to see my wife and girls until the end of august.
Hopefully we can schedule another one soon because i REALLY want to get out again.

dingbat
06-30-2014, 07:26
:scared: Really???

I guess you get a pass for family. Hope you have a good trip.

Jerry, where are you at? If this isn't going to work out, I'd rather see if I cover for the guy on at work this weekend so I can take a scheduled one off later in the summer.

Snaggletooth
06-30-2014, 08:08
No problem we will paddle again. From the sounds of it at the Harold Parker Hang lots of other people want to join us next time. We should pick a new date.

atrane21
06-30-2014, 08:16
Let's see if we can find a date that works for a bunch of people. I'm free almost every weekend so just let me know dates and we'll go from there.

Again sorry for the last minute back out.

dingbat
06-30-2014, 08:54
Again sorry for the last minute back out.

No worries man, it happens. I'll probably do a local overnight Mon-Tue with my buddy out here.

We need to be careful about group size and the type of trip we do. Anything over a small handful of boats and the program has to swing more toward reserved campsites rather than just picking an out of the way spot where you're not likely to be noticed. Shuttling, and the time it takes, can become more daunting as well.