DIRTY DOZEN
Every year, spring runoff entices paddlers to brave the frigid water, unpredictable levels and boulder-strewn runs of the Northeast. The breadbasket states challenge even seasoned class V paddlers with some of the wildest, most technical drops, canyons, gorges, creeks, undercuts and falls in the country. Rapid asked veteran Northeast hair boaters for their pick of the region’s 12 toughest runs. Pack a clean pair of shorts if you fire up a spring road trip to any of our dirty dozen.
THE HARDEST SPRING RUNS IN THE NORTHEAST
Oswegatchie River U P S T A T E N E W YO R K
Each section of the Oswegatchie can be run on its own or combined into one of the best days on any river. The Fine section is paddled the least and has a handful of big, powerful drops that will truly test your courage. The Middle Branch saves its crux for the end of the run— Sluice Falls. This is a steep, multistage drop that pinches through an opening just over a boat width wide with a rock outcropping that can literally knock your block off. Drive hard river left, duck and cover. —Phil Kompass and Geoff Boyd
Big Branch River D A N B Y ,
V E R M ON T
The continuous nature of the Big Branch can mean 15-minute laps for boaters who know their way around the river or a full-day mission for groups unfamiliar with the run. Slick rock walls line cave drops, but the true beauty of the Big Branch comes from its seemingly endless boofs and relentless action. —Nate Warren
34 RAPID SPRING 2011
Raquette River C OL T ON , N E W Y ORK
The Raquette will keep your pride in check. Maybe it’s the hyper-aggressive rock or the shallow—but not shallow enough—slides, or maybe it’s the channel-wide holes that make it so ominous. Starting off with a 50-foot chute into a hungry hole, this river packs a lot of white- water into its one-and-a-half-mile length, mak- ing it great for a multi-run day. —Phil Kompass
West Branch of the Pleasant River
B R O W N V I LLE J U N C T I O N , M A I N E
Gulf Hagas is a three-mile section of whitewater along the northern reaches of the Appalachian Trail. It boasts clean waterfalls, long technical rap- ids and mandatory class V. Hundred-foot, over- hanging cliff walls with protruding ice formations characterize a typical late spring run down Hagas. A bad place for broken gear, this is frequently a place of broken egos, too. —Nate Warren
Gulf Hagas—
Pemigewasset River F R A NCO N I A NOTC H , NE W H A M P S H I R E
The put-in for this run used to be right below the Old Man in the Mountain, a famous rock forma- tion that can be seen on signs and license plates throughout New Hampshire. They didn’t move the put-in; the old man’s face fell off in 2003. As for the river itself, its challenging drops are most difficult at high water when the granite slides are fluid and the perpetual whitewater causes sec- tions to blend together. —Nate Warren
Middlebury Gorge E A S T M I D D L E B U R Y , V E R M O N T
The Middlebury Gorge is one of the holiest plac- es to paddle. The inner gorge is sure to amaze even the most well traveled boater with a 15- foot vertical drop, an elusive boof and two un- dercut eddy pools below. If you don’t know the lines, follow close behind someone who does. Otherwise you risk landing in one of the many undercuts that make a clean run through the Middlebury so critical. If the first quarter mile feels like boat abuse, you probably hit the gorge at its best. —Nate Warren
Upper
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