Without Distraction

It's been a few years since I've been on this stretch of the river even though I've always remembered it as a good trip. But, it is an oddball compared to my other favorites.

I put in under the 291 bridge, a few miles upriver of Hartford. The river is quite different than the sections that I paddle near Haddam, Essex and Lyme. Here, the river is in a broad flood plain that is mostly farmland, and some of the best farmland in the state at that. The river banks are well forested, so the fields aren't seen hardly at all. On top of that, there is almost no riverside housing. In fact, on the day's trip, there are only two houses, one of which is hard to see, and the other being an early 19th century farm house. 

The narrow channel

The river is about 1200 feet across with a 2:1 current. The first time I was up here I headed up into the Farmington River and I was struck with the feeling that Mark Twain would have brought his family here during the summer (Twain's restored house is in Hartford). It was easy to imagine Twain telling stories to his girls about his time as a paddleboat pilot on the Mississippi. 

The Farmington comes in on the left

But, this is what is special about this section - there are no distractions. There are no birds for me to ID and count, no houses, no bridges, no riverside roads, no docks, and finally, almost no boats. I see one bass boat about a half hour up the river, and that is the only boat I see all day. It's the only person I see all day. It's the river, the trees, the canoe, and myself.

Looking out of the Scantic

I head up the west side, taking the narrow channel up the mile long island that comes down from the mouth of the Farmington. I continue on and cross the river to mouth of the Scantic River. The first time I was in here, the river was blocked by a couple of massive deadfalls. The second time was during high water and I paddled right over the downed trees. Today, the big trees are at water level, having sagged and rotted with time. 

I turn and head back making good time on that 2:1 current.