The Sweet Spot of River Height

S asked where I was going, and I replied, "At least as far as the Connecticut River, but maybe Rhode Island. I'll call when I get there." 

Sunday brought heavy rain to the area and caused severe enough flooding in some places that my friends from the west checked in with me. In the last few years, very heavy rain in small areas has occurred more often. Friends in Vermont have seen it first hand, and now in Connecticut. 10+ inches of rain dropped in a small area in the Naugatuck River Valley - bad enough to overflow the storm drains and turn some roads into temporary rivers, destroying the roads, flooding homes and businesses and destroying a couple houses. But while the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers were somewhat raging, 40 miles east, the Connecticut River showed barely any increase.

I put in at Bradford on the Pawcatuck. It is sunny with well built cumulous clouds and a light wind. The temperature is in the low 70's with dry air, a sign of the weather front that passed through on Sunday. There are 2 cars at the launch, one of which belongs to a fisherman. It looks like I will see few people today. The route is out and back, up the river as far as I can go, or care to go, whichever comes first.

Five minutes up I pass the first railroad bridge. Every stroke of the paddle, from now on, takes me away from the road and out into a large preserve of forest and swamp, not necessarily in that order. The water is very dark, but the tip of my paddle is fully visible beneath the surface. The water is dark partly due to the tannins in it, but also because there are no algae blooms. This is relatively cool water and free flowing as it is, it is oxygenated and fairly healthy as rivers near people go.

Wapato - the flowers and the arrow shaped leaf

The river might be a little high, but I haven't been here enough to gauge it by sight. The forest shrubs run into the river hiding the bank, and they do so at most any level. The first place that I'll be able to gauge the level will be at the broken dam at Burdickville. In the mean time, I think about how wild this relatively close river is. I see no birds for some time, a Kingfisher showing up a half hour out. Crickets seem to be the dominant wildlife, and their leg rubbing has drowned out any songbirds that I might have heard.

I pass two women in kayaks. That explains the second car at the put in. No doubt they are coming down from Alton Pond.

When I pull in to portage the Burdickville dam, the high water level is obvious. The portage is short and especially awkward, a 3 ft boulder hop up out of the old millrace, and it is water flowing through the millrace that shows the river level. I don't think I've ever seen water flowing in the race. Last time I was here in high water, I made it as far as the Wood River and called it a day, the current being too stiff to be fun. But, rivers are not linear - a calm river might become a raging torrent with high water, while a difficult rapid in another river washes out into smooth, fast water. We well see.

I reach the Wood River with little effort and continue, passing two kayak fishermen. My guess is that they came in from Alton Pond and just paddled a few yards up to a favorite fishing hole. The river narrows considerably above the confluence with the Wood.

The swamp flowers are going great guns. Pickerel weed is about done blooming, but I wapato is flowering, as are the pinks, reds and purples that I can't name. 

I pass the third railroad bridge, and then the New Kings Factory Road Bridge, my previous high point. The old dilapidated bridge has been replaced with a new shiny one. The current was really tough last time I was here, but it is not bad today. I continue. I haven't had to step out of the canoe except at Burdickville - deadfalls have been cut and the river is quite passable. I have hit an almost perfect river level for this trip...need to look up the gauge height when I get out.

Just before I come to a fourth railroad bridge, which I didn't know existed, I have my sighting of the obligatory Great Blue Heron. I can hear road noise now and I suspect that I am near the Jay Cronen access. I go a short ways up and decide it is time to return. (Checking the map later, I am within a 1000 ft of the access). 

It is a speedy descent with just enough weaving in and out of deadfalls to make it interesting. I flush an immature Bald Eagle on the way down. It has some white on the head, but none on the tail. I see three Osprey total, well spaced out.

4:45 round trip - about 16.5 miles
Pawcatuck gauge (Wood River Junction) = 2.75 ft.
A check of previous trips where I couldn't beat the current going upstream
At 3.5 ft, I could not get past Wood River.
At 2.4 ft, I could not get much past the New King Factory Rd bridge.