Mill Brook (Danby Slides)
| Stretch: | Easy St to Main St |
| Difficulty: | Class IV to IV+ |
| Distance: | 0.6 miles |
| Flows: | If Big Branch is going, this generally is. If Big Branch is high, this is likely great. Look at the West River at Londonderry for a correlation. 1,800 cfs is probably optimum for a medium/good flow. We had 1,500 cfs and felt it was a low flow. Visit the flow page |
| Gradient: | 230 fpm |
| Put-in: | Bridge at Easy St |
| Take-out: | Bridge on Main St |
| Shuttle: | 0.7 miles (2 minutes one way) |
| Season: | Spring from rain. Occasionally off of thunderstorms. |
| Written: | © 2015 |
| Featured in A Wet State #99 | |
North East Roadtrip 2015 - Day 3 Afternoon
After Big Branch, why not head 5 minutes out of the way for this short creek that, sure, may be a novelty but is a fine novelty at that! The creek has just a handful of rapids. Starts off a bit shallow but within minutes you start getting to the clean drops. I honestly think seeing this section at raging high might be a hoot. The falls start with two smaller drops before building, with a tight crack drop followed by a tall sideways falling drop. Below, the river races over a three step slide, racing ever faster down the gradient and into the pool below. And as fast as it started, the run is over. A mere 0.6 miles. At that length you wouldn't want this run to be high on your list. But after a day on Big Branch, why not add this fun little section to your docket. It is certainly worth it if you have never done it.
After our run and a quick bike shuttle we headed north again. As we drive I posted on Facebook about the great first day in Vermont and to my surprise I quickly get a message from a college friend who I had lost track of... turns out she lives 5 minutes from where we are heading for the night! Small world thanks to Facebook! Anyways, we make plans to see her the following night, and drive to Culley and Karie Thomas's house to visit with two friends who we used to live near in California, to dry our gear and get a warm night of sleep, and to collect some information to formulate a game plan for the next few days of river hunting.
We had 1,500 cfs on the correlation gauge for Big Branch and I felt it was on the lower end for this run. I think if the correlation was reading 2,000 cfs it would be a great flow.
Last: North East Roadtrip: Day 3 Morning (Big Branch)
Next: North East Roadtrip: Day 4 Morning (North Boquet)
- Boogie (II). The first few hundred yards are scrappy, bumpy, boogie... it doesn't last long though.
- First Slide (III). Well, we had to walk it due to wood. But it would have been a nice mellow slide
S-Turn (III+). A tight s-turn off the left bank had some wood in it but we were able to clear through. Diane opted to portage as where she hoped out to scout would have made getting back into the flow and avoiding the wood difficult.
Pinch (IV). A cool pinch slide that is just a boat width wide and drops over a 3 or 4 foot drop into a cauldron. At high flow this may become a sticky hole. At low flows momentum carried us straight through.
- Side Falls (IV+). A falls where the whole left side falls off and a bad piton rock is awaiting if you fall off too early. Be far right trying to stay right on the slide.
Pinch Slide (IV). Again, some wood was present. Was runnable, but we opted to walk it as we didn't want to get an eye poked.
Main Falls (IV+). Really cool. As the creek bends right, it drops down off a slide that starts off with two tiers maybe 10 feet tall and low angle. This then banks right and does a fast paced wall slide off the right. It then reduces its angle as you approach the exit into the pool below before accelerating into the pool itself. Just really fun. You can see it from the road if you hop out during shuttle. Take-out is just downstream after the bridge.
For more details on the run, see the AW write-up...
Take-out: On VT-7 in Danby, take Mt Tabor Ave to the east. Go 100 yards to the T and turn right on Main St. You will then cross the creek. The General Store has some great sandwiches. We left our bike there with their permission.
Put-in: Drive up the creek on Brook Rd past the General Store. Stay left at the fork and quickly cross the creek. At the Y, park in the turnout in between the intersection at Brook Rd and Easy St.
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