North East Roadtrip 2015 - Day 8
Waking up just a few miles from the Housatonic, we quickly woke up, packed up the car, and went to put-in to check out the flow. This was going to be a long day. Nine hours of driving to do and I hoped to talk Diane into stopping at Gettysburg for a few hours to sight see. With this in mind, we quickly made up our minds to ignore the cold morning and get started. To postpone the pain of the cold water, Diane decided she wanted to bike the shuttle to start the day rather than end it. So off she went, retuning with very cold hands!
The river starts with its best (in my mind). In fact, there are literally only 4 rapids on the run so I almost think this run wouldn't be worth it unless you live in Kent, unless you are thinking about running this rapid. The rapid went great, and we had tourist spectators so that is always fun. Downstream you quickly get to the Flume and then S-turn/Pencil Sharpener… and then just like that the run is basically done. Flat water to take-out. Sigh. Oh well, it was perfect for our day… we were back on the road by 10:30. And 4 wrong turns later, we were actually leaving.
That day we did get to go to Gettysburg. We just went into the visitor center to get a map, and began driving around the circuit. Gazing across the field, and walking in the steps of Picketts Charge, standing atop Little Round Top, straining our eyes to see the sharpshooters nest at Devil's Den in the distance. Although we only brushed the surface of the history at that field, I feel that it was a very worthwhile 1.5 hours. But at about 6:30 we decided to push on as we had 4.5 more hours to drive and had plans to boat in Fayetteville the next day. But the question loomed, will Lower Meadow be too high? We will run Mill Creek instead? What about Manns? Arriving at 11:30 in a downpour we opted for our first hotel room of trip and quickly fell asleep. With the alarm set for 6:45 am…
The flow we had was 3,660 cfs. I thought this was a great flow for the run. Staircase was fun and not too bad. The flume had a big seam. And S-turn and Pencil Sharpener although already combined into one rapid, weren't overly pushy and had just the right amount of splash to make them fun. I have heard in the 10's of thousands that this run is a hoot. But I imagine Staircase is gnarly. And the run would only last a few minutes.
Last: North East Roadtrip: Day 7 (Joe's Brook)
Next: North East Roadtrip: Day 9 (Lower Meadow)
