First Descent
Well, I had to do it sooner or later. I bought the boat, and the gear, so it was inevitable. I saw that there was a class 2 whitewater trip on the schedule for the Appalachian Mountain Club, and I went for it.
Now keep in mind that I have paddled whitewater in the past --- long in the past in a Coleman canoe. Bunch of dumb, bored college kids looking for adventure. I had done a few short rapids and small drops on otherwise flat rivers in recent times, both in the canoe, and in the whitewater kayak, and I had also run a 1 1/2 mile section of the Connecticut river that at extreme low flow turns into a class 2 stretch in a plastic sea kayak. None of these gave me anything other than perspective on the water conditions.
So, I showed up for a paddle along the Farmington river from Collinsville to Unionville, CT. A class 2 stretch with several good drops and numerous play holes that is generally considered to be a great learning spot. The day started out well enough with several of us launching, and practicing various rolls & sculling. I did my regular progression from easiest to most difficult (Screw, C-to-C, Greenland foredeck, reverse sweep, one-hand, crossover one-hand, sweep hand roll, and slap hand roll) to get limbered up, and I guess I surprised a few folks when I got to the hand rolls. Well, I did say I was a newbie to whitewater, after all. Funny thing was there were a few folks there who regularly paddle up to class 4 that complimented me on my ability. A little confidence boost before the big event.
Anyway, we started downriver, and hit the first rapid. I hung back, and watched a few people go ahead of me, and took mental notes on their choice of lines, and technique. OK, my turn. I took the easiest line, and did a white-knuckle flight through it. I eddied out at the bottom, and realized that it was pretty easy. So, I asked someone to show me how to surf a standing wave, and played in a couple of holes for a few minutes. Looking better all the time......... We headed into the next rapid, about 50 yards downriver, and I got a little bolder. I played in a hole in the middle, and peeled out to go to the bottom, and play in a really nice looking hole just below me. Well, I peeled a little too much, went over a rock sideways, and into the eddy below it. As I went over, I looked at one of the other paddlers, blankly said "shit", and promptly capsized when I hit the eddy.
After my little rolling display up at the put-in, I kinda had to show that I had a good combat roll as well. Pride, you know. So, I promptly rolled up, and jokingly cursed the nasal douche I just received. Gotta make it look good, after all. We continued on downriver, and I resolved to try something new at every successive drop or rapid, and also to take increasingly diffcult lines until I found my comfort zone. We went on without incident for a couple of miles, and then came to the two biggest drops on the run. The first was a small falls that turns to the right and back to the left in a staircase fashion. The total drop is no more than 4 1/2 feet or so. There were chutes on both sides of the river, and a long rapid above it. I started at river left, ferried across to river right, and back into the left chute, and cut hard into the left eddy at the bottom. Now that was fun! I even might have looked like I knew what I was doing.
We met with a large group from NY and NJ at the bottom, and we all got together, played in the holes at the bottom, and cheered on two members of their group in a tandem canoe as they ran the drop. They went on ahead, and we stopped for lunch, so they could get ahead of us. We started off again, and hit the last stretch. This one is a good sized drop with a rapid right above it, and a small rapid below it. I went through the rapid, and was lining up to go over, and forgot to back paddle. OK, plan B. I was heading right at two large rocks, and didn't think I had room to go around. So, I went between them. The space between them was just wide enough, and I crashed into the eddy below them, and kept going. Not exactly what I had planned on, but I learned that I could do it. Fine with me.
I finished the bottom rapid without incident, and eddied out at the end. There was a string of good-sized standing waves at river right about 50 feet long, with a bridge abutment just beyond. Couldn't resist. I started at the end of the waves, and surfed my way up to the beginning. Now this was good. I saw someone waiting to go next, so I turned to get back in the eddy, and lost it. Oops! Now, I'm headed right at the bridge abutment upside down in the waves. How good is my roll? Time to find out. Pretty darn good, I learned. I did a quick roll, and spun away from the abutment into the eddy. I think I hit at least one rock before I rolled. Didn't hurt, so I didn't let it bother me. Better than getting pinned while inverted. We played a little more, and then ran the last rapid before the take-out.
All in all, it was a lot of fun. I learned quite a few things about
running whitewater, and I also learned that the various paddling disciplines complement
each other if approached with the right attitude. I think I'm going to do this some
more..........................