Flood conditions. I found a shuttle service at Mainstream outfitters in New Hartford on route 44. They brought my 9-year-old son (a natural in the bow) and me up to Riverton in the rain. The river is quite high at the moment. The canoe sounded like an aluminum powerboat as we pounded over the waves in the deeper rapids. We both wore foul weather gear, which helped keep us dryer when the waves came into our laps. Further downstream we had our first mishap cutting through the center of an island (yeah the river is high). We had to duck under some tree branches and ended up capsizing. Fortunately the water was shallow so drying out the canoe and re-entry was not hard once we were able to get to our feet. Back to the races... We went trucking down the river again, submerged rocks that are usually visible were well underwater, a few boulders here and there definitely need to be avoided as the speeds of approach and force of the water caused the only other canoe on this stretch that day to get wedged for good, with the canoeists losing their canoe, life jackets(???!!!), and paddles. This is what our driver told us. All in all a very challenging trip. My son can't wait to go again, although we'll wait for the water to drop a bit.
Fees:
Shuttle service from main stream outfitters is $15. Takes you 10 miles upriver.
