Faith Knapp's
White River Weekend
By Kurt Navratil
I've been looking for what I would call the perfect class II river.
Some rivers that are classified as class II are in my opinion class I or
maybe class III, but never a II. Well, I found THE river.
A member of the Garden State Canoe Club, Faith Knapp, who now lives in
Vermont, leads a joint trip with NH AMC on the White River. The White is a
true class II, with the clearest water I have ever seen.
As I was driving up to Stockbridge, Vermont to meet Faith and the other
paddlers, I passed many rivers and creeks that flowed near the New York
Thruway. As I looked down on these rivers, they were running wild. I
thought to myself, what have I gotten myself into. I might not be able to
handle this White River. It rained almost all the way up to the lodge that
I would be staying in. Oh great, more wild and muddy water. (I should have
brought the kayak.) I passed over the White a few miles from the lodge and
saw what had to be the clearest water I have ever seen. The water level
looked to be low, might not be enough to paddle, I'm thinking. What
happened to the rainwater?
I got to the lodge, owned by the Central Jersey Ski Club, and I was the
only one there. A few minutes later I looked up and see car after car
loaded with canoes coming into the parking lot. There had to be at least
30 cars. They had spent the day paddling the Tweed River and part of the
White. I saw Faith and knew I was at the right place.
We went inside to a well-stocked ski lodge, found our beds and settled
in. Later that night about 10 of us went out for dinner at a small local
cafe. Tony and Linda Baroni joined us late that night at the lodge.
The next morning the sun was out and it was warming up, a great day to
be on a river. We put in on the Tweed River about a 100 yards above the
White. By doing this we could try to paddle over a 6-foot waterfall, which
we all did. In fact some did it over and over again. We paddled on to the
White and found ledge after ledge drop after drop. It was almost all class
two rapids with a few pools to catch a rest. We played each rapid as long
as we could, it was a long day. It was also one of those days you just
don't want to end.
Saturday night we had a potluck supper and were entertained by a flute
player Mike Jacobs, and accordion Player, Hellen Selle. Later that night
our own Tony Baroni played his guitar and sang original paddling songs.
Sunday morning it was cool and wet, nothing like yesterday. On to
another section of the White. We paddled from Sharon, Vermont to Hartford,
Vt. In this section we found larger drops and a large broken dam. We
played at ever drop and every hole we found. We stopped for lunch at the
dam and took turns running it in different places. We traded boats so we
could see how we handled each other's. It was great day.
I was packed up and on the road at 5:30 pm. It poured all the way home,
but I made it home safe by 11pm. To date this was the best time I've had
on a white water river. Thank you Faith for inviting me and thank you
Central Jersey Ski Club for the use of your beautiful lodge.
[Kurt Navratil is Commodore of the Garden State Canoe Club and one of
those truly nice and enthusiastic people you meet paddling --tt]
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