Summertime, and the livings easy. Corny. Whatever. Its true. Here in Ottawa we are lucky to have so many whitewater options, seriously lucky. What people often overlook, once the summer low Ottawa playboat season hits, it the absolutely stellar creeking options that open up in the later season.
This past week, a few of the OPS lads (Eric, Mike and myself) and a handful of friends headed down the 416 to the grand ole' US of A and the Raquette River, Stone Valley Section in Colton NY.
A 90 minute drive brings you to one of the hardest rivers in the East - or at least one of the steepest. But with guaranteed water due to American Whitewater's negotiated releases, we bored creekboaters can get our fix.
There will be several more releases this summer, so make sure you check it out.
As well, on the Labour Day weekend, there is plenty of dam release whitewater to go around, as the taps turn on for the Moshier, Taylorville, Black, Eagle and Raquette. Options from Class III to Class V. Go get some.
Raquette Race Wrap-Up 2010:
Five2Nine Productions - Events - The Raquette Race 2010 from Five2Nine Productions on Vimeo.
Raquette Update:
The mid-point staging eddy on Colton Falls has changed substantially, ad is worth a scout. Without going into too much detail, several racks have shifted in high water events this spring and the staging eddy below the small boof now flushes quickly into the slide. Give it a scout before running next time, as it may well affect your line choice.
The landing of this boof (see below) now flushes quickly into the main slide, and / or into unintended rock splats on the boulder at the lip.
LIQUIDLORE RAQUETTE GUIDE - CLICK HERE
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A 90-minute drive the other direction brings you to the Seven Sisters of the Rouge River, another great, but more forgiving, set of Class IV/V drops located near Calumet, QC (across the Ottawa from Hawkesbury). Runnable at levels of below 50, and prime between >35 and 15 cms, this section just dropped in. OPS paddler Marcos Gallegos got a high water run on Thursday, and McKay and I were able to on it on Sunday (37). This is a stellar section for those interested in practicing their boof stroke, or just dealing mentally with new rapids on a creekier type of river.
LIQUIDLORE ROUGE RIVER - 7 SISTERS VIDEO GUIDE - CLICK HERE
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