Paddlesports

Whitewater Paddling in ‘Creek Season’

by Dennis Squires

Double surfing on the Fish Creek near Taberg in Oneida County. Photo by Julie Vickery

The Adirondacks are part of a tremendous rock pile known as the Canadian Shield – between Nor’easters, lake effect storms and things that blow down from Canada (besides kayakers from Toronto) we get a lot of rain and snow. Best of all, this area, which is larger than all of Vermont, has been a ‘Forever Wild’ park for over a century.

Back in the late 1800’s the Adirondacks were the place to go camping especially canoe camping. Fortunately, the camping and paddling in upstate New York is still wild, beautiful, and sees few paddlers on the creeks and rivers. On some of these rivers your paddling group might be the only humans that year to see what lies along the riverbanks.

For people that love their rivers wild and free, spring is the best time of the year. From late March to mid May there is a season that most people have never heard of, ‘creek season.’ This several-week long period begins just as the waterways become ice-free, continues through ‘mud season,’ and usually ends about the beginning of ‘black fly season.’

Here are descriptions of two rivers I like to paddle during creek season, the Fish Creek in Oneida County and the Mettawee River in Washington County. Other possible trips include the Independence River near Lowville (Lewis County), Black River near Watertown (Jefferson County), and Black River near Boonville (Oneida County).

For more details see my two new guidebooks, New York Exposed: The Whitewater State – Volume 1 (north flowing) and Volume 2 (south flowing).

Fish Creek near Taberg
Class III-III+ (up to IV)
Length 8 miles
Much of the first 4 miles below Point Rock on Fish Creek are enclosed within beautiful sheer walls. Early in the spring there are huge masses of ice clinging to the walls, along with some impressive falls pouring in off the sides. On the serious side it should be mentioned that at high water levels this is a powerful and continuous river. On the fun side I’ll tell you that this has a long season (March-May) and has so much great stuff to surf and play on that you’ll probably get exhausted and beg for it to end before you get to the take-out.

The first 4 miles below the start is class II-III (III-III+ if it’s high). You’ll find a cobblestone bottom and some good surfing waves. There is one large hydraulic, right in the wave train, about 2.5 miles down. About 4-4.5 miles from the start is a short pool – right above a 16-foot dam that has a hydraulic that is inescapable. At higher levels you can’t mess around here. The take-out is 20 feet above the dam, on the left – immediately after the sheer wall ends on that side. The current is fast here, so at high water, stay loose, stay relaxed, stay calm and get out!

From the dam down the river is a bit harder but there’s tons of surfing on this lower half. The river now has ledges that form fantastic holes in addition to all the front surfing spots. You could easily spend all day just on the last 4 miles here. Some people even park and play at the take-out in Taberg; there seems to be great surfing here at a wide range of levels. The last few miles of this run has several big bad holes at high water – remember that, even though you’ll be in an exhausted surf-induced daze.

Directions: The take-out is on Blossvale Road, about 0.5-mile below the center of Taberg, which is 10 miles northwest of the city of Rome. There’s a grassy pull off and stairs that lead right into the water. For the put-in: drive back into town, take a left on Main Street, a right on Coal Hill and stay on it until it ends at the T. Then take a right and cross the river. Park and walk down on the right side. This is called Point Rock on some detailed maps.

Gauge: Call Northern Outfitters in Whitesboro at (800) 249-4112). 1.5 feet is a minimal level, 3 feet to 4 feet is perfect, and 6 feet is high. There is also a gauge painted on the upstream bridge in Taberg.

Sally Dewes hits the line on the Mettawee River. Photo by Dennis Squires

Mettawee River near North Granville
Class IV-V Length
4.5 miles
The Mettawee has good scenery and it doesn’t take much rain to get the river up and running for a long while. Most any day from late March through May will have enough (or too much) water for you to play on. You’ll be getting out several times to look ahead when the river gets steep.

The first rapid (IV+) at the bridge is a great spot for a photo. It’s not as gnarly as it looks – just stay right side up. The next good one (IV) is about 0.25-mile downstream. For the few miles that follow you’ll find easy water and a handful of rapids that you can scout while staying in your boat. And just as you start feeling really relaxed a big horizon line (IV+/V) appears – get out and scout or portage on either side. If you run this, start down the right center and keep paddling all the way through – things will happen quickly. As you get to the big ledge, ski jump over the left center (and the hydraulic), and keep paddling!

The next major rapid is Z-turn (IV); watch out for the undercut rock face at the bottom right side (Sally’s Hole). This flows into the next steep, but easy down the middle, rapid (III+). A few minutes more and you’ll be at the falls and the take-out. The most exciting line here is way right – with lots of airtime. Be aware that there’s a small cave behind the right side of the falls, which, so far, has been more a source of humor than fear.

Directions: On NY Route 22 in North Granville, which is 20 miles northeast of the city of Glens Falls, turn north onto Truthville Road (County Route 12). At the T take a left, the put-in is at the bridge. Or you can go right at the top of the next hill and get in at the fishing access a few hundred yards upstream (this is above the first hard rapid you’ll see at the bridge). For the take-out, get back on Route 22 and head west. In less than 2 miles you want to take the first right on Upper Turnpike Road and go about 2 miles, then park at the big turn out on the right at the falls.

Gauge: To find out how high the river is, go to http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis. Click on Real-time; select New York; and finally, either select a site or view the entire Statewide Streamflow Table. Levels of 4.4 feet to 4.8 feet are ideal and 5.0 feet is getting high. If you don’t mind a lot of scraping you can paddle this as low as 3.5 feet.

When it really rains in New York there are probably 1,000 brooks, creeks and rivers that can be paddled. They range from slowly moving water to class VI. Most of these have very short doable sections, but a variety of problems: lots of trees across the streambed, barbed wire, high water bridges, waterfalls, dams and more. There are, fortunately, almost 250 rivers and creeks of various degrees of difficulty that can be paddled for pleasure – if you know where and when to find them.

Dennis Squires (zapped@whitewateroutlaw.com) lives in Margaretville, NY, and is the author of two river guidebooks, New York Exposed: The Whitewater State – Volume 1 (north flowing) and Volume 2 (south flowing).

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