Posted by D
on 9/7/2008, 6:44 pm
24.129.184.118
Using information from WPWA river guide and even speaking with an Environmental Policeman did not prepare us for the harrowing experience we survived on Friday, Sept.5th.
Please warn anyone you know who plans this trip that at least this time of year it is a fruitless trip to make. We really could have been seriously hurt or not survive at all.
We started off at Taylor’s landing down the Chipuxet River to Worden Pond. Although passable we came across at least five Beaver Dam, one of which caused me to overturn my kayak. Crossing Worden Pond on a slightly breezy day was a workout but certainly doable and probably the more pleasant part of the trip. After asking a local we were able to find the opening to the Pawcatuck River. The water was low but we thought passable but what we encountered was blow downs all along the route and I don’t just mean a few. We had to continuously climb onto trees and portage the kayaks over them and then try to maneuver getting back into the kayak. It was not a safe situation and we were dumped too many times to even count. There was also one area with too many blow downs to even consider getting over and had to bushwhack through the woods to find a place to get back onto the river. Here the ground muck was so soft it swallowed us up to our waists before we hung on to the kayak and my partner had to pull me out and then I had to pull him out. I would not be surprised if people have disappeared in this area. I am not exaggerating when I say this is dangerous. The whole trip took us 9 hours. Thank goodness we only came out of it with scratches and bruises. I have had many backwoods experiences in my lifetime but I must say that this was the worst. I felt a need to pass this information along to help prevent anyone from taking on this challenge. I’m sure that at other times of the year when the river is higher that some of what we encountered might not be a factor but quite a bit of the river is difficult and could be challenging for even the most experienced kayaker. The part of the river closest to civilization was pleasant and you could tell had been tended to. That was probably the last half mile before coming to the first house on the river.
Message Thread:
« Back to thread