C-Forum

nah, i didn't paddle today as TommyC1 talked me into doing the standup routine (canoe poling). Things I learned today.
1)bagging the poling canoe can come in handy
2)tent bags work awesome for neck gasket replacement (at least my sierra designs tengu3 bag. My kid Aarons gasket didn't leak a drop.
3) smart move to leave my new 'Indiana Jones" hat in the truck and wear my helmet
4)paddling (or in this case, poling) in the fog, fog due to snow melt, is always memorable

an ode to snow melt
Ode to snow melt

‘Twas two days past Christmas, and all thru the state
The snow it was melting, the weather was great
Message board was a perking, but the gages were ice
With some optimism, we thought paddling ‘d be nice
Came Tommy, Craig, Erik, 2 Jeffs and a Scott
Wade and a Sparky, Al, Aaron, dang that’s a lot
Tommy he e-mails, says “I’m gonna’ pole”
Well I gotta’ join him, can’t just be one a-hole
Well, the gages they’re spiking, but now it’s too late
Dumoines already loaded, 3 poles on the tailgate
I tell Al the new guy, it’s a real scenic run
More scenic than exciting, it’ll still be fun
Well seems two feet of snow melted
And it’s fifty degrees
Throw in a new put-in
I’m just thinkin’ “Jeez”
What the heck am I doing
Poling on a whim
I know what’d feel better
Think I’ll take a swim
Now that feels better, swimming is fun
Guess the feelings mutual, ‘cuz in plops my son
Well swimming may not have been part of the plan
But throw in some snow melt
And one broken dam
Well, we do recover
Another swim, no big deal
So in goes Craig and Al
Flippin’ for real
Well return on investment
They taught me in school
Since we’re all wearing drysuits
Well, we’re loose, pretty cool.

this is what inspired the video. I went first in the vid, my son Aaron went next, then Tommy made things look easy
http://www.vimeo.com/8413303

the pix TommyC1 took
http://picasaweb.google.com/TommyC1Tayl ... 1911099794

May not be too many familiar with this outfitting

Nice - perhaps we can start a resurgence of "verCe"...

That was Connecticut Longboatin!
The gage was still on the low side when I left the burbs o' Boston. So I figured on poling and brought the Explorer. By the time we pulled into Easthampton the Salmon she was up and running
A little too fast for me to want to stand up and snub so I figured I'd just see how much playing I could get out of a big old barge and a class II run.
Not bad! Not bad at all. Tough to heel her over enough to spin but she got around OK and even surfed a bit when I found a wave that'd hold her. She stayed pretty dry for me too except at that broken dam. I think the gage went down an inch until I dumped it back into the river. Nice to know that big calm eddy was right there.

Matt got sideways in the seam taking the pioneer run. That hole rolled him quick. Aaron was a bit too far right in the traditional slot, same as me. But me being a lefty a quick brace kept me up and running if a bit soggy. Reverse the geometry I'd have swum and Aaron stayed dry.

Yes it was quite a day in Ct ! Thick fog, ice every where floating around us the whole time, and high water on a hard to catch run. A memorable day! Thanks Matt!

Craig made a wise decision, paddling an Esquif Detonator this fine and lovely day. He took the shots I linked below. Yeah, guess that was a seam I hit. Thought the Dumoine and I would have handled it. Next time I'll go with the paddle on the right...or send Aaron in as my probe as I've done in the past . I like pix and video, helps with the ego some days, and with the "coulda', shoulda', next time I will" evaluation as well. Provides some darn fine memories too.
http://community.webshots.com/slideshow ... Position=1

Another snow melt day or hurricane, gotta' get you guys on the Shepaug, or Aaron and I could head up your way as well. Usually get an awesome crew on the Shep, a few buttboaters who had seen the light, but blew out their knees and/or (dare I say it ) came to their senses. Sensibility, whatta' drag that must be

Tommy, I think when you filled your Explorer is when the river dropped enough for me to get to the bank

Definitely a good time - its like a different river at that level, and the Jeremy was a nice addition.