The New Haven river near Bristol, VT is one of my favorite resources in the state. It's probably the most consistently runnable, good Class 4/5 whitewater in VT, and the lower sections are also some of the best places to spend some time casting a line. What more do you need?
For years the local paddling community talked about hosting a downriver race on the Upper section (Class 4/5), and this year thanks to the efforts of the UVM Catayak Kayak Club and members of the Northeast Paddlers Message Board, it finally happened.
It is Spring in VT however, and while organizers were hoping for a moderate Spring level around 400 CFS, rains the day before bumped everything up into the 1200 CFS+ range, and turned the river into serious continuous whitewater. Luckily the Lower section was still manageable, and about 20 paddlers had a fun race down the Lower. By afternoon, levels had dropped a bit, and a small handful of locals were more than willing to still race the Upper. Speedster Justin 'If there's A Race I Win It' Beckwith took home the trophy (possibly the coolest ever), Colby Cook placed second, and I placed third. For all results click here.
Afterwards we had a fun cookout with a bunch of close friends at Justin's place in New Haven, and covered the Jeep and in Addison County Clay. All in all it was the proper way to spend a rainy, cold Saturday.
Thanks to Jerry O'Neill, Patrick Rogers and Matt Kiedaisch for the pics. For coverage of the race check out video clips from Green River Pictures. Thanks to the UVM Kayak Club for hosting a great event and growing interest in whitewater in our state. Click here for additional FOX News coverage of the event.
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