Return of the Haggis
	An Illustrated Trip Report

November, 2002

We finally managed to talk Alastair into revisiting Connecticut on the way back from Utah. My job was to make this a visit he wouldn't soon forget. Even if he tried.

Long ago I warned him: November is too late! It will be COLD! Not a good time for a haggis. But he came anyway.

Day 1: Kayaking

It had been raining. A lot. All the rivers were up. Since Alastair hadn't been in a kayak for over a year we headed for an easy one at first: the Salmon.

Alastair meets Dr. Evil

We were a party of 4: myself, Shenan (a recent import from Montana), Alastair, and Dr. Evil. We put in at the top of the rapids (class II) and Alastair actually seemed to know how to boat. He had no problems with the rapids and was surfing along with all of us.

One of the many side streams. The Haggis in the SS Hudak.

Everything was going just fine until the infamous broken dam. Just before going over the edge, I looked back and yelled "Paddle Hard!". I had no problem. Shenan had no problem. Eric had no probem. Alastair, though, thought I had yelled "Go Really Slow And See What Happens". Instead of shooting over the backwash he was sucked back in, turned sideways, and "maytagged". This didn't appear to be fun.

After one roll and a lot of involuntary side surfing, Alastair decided being in a kayak wasn't the thing for him. He popped the skirt and drifted out. The boat must have become lonely since it followed him down the rest of the rapid.

The Haggis Washing Machine

After a fair amount of fussing around, Alastair and his boat found their way to dry land and we bid farewell to the Salmon.

Dr. Evil in disguise at the Salmon takeout

Of course, if Alastair is having trouble on a class III, what should we do? A class IV of course! In a fit of stupidity, we packed up the boats and headed for Roaring Brook, a place none of us had the slightest clue about. All we knew about this run was what was on the AWA web page: it had just a few pictures and links to topo and street maps. The takeout was easy to find; as we drove up route 17 there was a parking lot where the road crosses the river. Following the river upstream, there was a parking lot on the right at a park . We popped out and had a look - there was the slide pictured on the AWA web page.

A Big Drop (the Slide) on Roaring Brook

At least we were in the right place! A local (there to watch the kayakers come by) gave us directions to the putin and we were ready to roll. Cars with yak racks were there so we were all set.

The first part of the trip was placid: the only problem was an occasional tree in the water. We passed under a bridge and into a lake. Here things changed pretty drastically. We pulled out at the dam on the left shore and had a look - this is the falls pictured on the AWA page. Our more experienced boater, Shenen. decided to run it and borrowed Eric's boat (a Centrifuge) to have more legroom just in case. That was fortunate since he penciled straight in, leaving the nose of the boat bent like a ski tip.

Shenan Takes Flight in Eric's Boat

Whether he was just unlucky or hadn't gotten a good start (he was paddling as hard as he could, straight down the middle) the rest of us decided that walking was the way to go.

Roll Up, Shenan!

Below the dam the river enters a small gorge. The rapids were easy to boat scout and only one drop seemed all that bad (III) but there were plenty of fun (but rocky) little rapids. After a while we found ourselves in yet another lake next to the factory we had seen on the drive up. At this point we began to realize how short the days are in late November so after a very brief inspection we decided to portage on the left.

There was no easy way down to the river until we crossed the road. And since the slide was just another couple hundred feet below we walked all the way to the park and put in just below the slide. Alastair suffered from a sudden attack of sanity and decided to continue the trip on foot rather than in the water. Fortunately, some other kayakers were just driving by and gave him a ride back to the car so he could come pick us up later.

The slide looked quite runnable but we didn't have creek boats and had no clue if there were any hidden suprises so we figured it would be better just to keep moving. Below there the river enters a deep and wild gorge. Initially the drops were pretty easy but they slowly got harder and harder. The eddies were good and we were able to boat scout until we came to a spot where the river disappeared from view. We pulled out and had a look - a steep but easy looking chute led to a pool (swimming in the summer!). Beyond this a steep and more complex drop loomed. Lacking time to mess with it we shouldered the boats and put in below the lower drop.

The Last Hard Rapid and Ruined Factory

The gradient seemed the steepest in this area - a ways further down we portaged again in the failing light. At a final steep spot I portaged due to the darkness while the others whizzed by and laughed. Then past some interesting rock formations and finally to some houses (and the ruins of an old factory) on the right. After this things would have been easy except the light was almost gone. I managed to broach myself pretty nastily on an unseen rock but finally pried myself off.

The Ruins Up Close

It was totally dark when we hit the car but the run was well worth it. Alastair was there to load our boats and we drove home quite happy with our accomplishments.

The next day it was just Alastair and I. Alastair had to go to the Gunks while he was here so that's where we went. Unfortunately, the rain that had made the rivers to yakable came down as ice in the higher elevation. As we arrived at the Gunks things looked pretty grim.

Since Alastair had never been to Minnewaska, we ran up for a look at the falls.

Awosting Falls + Haggis

The trail to the falls is normally a gentle stroll. But this time it was somewhat of an ordeal - trees were down all over the trail and it was slow going to pick our way down without getting our feet soaked.

No Kayaks Today!

The trees were completely encased in ice. It was quite beautiful but also nearly impossible to hike in with our wimpy tennis shoes. We headed back to the preserve so see if the rock was in climbable condition.

Coxing Kill After the Ice Storm (click for full size picture)

Back at the Uberfall, we sought out a route with minimal water and difficulty. We settled for Betty (a 5.3) which proved to be plenty of fun even though we were climbing in a constant shower of ice crystals falling from the trees atop the route.

Near the Top of Betty

When we arrived at the top Alastair announced that he had met his fun quota for the day. We checked out the view of the icy trees over on Millbrook and then rapped back to the base.

A Haggis In His Natural Habitat

It's Good To Be Rapping!

So that was it! Just one route and we were bound for Connecticut again. I told you to come in October but did you listen?? No!

Anyway, although the Haggis is not native to the Northeast USA, we are happy to see them as they migrate between Glasgow and Utah. Alastair, come back!

John Putting Alastair's Skis to Good Use