Franconia Falls to Woodstock.

The East Branch of the Pemigewasset is a natural flow river best run in late April and May with the snowmelt from the high peaks of the White Mountains. The river gets its start in the mountainous federally designated wilderness area upstream from the put-in. As a result the water is clean, clear, and usually cold when the river is running. Don't be fooled if the water looks too low; local river lore states that if it looks like there's enough water then it's probably too much!!! This river is a classic New England run. Continuous whitewater, a few more difficult rapids, and lots of technical moves required. Many boaters consider this river one of the best regularly run rivers in New England. With the exception of a few bigger rapids on either side of Loon Mountain, the entire run is similar in character. (Although some purists claim that the upper section, reachable only by walking upstream is the best.) The river is relatively wide (85') for a New England river. It is strewn with car (and larger) sized boulders. These boulders create extreme turbulence during high water. The rapids are continuous and at high water all blend all together for a long class IV-V run. Any swim at high levels may result in the loss of one's boat as it is quickly swept many miles downstream. Be aware because of the nature of this river, boulders (even large ones) move and shift every spring changing the river character. The Upper East Branch of the Pemigewasset run starts below Franconia Falls at the confluence of Franconia Brook and the North Fork of the Pemigewasset. To reach it you must walk/carry/drag your boat up the Wilderness Trail three miles along the river. The upper section is a bit more technical and unforgiving then the lower sections. Additionally the riverbed is more wide open, requiring a bit more water to paddle. If a long walk just to paddle a beautiful river doesn't appeal to you, then start your run (as most do) on the middle section of the East Branch at the Lincoln Woods Parking Area (sometimes called the Wilderness Parking area.) This section benefits from the added water coming in from the Hancock Branch just below the put-in. The lower East Branch (starting at Loon Mountain) holds its water a little longer than the upper (ie, it can be paddled at slightly lower levels). The river bed narrows somewhat allowing for less choice of passages. You will notice a lot more civilization in this section. Condos, ski area base lodges, and parking lots are found along much of the run; even a hidden sewage treatment lagoon located between the takeouts. Still, the river is pretty, seems secluded in most spots, and has a few nice swimming holes. ### Take-Out The common take-out is at the Woodstock Fire Station / Family Park on Rt 3 about half-mile south of the traffic light at the junction of Rt 112 and Rt 3.  On the river, be sure to take the RIGHT CHANNEL after the Rt 93 bridge crossings to access the take-out, otherwise you will travel downstream too far and start the Pemi-Woodstock section.  Several other take-out spots are possible on river right after Loon Mountain Rapid if you are short on time, but it is worth planning ahead and running the entire 6 miles from the Lincoln Woods trailhead. ### Scouting the Rapids Loon Mountain Rapid is the only section where scouting is required. The rapids immediately above and below Loon Mountain require more caution for the boater new to the river, as does the fourth major drop in the upper section. The rest of the river can be easily boat-scouted. Indeed, given the large number of drops and the changing nature of the river each year, it is impossible for one to know what is coming and each run is always a new experience. ### Strainers, obstructions, and other hazards. Strainers are inevitable and great caution must be used on blind corners and blind drops. Culvert Rapid, a short distance above Loon Mountain has random sections of large 3-ft diameter steel pipe. Two pipe sections are lodge into rock sieves on river right and easily avoidable, but could cause trouble if shifted by flood water. ARCHIVE COMMENT  \*no evidence of this obstruction has been seen recently\* At the bottom of Loon Mt. Rapid there is a large curved steel plate in the center of the right main channel of the river. The upstream end appears to be into the riverbed and the downstream end is up on a rock, so it just looks like a pour-over from upstream. From downstream you can see it is a large curved plate similar to the culvert plating in Culvert Rapid, but not a full section and not sticking up as much. It is located about 10 to 20 yards downstream of rapid section shown in the photo on the AW site description of Loon Mt. Rapid, at the last drop just before the left 'sneak' route rejoins the main flow. ### Fast rises/falls, flash flood potential Note that the steep mountainous watershed causes the river to rise and fall rapidly. During periods of heavy rain the river can rise especially fast. This may catch old hands by surprise who expect a few hours of delay before any rain takes noticable effect. An example is shown below (taken from the USGS Lincoln Gage). Note that in the space of only 15 minutes the flow increased by over 500 CFS; the increase over a two hour period was almost 2000 cfs, peaking at almost 3000 CFS before dropping back over the subsequent four hours. The Woodstock gage several miles downstream showed the same pattern of increase/decrease delayed by 20 minutes. ``` Date CFS Level2000.05.13 23:45:00 1190 2.852000.05.13 24:00:00 1160 2.82