The remnants of Hurricane Nicole reached New England Friday night bringing heavy rain that brought up a lot of local rivers. I decided to head north to run the Wonalancet River in NH.
The Wonalancet River flows down the east side of the White Mountains and is considered one of the nicest whitewater runs in NH. We ran the middle section that twists and turns through the Hemingway State Forest and Big Pines Natural Area. The river alternates between class II/III rapids, and rock dodging was definitely the order of the day. The most challenging section is the Forest Run Rapids, which we scouted before running down the center.
The seas immense they dwarf all lands,
they heave in waves or doldrum stand,
ebb and rise to beckoning moon,
unfathomable depths intrigue with gloom.
And traverse there in reverent awe,
this salt of earth from such liquid spalled,
finds not la Mer to nurture soul,
but her vast indifference that swallows whole.
So find me along the riverbanks,
where earth and water entwine their flanks,
as springs that rise and skies that weep,
sweep changing braids shallow and deep.
And there like rock and soil and tree,
I, too, can stand a most earthly,
to let myself be swept in flow,
then eddy out in time’s crooked bow.
Thanks TW - another poem for my collection. Just read through all of them, but this is my new favorite. They all make me smile - you have the knack.
Local sea kayakers were out yesterday - here’s the description from the post:
Roughwater/surf level 3-4 - there will be lots of energy left over from today’s storm, temps are dropping and there’s likely to be some precip - wear appropriate layers - we may find some surf.
I’m sure they found some surf and had a blast, and didn’t drive 3-hours each way to enjoy it. If I could find a way for “la Mer to nurture soul” then I would sure save on gas.
Not sure I am ready to going back to being the rookie - maybe that’s it…
It’s good to have some local options for fun and it is good in some ways to be in that novice state.
I’m far better at understanding how I, the canoe, and the paddle interact with class II - III water than I am with a kayak & L-3+ Open Water. Living in South Central Michigan it’s ~2 hours to the Great Lakes & 6 - 8 hours to PA & WVA.
To add a little bit to the literary asperations here I offer a couple of so-so Haikus
25 degrees
Warm in winter boot
Icy beach beckons shoreward
Deeper than I thought
Eddies in the rush
Seeking quiet thought
Gunwale kisses upstream flow
Lichen and green moss
