The upper Connecticut River isn’t a real wilderness river. It flows past more cow farms and corn fields than wilderness. The campsites are often tucked into the narrow stretch of woods between the river and the farms, but they are usually well maintained with a picnic table, fire ring and privy, and are well-spaced for multi-night trips. We decided to do a four-day/three-night trip on the section from Woodsville, NH to North Thetford VT. The scenery is nice and there are lots of well-spaced campsites. We met at the put-in, unpacked our gear and loaded our boats. I would be paddling tandem in my new-to-me Explorer 17. We also had a Northstar NorthWind Solo and a Novacraft Bob's Special.
The river started off shallow, but there were some small rapids to run if you picked the right line. If you picked the wrong line you would be dragging your boat over the rocks. We did a little of both.
After that, the river opened up. We paddled past the Howard Island and Horse Meadow campsites. Both were empty, which we thought was a good sign. Unfortunately, when we reached our planned site for the evening – Harkdale Farm – it was occupied by a group of fishermen. We decided to continue downstream to the Vaughan Meadow Campsite.
As we were paddling downstream we heard what sounded like a large boat heading for us. It turned up to be a small plane flying low over the river. It did a fly-by and was gone.
We arrived at Vaughan Meadow and quickly set up camp. The site is located in the woods between the river and a large hay field. There was lots of wood laying around the site, so we cut it up and had enough for our evening and morning fires.
Dinner was Jonathan’s haddock with Maine-guide potatoes. The stars were amazing with a clear view of the Milky Way across the horizon. We sat around the fire until around 10:00, and then called it a night. Total miles for the day – 15.
I crawled out of the tent around 6:30 the next morning. Cory was already up, so we lit the fire and started the coffee. Jonathan cooked eggs-in-a-hole for breakfast, and then we packed up and headed out.
This would be a relatively short paddling day, so we took our time. As we paddled along we heard what sounded like lawn mowers getting closer. It turned out to be a pair of parasails flying overhead. A littler further downstream we had another small plane zip by us at a low altitude following the river.
We arrived at our next campsite – Underhill – by midafternoon. We set up camp and enjoyed a leisurely afternoon. Since firewood was scare on land, Aaron and I paddled out to gather some of the abundant driftwood. Cory cooked steaks for dinner. We sat around the fire until around 9:30 before calling it a night. Total miles for the day 7.
There was a chance of showers between 7:00 and 8:00 the next morning, so we got up early and took down our tents. We had a nice breakfast of French toast and bacon cooked by Cory. Then we headed out to paddle one of the prettier sections of the river passing Mount Sawyer and the Fairlee Palisades. We took a break for lunch at Orford landing.
The wind picked up in the afternoon, and paddling became a bit of a slog. As we were checking out the covered bridge at Clay Brook, the skies opened up in a torrential downpour. It stopped by the time we reached out next campsite – Roaring Brook.
We were able to get our tents up before the skies opened up again. A couple of bands of rain and some hail came through before the skies finally cleared. We had an amazing rainbow over the river. It was a chilly night, so I was toasty and warm in my sleeping bag a little after 9:00. Total miles for the day – 10.
It was downright cold when we woke up the next morning. We didn’t have a frost, but I’ll bet it came close. Cory and I were up around 6:30 and got the fire and the coffee started. Aaron and Jonathan were up shortly after. We cooked breakfast, packed up camp and headed out for the short paddle down to the take-out at North Thetford Landing. Total miles for the day – 2. Total miles for the trip - 34.
More pictures here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/eckilson/albums/72177720336003715
The river started off shallow, but there were some small rapids to run if you picked the right line. If you picked the wrong line you would be dragging your boat over the rocks. We did a little of both.
After that, the river opened up. We paddled past the Howard Island and Horse Meadow campsites. Both were empty, which we thought was a good sign. Unfortunately, when we reached our planned site for the evening – Harkdale Farm – it was occupied by a group of fishermen. We decided to continue downstream to the Vaughan Meadow Campsite.
As we were paddling downstream we heard what sounded like a large boat heading for us. It turned up to be a small plane flying low over the river. It did a fly-by and was gone.
We arrived at Vaughan Meadow and quickly set up camp. The site is located in the woods between the river and a large hay field. There was lots of wood laying around the site, so we cut it up and had enough for our evening and morning fires.
Dinner was Jonathan’s haddock with Maine-guide potatoes. The stars were amazing with a clear view of the Milky Way across the horizon. We sat around the fire until around 10:00, and then called it a night. Total miles for the day – 15.
I crawled out of the tent around 6:30 the next morning. Cory was already up, so we lit the fire and started the coffee. Jonathan cooked eggs-in-a-hole for breakfast, and then we packed up and headed out.
This would be a relatively short paddling day, so we took our time. As we paddled along we heard what sounded like lawn mowers getting closer. It turned out to be a pair of parasails flying overhead. A littler further downstream we had another small plane zip by us at a low altitude following the river.
We arrived at our next campsite – Underhill – by midafternoon. We set up camp and enjoyed a leisurely afternoon. Since firewood was scare on land, Aaron and I paddled out to gather some of the abundant driftwood. Cory cooked steaks for dinner. We sat around the fire until around 9:30 before calling it a night. Total miles for the day 7.
There was a chance of showers between 7:00 and 8:00 the next morning, so we got up early and took down our tents. We had a nice breakfast of French toast and bacon cooked by Cory. Then we headed out to paddle one of the prettier sections of the river passing Mount Sawyer and the Fairlee Palisades. We took a break for lunch at Orford landing.
The wind picked up in the afternoon, and paddling became a bit of a slog. As we were checking out the covered bridge at Clay Brook, the skies opened up in a torrential downpour. It stopped by the time we reached out next campsite – Roaring Brook.
We were able to get our tents up before the skies opened up again. A couple of bands of rain and some hail came through before the skies finally cleared. We had an amazing rainbow over the river. It was a chilly night, so I was toasty and warm in my sleeping bag a little after 9:00. Total miles for the day – 10.
It was downright cold when we woke up the next morning. We didn’t have a frost, but I’ll bet it came close. Cory and I were up around 6:30 and got the fire and the coffee started. Aaron and Jonathan were up shortly after. We cooked breakfast, packed up camp and headed out for the short paddle down to the take-out at North Thetford Landing. Total miles for the day – 2. Total miles for the trip - 34.
More pictures here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/eckilson/albums/72177720336003715
Last edited:
