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 DON SKOLFIELD has been paddling Maine rivers for almost 30 years. He organizes river trips for the Appalachian Mountain Club. Although he sees nothing wrong with quiet water paddling - except maybe fighting the wind on a lake - he has a passion for whitewater. Skolfield, who lives in Windham, talks here about his experience with Maine's rivers.
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Q. How did you get started?
A. My wife and her family bought me a fiberglass canoe as a birthday present and I started paddling around. Then I got an ABS [a thermoplastic material that is very durable and flexible] boat.
I started reading about some whitewater techniques and learned how to maneuver a bit. Then I got connected with the Appalachian Mountain Club. The people in the club knew more about whitewater canoeing than I did. It was kind of nice to have them give me some pointers, see the routes they would pick out and learn things I shouldn't do. I learned a lot from that group.
Q. What do you love about canoeing?
A. It depends on which aspect. Sometimes it's just a quiet paddle. Sometimes it's a trip just to get away from things to commune with nature. And sometimes it's a shot of adrenaline. It's nice to be out for a long paddle and go on a camping trip to get away from everything.
When you are on a whitewater trip, it consumes all your attention. You can't be concentrating on much of anything else or you're going to be banging into rocks or tipping over.
Q. These days, do you enjoy the whitewater or quiet trips more?
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RIVER CLASSES
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There is a rating system to help paddlers judge how much experience is needed to navigate rapids:
Class I: Flat water, some current.
Class II: Small waves.
Class III: Big waves, requires maneuvering through holes.
Class IV: Big waves, a lot of rocks, and very fast water. Needs careful maneuvering. Not recommended for swimming.
Class V: Extremely steep gradient of river with 30- to 40-foot drops that should be done only by experts. Capsizing will result in injury.
Class VI: This means extreme danger that only experts or lunatics should attempt. There is no possible rescue from these rapids.
Click here for more canoeing terms. |
A. Now I enjoy both. I like to go do easy rivers. I can have as much fun doing a flat water paddle or a Class I current or paddling around a lake. I don't enjoy fighting the wind so much. Just as enjoyable is doing a Class II, Class III or Class IV whitewater run. You can make a challenge of a Class II river even if you're a Class III or Class IV paddler. You just set different expectations for yourself.
Q. What's your favorite place in Maine to canoe?
A. Probably everybody would say the Dead River and I would have to agree. It's the longest continuous whitewater stretch in New England. At any level you can have fun with it. Different boats make for different kinds of fun.
People in kayaks may play a little more in that stuff — more than open boaters do. But it's still doable in an open boat.
I did it when there was no release of water from the dam, and the water was flowing slowly, at 600 cubic feet per second or so. I also did it when the water was uncontrolled by the dam and running fast at 17,000 or 18,000 cfs. In that case, it was like being in a toilet when someone pulls a chain.
Q. Would the Dead River be a multi-day trip?
A. Nope. That's a one-day trip. And it depends on the water level to determine how many hours it takes. Normally, it takes five to six hours. As the water goes up, it moves faster.
It also depends on how many people are in your group. The more people, the more things may happen or more reasons you have to stop, and lunch takes a little longer. Nature calls are a little more frequent. You wait for your group and keep everybody together.
Q. Where is a good place for a beginner to start?
A. Something with current but not necessarily a bunch of rocks. The Saco River is a very easy river. And the Royal River in Yarmouth is good too.
The Saco is gorgeous. And you will see people who don't know what they are doing. They will go around a corner and get pushed into a bank or something. They probably won't tip over. They will be alright.
I think you can canoe the Ossipee River year-round. The Ossipee has some rocks in it so you have to do some dodging there.
Q. Would organized trips be a good way for a beginner to learn?
A. You probably don't need a guide for a flatwater-type trip. There are a number of books out there that tell you technique and strokes. But having someone demonstrate that stuff to you is fine. Remember, canoeing takes time. You don't become very good at it in one season.
Q. Do you prefer smaller groups or larger groups?
A. Two people can be fun but if anything happens you're relying solely on the other person. Four to six or eight people is nice. When you get more than that in a group, it gets unwieldy. You can't keep track of everybody.
When I have led trips of 20 people or so, I usually would split it into two or three groups. One person would sort of be the lead and another person would be the sweep canoe [at the back of the group]. And they keep track of everyone within their group.
People who like to play a lot are going to take longer at each wave. So put them together. And people who are going to go down the river pretty much nonstop — except for a lunch break — go into one group.
Q. What are some common mistakes beginners make?
A. If you're paddling tandem, you should not be paddling on the same side at the same time. That's a pretty common mistake.
You're supposed to be able to control the boat from one side, so practice a stroke so you can control the boat from either side. It would be nice if people could learn the stroke from either side. I'm so obviously right handed that paddling on the right is automatic. When I switch and paddle on the left, I may be pretty good but I have to concentrate on what I'm doing.
Q. What's the important thing to keep in mind when you are on a canoe trip?
A. Safety. Caution.
Anything can happen on a canoe trip. You're out there chopping firewood, you can hit yourself with an ax. You need some sort of first aid capability.
But mostly it's judgment. You do not take chances when you're on a canoe camping trip. If you foolishly attempt a rapid that is right on the edge and you screw up, you have to put yourself and gear into the other boats.
So it's not a place for an ego. It's a place to always use your judgment on the very safe side. Think, "If this happens, I could lose a boat or something." You don't want to screw up a long trip by doing something stupid halfway through it.
I applaud people who walk around rapids. There's no place for peer pressure there. If you don't feel comfortable doing something — be it today or ever — just don't do it. If you don't feel comfortable, most likely you're going to screw it up.
Q. What's the worst thing that's ever happened to you?
A. There's one time I showed very poor judgment and ran a rapid I hadn't scouted. And I ended up going over a drop and tipping over, getting in a situation where I couldn't roll the canoe right side up again and having a pretty nasty swim.
Q. What's your best memory on a river?
A. The first time I ran the Crib Works up on the West Branch of the Penobscot River was a total adrenaline buzz. Truthfully, I probably shouldn't have done it. I felt very lucky after I did it. That was an adrenaline buzz that I have never had since then.
Q. Any other advice for beginners?
Figure out what you are going to do and pick a boat that will suit your purposes. And don't exceed your abilities.
— Interview by Carl V. Natale, MaineToday.com
CANOEING TERMS
Beam: The widest part of the canoe.
Blade: The widened end of the paddle that does the work in the water.
Boil: Usually created by rocks that push the water in unpredictable currents to the surface.
Bow: The front end of a canoe.
Chute: An area where a river of stream suddenly narrows, resulting in increased water speed; often contains rapids.
Confluence: The junction of two rivers or forks of a river.
Draw: A stroke taken at right angles to the direction of travel, as a means of turning a canoe.
Drop: A short, well-defined rapid or section of a rapid with an abrupt drop in elevation between the top and bottom.
Eddy: Area of calm water behind or downstream of an obstruction, like a rock, in the main current, where water flows counter to that of the main current.
Gradient: Steepness of a riverbed.
Grip: The area of the paddle that the canoeist holds.
Gunwales: The upper rails along the top edge of the canoe.
Holes When the water breaks back on itself over a rock.
J Stroke: A stroke used to keep a canoe on a straight course. The paddle is turned to act as a rudder at the end of the stroke.
Keel: A ridge running down the center of the canoe to help it float straight.
PFD: Personal Floatation Device, also known as life jacket.
Portage: Carrying boats and gear around a difficult rapid or obstacle.
Put-in: The start of a river trip or place along a riverbank where you put your boat into the river.
Rocker: The amount that the bow and stern curve upward.
Shaft: The narrow part of the paddle encompassing the grip.
Stem: The shape of the bow. Rounded helps manueverability while square helps tracking, or going straight.
Stern: The rear of a canoe.
Sweep: A stroke that takes the blade through the water in a wide arc to help steer the canoe toward the opposite side.
Take-out: The end of a paddling trip, place on the riverbank where the boats are taken out.
Tongue: A smooth downstream V that indicates the route through a rapid.
Tracking: The tendency of a boat to move in a straight line.
Tumblehome: The curvature of the sides.
Undercut: A hazard formed by an overhanging rock or ledge with water flowing underneath it.
Waterfall: A major drop in a riverbed.
— Information compiled by Carl V. Natale, MaineToday.com
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MAINEJOBS
In this video, Don Skolfield talks about the shape of canoes and shows why one canoe is good for paddling on flat water in lakes and another is better for whitewater in rivers.