Farmington River
by Bob Rancan
May 27, 2023
What a wonderful day on the Farmington River from Riverton to New Hartford. One complaint: The water level was just about the minimum flow to run this Wild and Scenic Section, just hovering around the 250cfs mark. Cold water was coming off Hogback dam but at a significantly lower rate than is typical for this time of year. The added flow from the Still River below Riverton was also down. But it was a terrific day.
7 members and 4 Connecticut friends in a variety of boats had a very nice sunny day that wasn't too hot...a good thing because lots of extra energy was expended dodging hundreds of rocks. Two adult bald eagles flew overhead, a mother merganser with a large brood darted away from us, yellow warblers were heard in the riverside bushes all along the route, the usual number of great blue herons moved off ahead of us and, last but not least, we came upon two young men fishing just off the bank and less than 10 feet away from one of them was a beaver casually chewing on a freshly cut branch. It was not bothered by the fellows standing right there or the passing boaters...amazing sight!
Thanks everyone. It was well worth the long drive.
Bob