LOCALadk Magazine

Matt Young sending it through Sluice Falls on the Middle Branch of the Oswegatchie. Photo by: Phil LaMarche coveted amongst Northeastern U.S. paddlers due to the quality of the rapids and their pristine beauty. The small size of the drainages do not offer reliable flows at any time of year, but those paddlers who are able to get the timing right are rewarded handsomely. The final region is the Sacandaga Drainage. This area is the least popular amongst paddlers, but contains rivers with some of the most reliable flows in the park. On the right day in April, an adventurous paddler can find him or herself amidst an abundance of whitewater ready to be experienced and explored. The Northwest Corner "The Grass is flowing, anyone wanna go?" It's not the kind of text message a person living in the Adirondacks would expect to receive in the middle of January. But that is what makes rivers in the Northwest corner of the park so great. They are typically the first to free themselves of ice in the spring and can often provide a chilly paddling break in the depth of winter during a common mid-winter thaw. The type of Whitewater found in the Northwest Corner has come to epitomize Adirondack paddling. Massive rapids that fall cleanly into placid pools give these rivers with large, intimidating rapids a surprisingly forgiving feel. On a trip down the Oswegatchie River years ago a visiting paddler referred to these types of rivers as, "Lake and Huck." The Grass River is a northwest corner classic. Upon sliding their boats into the water, paddlers are immediately confronted with what local boaters call "Large Marge." On official maps this waterfall is called Rainbow Falls. It's a bouncy 30- foot Cascade that commands a hard left boat angle all the way down. Canton local and novelist, Phil LaMarche, insists that, "It gets easier as the flows get higher." However, that doesn't make it look any less like a raging torrent when you're staring the beast in the face. Phil is also the first one to eagerly alert other local paddlers when the infamous "mid-winter thaw" gets the river flowing. As the river continues on to the town of Degrasse the "Lake and Huck" nature of the run continues. Another notable rapid is "Twin Falls." Adirondack locals often insist that first time Grass River paddlers run this one without taking a look beforehand on their virgin descent. It is another bouncy 30ish footer that always deposits paddlers safely into the large flat pool below. The Middle Branch of the Oswegatchie River has burst into the hearts and minds of paddlers in recent years as the Adirondack's premier difficult whitewater run. Big vertical drops and quality of rapids unmatched LOCALadk Magazine Spring 2013 17

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