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I've run the section from just before the Dam at Starbuckville down to the rapid pictured here by the road on Schroon River Road. I really struggled to find notes about the river before running it and for the sake of others I thought I'd give a few notes on running that 'top' section. I work at a local summer camp where we wanted to find some really exciting water for kids aged 12-14 to be able to do, thankfully they learnt quickly and did great on this section. (We're planning to run the lower section on Tuesday August 11th - I'll let you know how it goes!) Dam is usually busy with fishermen but you can practise ferry gliding, which is what we do with our kids here. You continue down stream for a few minutes before you see the bridge ahead of you. From a view in a lower eddy it clearly is rocky in lower waters but if you stick FAR right, close to the bridge pillar there is a nice smooth run down into the waves below. The drop isn't big but bigger than it looks from above. We've had no problems there and you could easily run it river left if you were looking for a bumpier ride. After the rapid, another section of river joins across the right eddy into the pool. I'm not 100% sure where the river comes from but there is a rapid there which can be run if you took your boat up to the top. It's easier than the main channel under the bridge but probably more rocky, especially in lower water. Again we practise ferry gliding across this section. You continue down river some way, over some very small ripples and the river bends left. You will see a very nice holiday home with private beach on the left. We stopped for a sneaky lunch break there but I wouldn't if you saw life in the house. Just round the corner is the next big rapid. With 3 sections grade 2-3, this is definitely fun fun fun. The river will bend around again to the left. As you see the first ripples you can pull out river left but it will involve hiding you boat in some trees and I really don't think an open canoe would fit in there. It is possible and I would recommend to paddle JUST past the ripples staying far left and pull into a beach just round the corner if you need to go and set someone up with a throwbag lower down. The first rapid is the biggest water and should be run river left down the green chute, there is a reasonably sized eddy river left where we stop before going for rapid 2. Warning though: The land on river left where we stand with throwbags is definitely private property and so far we've only been asked to move on once on the land just past rapid 2 but since then we've tried to keep hidden and been okay. There is a big rock on the left bank we stand on with throwbags just above rapid 2 in case of any accidents at rapid 1. Rapid 2 is much easier but just rocky. There is an island in the middle of the river which splits the rapid at number 2. We paddled the left channel which is easier to portage - we saw no real options for bank support on the whole section on the right. On the actual run (river left) there is a rock right in the middle which we stuck close to it's right side before moving river left to avoid another big rock in the middle of the river. Eddy left is good to stop after and the pool below is sizable enough in case of swims. I actually paddled back up the rapid on sticking close to the island in the middle and was able to get out and look over to the other side of the river over the island. It definitely looks runable just rocky. Probably much easier in higher water to avoid the rocks. The water was fairly high when we were there and as I said, it looked okay. The third rapid is the longest and great fun. Ferry glide across the river as you really want to go down it towards river right. Lower down on the left are some big rocks even at higher water but centre-ish is okay too. It is rather a long section but the bottom is visible and there is a great flat pool at the bottom to pick up swimmers. The view from the eddy bottom right back up to the eddy at the top on river left is limited but if you position yourself right there is just enough room to raise a paddle for an 'ok' signal. From the pool you head right and endure a rather boring flat section heading under the bridge before eventually arriving at the rapid you have described here. We've taken the kids here a few times and they've all loved it as an intro to whitewater. Surf waves on the bottom rapid were rockin'.
