Moose - 2. Lower: Rock Island to Fowlersville


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Moose,

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2. Lower: Rock Island to Fowlersville

Usual Difficulty III-IV (may vary with level)
Length 9 Miles

Mixmaster


Mixmaster
Photo by Adrian VandenBout taken October 29, 2005 @ 4.4'

Gauge Information

Name Range Difficulty Updated Level
MOOSE RIVER AT MCKEEVER NY
usgs-04254500 3.40 - 10.00 ft III-IV 03h37m 2.99 ft (rc= -0.1 )


River Description

Getcher Moose Fest Newspaper here! (pdf file, 10.9 MB)

Logistics:
See the Lower Moose Map. The normal putin is at Rock Island, off Moose River Road, about three miles West of Rte. 28. The takeout is at Fowlerville Road, the normal putin for the Bottom Moose. To get to the takeout from the putin, continue West on Moose River Road for about 4 miles.
Bear Right at Porter's Corners, staying on Moose River Road.
After another 2.5 miles, take a Right onto North South Road.
At the T intersection, hang Left onto Penny Settlement Road.
After a short drive, take your first Right onto Fowlerville Road. The river's about a mile and a half along Fowlerville. Park before the river, on the left or the right. (There's a good sandy parking area on the left.)

See also the Google Directions from Utica.

Those wishing to run the class-4 section usually put in at Rock Island. Those wishing to run the class-3 section (Middle Moose) usually take out at Rock Island: Longitude - 75, 09, 27 and Latitude 43, 36, 01.

AWA Journal, Spring 1980, Adirondack Canoe Waters South Flow, Adirondack

See also the Middle Moose, Class III, and Bottom Moose, Class V.

Also see Kathy Kempson's Virtual Moose Tour. (Clicking will open a new browser window.)

Also see CNY's Moose description.

Latitute/Longitude coordinates verified by GPS.


StreamTeam Status: Verified
Last Updated: 2008-05-09 06:24:23

Editors

Stream Team Editor
Matt Muir
Fairport, NY


Lower Moose Map

Detail Trip Report Edit  Lower Moose Map  Moose, NY(132.19KB .jpeg)

Tannery Rapid

Detail Trip Report Edit  Tannery Rapid  Moose, NY(50.59KB .jpeg)

Mixmaster

Detail Trip Report Edit  Mixmaster  Moose, NY(42.62KB .jpeg)

Kurt looks back at Froth Hole

Detail Trip Report Edit  Kurt looks back at Froth Hole  Moose, NY(44.61KB .jpeg)

Elevator Shaft

Detail Trip Report Edit  Elevator Shaft  Moose, NY(42.12KB .jpeg)

Hans runs Elevator

Detail Trip Report Edit  Hans runs Elevator  Lower Moose, NY(428.37KB .jpeg)

Kurt looks back at Froth Hole

Detail Trip Report Edit  Kurt looks back at Froth Hole  Lower Moose, NY(421.80KB .jpeg)

scouting the line at McMaster

Detail Trip Report Edit  scouting the line at McMaster  Lower Moose, NY(423.74KB .jpeg)

Tannery rapid

Detail Trip Report Edit  Tannery rapid  Lower Moose, NY(452.86KB .jpeg)


Gauge Information

Gauge Description:

Chris Koll explains the Moose River releases in the fall (taken from NPMB.com):

"...a scheduled Bottom Moose release has absolutely no bearing on levels in either the Middle of Lower Moose.

"Now, this entire scenario is complicated by the presence of a small dam located way upstream on the Middle Branch of the Moose adjacent to the parking lot of Slickers Tavern in Old Forge. This dam controls levels of the Fulton Chain of Lakes--an impoundment stretching for nearly 20 miles. The lake is annually drawn down for flood control and to avoid ice damage. The Black River Regulatory District has worked with me to schedule the start of this drawdown to correspond with the Moose Fest weekend (this year Oct. 13-14). The maximum amount of water that can be spilled from the small dam is around 400 cfs which isn't enough by itself to make the Moose runnable--but when combined with natural flows in the North Branch Moose and South Branch Moose, it generally equates to a minimum reading at McKeever of 3'. Obviously, McKeever can read much higher if the South and North Branches have normal or above fall flows.

"Therefore--the drawdown from the Fulton Chain does guarantee adequate or better water levels for all three sections of the Moose. But that drawdown doesn't start until October 17."

Levels, according to Chris Koll:
2.6-2.7 is around 500 cfs.
3.5' is around 750 cfs.
4' is an even 1000 cfs.
5' is 1850 cfs.

Gauge Information

Name Range Difficulty Updated Level
MOOSE RIVER AT MCKEEVER NY
usgs-04254500 3.40 - 10.00 ft III-IV 03h37m 2.99 ft (rc= -0.1 )

RangeWater LevelDifficultyComment
3.40 -10.00 ft barely runnable-high runnable III-IV

Report - Reports of Moose 2. Lower: Rock Island to Fowlersville and related gauges

Reports give the public a chance to report on river conditions throughout the country as well as log the history of a river.

Reports

When River/Gauge Subject Level Reporter
Moose [NY] Lower Moose Map n/a Matt Muir
4y35d10h21m Lower Moose [NY] Hans runs Elevator 4.4' Adrian VandenBout
4y35d10h21m Moose [NY] Tannery Rapid 4.4' Matt Muir

WXPort

News



Journal Archive Articles

New York. . . The Whitewater State!

Guidebooks



World Whitewater: A Global Guide for River Runners
$16.07


Classic Northeastern Whitewater Guide : The Best Whitewater Runs in New England and New York
$19.95


Let it Rain: A paddlers guide to northeastern US and Canada
$39.95


New York Exposed: The Whitewater State, Volume 1
$19.95

User Comments


2008-09-24 04:20:29 (414 days ago)
Just wanted to thank you for the pictures of the Moose in fowlerville, Iam in west virgina now, but
our camp is in fowlerville name after my familey who live there, my name is Pat Fowler. I have
wacth the folks running the whitewaters of Moose river. Edit
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Rapid Summary

Mile Rapid Name Class Features (Legend)
0.0Rock Island PutinPutin
0.7Iron Bridge
1.1TanneryIII+Photo
2.5Rooster TailIII+
4.7Froth HoleIII+Photo
8.7MixmasterIVPhoto
9.1Elevator ShaftIII+Photo
10.2Fowlerville RoadTakeout

Rapid Descriptions

Tannery (Class III+, Mile 1.1)

Tannery Rapid

Tannery Rapid
Photo by Adrian VandenBout taken October 29, 2005 @ 4.4'


Rooster Tail (Class III+, Mile 2.5)
After a long series of ledges and holes is a twisting, 6-foot drop on the right. Scout from river left.

Froth Hole (Class III+, Mile 4.7)

Kurt looks back at Froth Hole

Kurt looks back at Froth Hole
Photo of Kurt Fisk by Adrian VandenBout taken October 29, 2005 @ 4.4'


Mixmaster (Class IV, Mile 8.7)

Mixmaster

Mixmaster
Photo by Adrian VandenBout taken October 29, 2005 @ 4.4'


Elevator Shaft (Class III+, Mile 9.1)

Elevator Shaft

Elevator Shaft
Photo of Hans Merritt by Adrian VandenBout taken October 29, 2005 @ 4.4'


Fowlerville Road
Take out here, at the road--or run Fowlersville Falls for a good capper to a good day!



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Associated Projects

  • Moose River
    AW fought a proposal to dewater the Moose River beginning in 1982, and ultimately secured some of the first recreational releases in the nation.

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