A 4 day old warning about this river was added. Click on comments below to read it.

Gale, NH

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Franconia to Ammonoosuc

Class II-IV
3 Miles
Avg Gradient 67 fpm
Max Gradient 90 fpm

Gale river source


Gale river source
Photo of Mt Lafayette by Mark Lacroix taken 4/11/02 @ Low to medium



River Description

The Gale is a beautiful northern NH river. The river starts out class II and picks up in intensity as a boater heads downstream. The first mile is class II, the second mile is class II-III, the last mile is the class IV gorge section. The last mile is the toughest as the river cuts a deep narrow gorge through an old basalt lava dike. The change in geology is responsible for the ledgy nature of the gorge section. The gorge contains several class IV ledge drops.

Technical info

Put in elevation........850'
Take out elevation......650'
Total drop..............200'
1st mile................50'
2nd mile................60'
3rd mile................90' 
Average drop/mile.......67'
Distance................3.0 miles
River width average.....70'
River geology...........Medium to large granite boulders, 
                        basalt schists ledge at the gorge
River water quality.....excellent, clarity good.
Scenery.................excellent northern spruce/fir forest scenery, 
                        river is wild and isolated.
Wildlife................Deer, hawks, moose, merganzers, coyotes.

Directions


Put in

Interstate 93 to exit 38 (Franconia).
Left at the end of the ramp towards Franconia.
Right on NH 116 north at the stop sign.
1.3 miles take a left on Streeter Pond Road.
2/3rds of a mile take a left over the truss bridge on Crane Hill Road (dirt).
2/3rds of a mile past the open field into the woods park where the river comes close to the road.

Take out

Head back to Streeter Pond Road.
Take a left after the bridge.
Approximately 3 miles take a left on Sherman road.
Approximately 1/2 mile park on the rail trail just before the bridge over the Ammonoosuc River. The Gale enters the Ammo about 1/8 of a mile downstream from this point. Carry up along the rail trail.


StreamTeam Status: verified
Last Updated: 2005-04-25 17:28:37

Search Results

Photos/Videos 1- of 9

Below Streeter ledge


Below Streeter ledge  Gale NH
(27.64KB .jpeg)

Gorge entrance


Gorge entrance  Gale NH
(31.37KB .jpeg)

Shreder at Lava


Shreder at Lava  Gale NH
(29.69KB .jpeg)

Pat at Lava


Pat at Lava  Gale NH
(35.77KB .jpeg)

Gale river source


Gale river source  Gale NH
(25.30KB .jpeg)

Gorge at high water


Gorge at high water  Gale NH
(31.60KB .jpeg)

Guardian of the gorge


Guardian of the gorge  Gale NH
(37.23KB .jpeg)

Gorge entrance


Gorge entrance  Gale NH
(30.89KB .jpeg)

Scouting the gorge


Scouting the gorge  Gale NH
(26.94KB .jpeg)

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Gauge Description:

There is a paddlers gage painted on the river left bridge abutment used to access the put in from Streeter Pond road. Below is a table with matched data from two other local USGS gauges and the paddlers gage. Use this data as a general guideline to determine runnable levels on the Gale.

Gauge correlations for the  Gale river Sugar Hill NH

Date

Time

Paddlers gage

Ammo USGS

East Branch USGS

 Gale river level Interpretation
4/26/03 6:00 pm 0.6' 3.12 RR* 6.84 RR* Low
4/11/02 11:00 am ------ 3.24 S* 7.13 S* Low to medium

*RR=rising rapidly  RS=rising slowly  S=steady  FR=falling rapidly  FS=falling slowly

High water warning

High flooding waters can be dangerous on this river. The gorge section is narrow and steep. The basalt dike at Lava creates a huge dangerous hole with a rather benign entrance. It is nearly impossible to sneak or portage at a visual gage reading above 3-1/2’ Be aware the Gale can rise very rapidly during heavy snowmelt and rains.
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News





Guidebooks



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

User Comments
2008-07-21 05:44:39 (4 days ago)
The pool after the first drop of the gorge has a large log in it. The water was high but looked like a number of limbs underwater that could cause problems. Edit
Add a Comment

Rapid Summary

Mile Rapid Name Class Features (Legend)
1.0Streeter LedgeIII+Photo
2.0Upper gorgeIVPhoto
2.3Middle gorgeIVPhoto
2.6Lava rapidIVPhoto

Rapid Descriptions

Streeter Ledge (Class III+, Mile 1.0)

Below Streeter ledge

Below Streeter ledge
Photo of Pat Wyman by Mark Lacroix taken 4/11/02 @ Low to medium

This is the first major horizon line you will approach. The river breaks up into three channels, the far right channel is the easiest and only requires a couple quick eddy turns. The far left channel drops 2' onto a rock which is usually pillowed enough for a straight run through. The middle channel with most of the flow drops 3' into a ramped rock. This rock creates a laminar rooster tail, then drops down into a sticky hole.

Upper gorge (Class IV, Mile 2.0)

Gorge entrance

Gorge entrance
Photo by Mark Lacroix taken 4/11/02 @ Low to medium

The river takes a sharp left turn and drops into the gorge. The rapid starts out in a steep slide heading into the left wall of the gorge. Start at river center and move left to avoid a large hole river right to center. After the hole catch the micro eddy just as the river takes a hard right. There is a nice pool to recover after this drop.

Middle gorge (Class IV, Mile 2.3)

Shreder at Lava

Shreder at Lava
Photo of Tom Foster and Kathy Wyman by Mark Lacroix taken 4/11/02 @ Low to medium

There are several ledge drops through the middle gorge the most difficult comes shortly after the Upper gorge drop. There is a 3' to 4' vertical drop on river right that creates a nasty hydraulic at its base. Run far right and paddle hard through the hole. After this drop there a several more ledge drops mostly in the 2' to 3' range. All these can be boat scouted.

Lava rapid (Class IV, Mile 2.6)

Pat at Lava

Pat at Lava
Photo of Pat Wyman by Mark Lacroix taken 4/11/02 @ Low to medium

Lava rapid is created where the river cuts through a basalt lava dike. There is a 2' to 3' entrance drop into a small eddy. From here you can scout the drop. Running down the middle or left will lead you directly into a fairly large hole. The right side of the drop is gaurded by a piece of ledge that creates a large roostertail. The best route is starting from the middle of the channel and run towards the right just skirting the roster tail ledge.


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