Becket to ChesterClass III-IV
9.5 Miles
West Branch of Westfield
West Branch of Westfield Photo of Mark Schappert by Joanne Grogan taken 4/14/2001 Gauge Information
Westfield, W. Branch
Becket to Chester III-IV
River DescriptionPosted on the MVP message board on 3/30/03 by Chris NeumannAfter a few U-turns in Chester, we found a suitable takeout point, loaded boats on our car, and headed for the put-in. The Lessels book was a bit vague at this point and led us about 6 miles astray, but fortunately we had a second map that led us down some dirt roads back to the place we needed to be. Because we were running a bit late we put on in Bancroft, skipping the (presumably) more difficult section from Beckett to Bancroft. The Westfield is beautiful in this area, running away from the roads to give a more remote feel. There were only two drops worth scouting. The second (Double Ledge) was perhaps a IV- at this level, roughly 6 feet on the Huntington gauge. We scouted river right but could only get an obstructed view of the second 3' ledge. Becca made me run probe for this, but I was able to catch an easy eddy in between and scout the second drop. A good thing too, because the river right line we were assuming would be best was a steep drop into a nasty hole. We all ran left instead and came through cleanly. From there down the river was read and run II-III. We managed to get off the river just before the brunt of the rain storm came through. All in all it was a nice day. If anyone knows anything about the upper section of this branch (Beckett to Bancroft) please let me know. We would like to get back out there and run it as well, perhaps linking both sections for a long day. Westfield River (Huntington) U.S.G.S. gage StreamTeam Status: unverified
Last Updated: 2007-01-04 00:56:40
|
AW Membership Status
Please join AW.
To enjoy extra features of this website please register by clicking here.No permissions.