Schroon

On 'Big Drop' there is an aluminum canoe at the lip of the drop that is wrapped around a rock. It is not clearly visable at 3.5 ft. Do not run river right as there is a rope running fron the canoe on that side. It may be attatched to an anchor. The canoe has flushed and been removed penijassssssss

The warning applies mainly to open boaters, who may be at risk of swamping and taking long swims in the Schroon rapids.

I ran the Schroon in OC-1 on 7-1-09. The level was about 3.8, enough that I seldom even clipped a rock in the rapids. I put in river-right below the modern hwy bridge and the dam. The first rapid, under a RR bridge, was well covered with water. Several routes were possible, but some quick maneuvers were needed. Kind of a class 2+.

The only other rapid of consequence on the upper part of the run began with some twisty waves and holes, allowed a brief chance to decide which side of an island to run. I ran left, but after stopping on the left bank, I saw the bigger waves right of the island had no special hazards. The rapid continued with heavy waves for a total length of about a quarter mile. There were few opportunities for an open boater to struggle to the bank and bail. Most tandem open boats and even many ww OC-1s might swamp and have to swim a long way to the pool below. I would have to class this as a low 3 because of the somewhat complex entry, the potential for swamping, and the poor options for recovery without swimming a long rapid.

I do agree with the river info author that there is too much flatwater unless the intermediate put in is used. While the rapid described above has wave surfing potential and is fun to run, it is too similar to the rapids below the intermediate put-in.

I had no difficulty with the 'class 3 minus' or the nearly mile long 'class 2' by virtue of my paddling a Millbrook OC-1 that runs dry. But again, most tandems and some WW OC-1s would take a lot of water in these rapids, and there are few opportunites to eddy out and dump or pump out a boat.

As for the class 3 Big Drop, I did not see a good place to stop and scout. Also, going to the extreme right to enter the rapid did not look workable, but entering rignt of center worked well, and after that it was just another long ride in strong waves.

The different hazard level on this section is related to the capabilities of kayaks (I am also a kayaker) versus open canoes. The river info author's rapid classifications are in line with current practice, but the length of the rapids and the difficulty of landing along the way to bail or dump will make these rapids look a bit different to open boaters.