John's Brook

One of the Best Creeks in NY. Put in at the Garden hiking area and hike up to 3 miles to put in. Avg gradient 350+ fpm. Lots of strainers. Be cool to the outfitters, buy something & ask if you can park there.

John's Brook

by Karl Gesslein

So there I was, the better part of the way down what was easily the most difficult creek I had ever paddled, standing on the shore waiting for Mike to walk down, after paddling a long section of class IV-V by myself trying to catch up with Mike's lost paddle. My spray skirt had been badly ripped on a log which was stuck under an undercut rock and Mike's skirt was also badly ripped. Luckily mine had ripped first so I had gotten dibs on the only safety pin we had which was now holding together the tear and keeping my little creek boat from sinking like the Titanic in this heinous 350+ fpm creek known as John's Brook. If John's Brook had been a movie review it would have read like this:

John's Brook is the newest in a long line of productions aimed at appealing to the segment of the kayaking community that have hit their heads on a few to many rocks. The first two hours is spent watching kayakers hike up 3 miles of steep rocky trails dragging 100 lbs of gear through the mud, over creeks and over huge boulders. You can tell from the gradient that once these guys hit the water, there will be hell to pay. While most runs gently ramp up for the viewer, once they get to the water Johns creek starts out full bore and never slows down. The entire 5 miles is just one long climax with little or no interruption. Most people who enjoy this spectacle will be forced to switch over to auto-pilot or will end up running out of energy and adrenaline after the first 15 minutes. After the first couple of hours, you wonder when it will end, and whether or not the actors will just say 'enough' and walk out of the canyon.

Book of St John's B

...