Winnipesaukee

This is from when you turn the corner from Sulphite coming into the long straightaway that eventually leads down to Zippys.

Late spring, after work runs on the Winni

The view of lower Zippys from the bridge.

A large granite block at the base of the center bridge abutment has become dislodged. Avoid this hazard!

A large granite block at the base of the center bridge abutment has become dislodged. Avoid this hazard!

ran the Winnie twice the day after the comment about the railroad rapid wood was posted. Level was similar, 1600 or so. Some of the tree that was sticking out to the left of the pylon seems to have broken-- the far right channel is still obstructed, but getting past it on the left is pretty easy. I didn't try sneaking on the right but it looks like that would be much harder then the left line now

good day for a swim

I encourage everyone to contribute a brick to the new Trestle View Park project at the end of the run -- which is now almost entirely complete! The park was built/designed largely to accomodate whitewater boaters, and the town has done a very nice job of creating a very welcoming spot for us.

This is the drop under the right side of the bridge at Railroad.
Bill is heading for the center span of the Railroad bridge.
This is the play wave with a large service eddy below Sulfite and before Zippy's.
This shows the top half of Zippy's Final Plunge, just before reaching the railroad bridge. The photo was taken from the top of the railroad bridge.
This service-road/bike-path runs along river left for the entire 1.25 mile run. It allows non-paddlers to come along, but the road is 100 feet up a steep hill side from the river and as you can see, the trees make it hard to see the river in many places. It provides a good escape route if you need to abort your run, or a good way to make a two-foot shuttle.
This shows the view of Railroad Rapid from the railroad bridge. The most common line is down river right, then moving toward river center at the very bottom left corner of the photo, then passing under the center span of the bridge.
This route opens up at higher water levels. Watch out for the boulder sieve, it's a good place to break a paddle.
The easiest route at Coliseum is to make a very sharp turn and head for the river left eddy in the middle of the rapid. You can't start too close to the left shore as there are some shallow rocks. Paddle hard left as the currnet tries to sweep you down into the wall.
I've seen people take the above three routes in Coliseum. The center and alpine routes are not available at lower water levels.

I encourage everyone to contribute a brick to the new Trestle View Park project at the end of the run. In the meantime, beware the copious amounts of dog poo in the lot at the take-out. It's everywhere!

At this water level you can just squeeze under the exit portals to the delapitated mill. At lower levels the floor of the room is covered with rebarr, at higher levels the portals are too low to pass under. At higher flows 1/4 of the river flow will pass through the 'Room of Doom' so avoid river right. Most of the time the 'Room of Doom' is filled with debris and impossible to run safely. Be especially carefull if you chose to surf 'Doomsday Wave' just above the 'Room of Doom', if you should break off to river right from the wave there is a high probability of getting pulled into the 'Room of Doom'

More of my photos can be found on my American Whitewater page and my Geocities page.
More of my photos can be found on my American Whitewater page and my Geocities page.
More of my photos can be found on my NEW kayakingphotos.com page and my American Whitewater page.
More of my photos can be found on my NEW kayakingphotos.com page and my American Whitewater page.
I hope that the DuctTape holds out the COLD water! More of my photos can be found on my NEW kayakingphotos.com page and my American Whitewater page.
More of my photos can be found on my NEW kayakingphotos.com page and my American Whitewater page.
More of my photos can be found on my NEW kayakingphotos.com page and my American Whitewater page.

Coliseum on the Winni. The usual route is from right to left in the foreground over the surfing wave.
Access map for the Winnipesaukee River