11 hearty paddlers journeyed north, down the river this time. Everyone enjoyed what became a memorable day. After breakfast at the diner, we left cars at the take-out and launched at the Rt 565 access location after 11am. Most of us had our own kayaks, except for Kirsten and Terry who rented from Vaughn of Living Adventure in NJ. He was very helpful by providing rentals on site, and as a guide. Stephanie and her son Dan rented elsewhere, and transported the boats on their car. New to our group were Rick, Cheri and Joan, and Janice and Suzanne joined us again; we all enjoyed their company. The river was still fairly high, but not as swollen as it was in April. We encountered 2 blockages that required a portage. The first was fairly manageable, the second was more of a challenge. Approaching the 2nd blockage, those who were in the lead decided to paddle around to the right. That was a mistake. The narrow passage made the current swift and very difficult to navigate. Some of us got caught at a tree on the bank, flipped their boats and needed rescue. Others including Vaughn and myself paddled around to the left and waded into the river to help those that fell in. We emptied the water out of the boats and continued on. The water was fairly cold, but none of us considered the temperature dangerous. The rest of the trip went on without incident. We stopped farther on down the river to have lunch on the bank, and enjoy the early spring day. We continued past the Bassetts Bridge access location, where the river was much wider, and then took out at Oil City road, just over the NY state border.
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