Copy/Repost Hike

We used Quickwater to rent the kayaks and shuttle us up the Merrimack River. Joe and Chris had their own kayaks so all they needed was a shuttle up the river. Luciano and Craig were unable to get the 11AM shuttle together so they booked the 10AM shuttle and waited for us at the starting point. We had 8 overall making this an official gay flotilla!

Quickwater provided us a shuttle 10 miles upstream on the Merrimack River and we arrived at the starting point around 11:30am. Our plan was to paddle downstream back to their property by 4pm. 

Soon after starting, there was an island. We were informed to take a left since the water level on the right side was low. There were some shallow sections but we never once had to get out of our boats to drag our boats over the rocks.

On the river itself we were surprised as to how many birds we saw: cormorants, white egrets and even eagles accompanied us throughout the day! We did not see very many people so it felt like we were paddling in a remote wilderness. There were a few rope swings at the start but there were groups of people using them so we continued paddling.

We pulled onto a big boulder to have a swim and lunch. Even Thelma & Louise has been here! The water temperature was perfect! We were having such fun we lost track of time. This was a 3-4 hour paddle so we had get moving to make it back by the 4pm deadline.

For the most part, we found ourselves paddling together encountering other groups of kayakers and tubers now and then.  We reached the halfway point around 1:30 and pulled onto a sandy beach for a swim. Across the river was the Boscawen Old Home Day festival so we heard music in the background.  

There was a beautiful and tall river embankment that we paddled by. By this point, some of the guys wished we had done the much shorter 5 mile trip but everyone dug in deep and continued paddling. We then saw the bridge crossing the river and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. We were almost done! We pulled into a sand bar for the final swim of the day. The water was so shallow that just to get to wait deep water we had to walk about 150 yards! We arrived back at the Quickwater property just in time for the 4pm deadline.

What a great trip and what a great bunch of fun guys. Everyone was so supportive. Can't wait to do it again. Fun, fun, fun!!!

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