The Mary Badass

8 Miles to Barton Cove I kept reminding myself that one side of the river was no longer NH and the other VT. It was all Mass. I found it interesting to think of all of the communities down here which are separated by the river. Somehow when they were in different states it did…

21.5 miles to Munn’s Ferry Campground plus .3 mile portage around Vernon Dam I shared a lovely breakfast with Tom before he dropped me back at the river. He sent me off with six hard boiled eggs from his chickens. He also told me to call him when I reached the Vernon Dam and said…

22 miles From Bellows Falls Dam to Old Ferry Road Boat Access Before MxC took me to the put-in he showed me the Bellows Falls Petroglyph Site. This is an archeological site of uncertain age. These rock carvings are assumed to be carved into the rock by the native Sokoki Abenaki People perhaps as many…

21.1 miles from Wilgus State Park to the Bellows Falls Dam I had plans to meet a friend at the takeout at the Bellows Falls Dam. He would take me back to his house for the night but was trying to fit in picking me up between work and an evening appointment. I wanted to…

22.4 miles from Wilder Dam to Wilgus State Park After sitting out a chilly, rainy day with my friends Pip and Betty, I put in below the Wilder Dam at about 6:45AM. I was glad to have Pip help me get the boat off the car and down the rocky portage to the river. In…

I am writing this on July 12, 2022 from the comfort of my home. I have so far paddled about 290 miles of the Connecticut River. I have about 120 miles yet to go. I needed to return home for an appointment and am using an extra day to catch up on writing and to…

16.6 miles downriver and 1 mile back upriver! I woke up thinking about the importance of being recognized and having a sense of purpose in life. The campsite we were staying in had a family with three young children at it. These kids wanted to help us do everything. They helped us set up our…

17.4 Miles to Roaring Brook Campsite What a surprising day today was! I spent a relaxing morning writing before packing up to meet a friend and her college-aged daughter who wanted to paddle with me for two days. The timing worked out well in that having them along would help me transition away from having…

14.4 miles from Woodsville to Vaughn Meadow Campsite Today really became a day of going with the flow. We woke in the beautiful home of my friend Nancy Tucker and her husband Jay. They had put me up on my bike trip last fall and it was lovely to get to visit with them again.…

11.1 miles from Barnet-Monroe Bridge Access to Woodsville Access Today was a day for variety. We encountered a little bit of a lot of conditions. We had wind (headwind of course), interspersed with glassy calm. There were wide open lake-like sections of flatwater mixed with some quick-water and squirrelly currents. On some sections the river…