Westfield River with Andy, Chip & Sons
Where: Westfield River, Indian Hollow
When: 8/12/00-8/13/00
With: Andy, Chip, Brian, Jason
When: 8/12/00-8/13/00
With: Andy, Chip, Brian, Jason
Chip & I had long talked about taking the boys out for a combined camping trip. The trick would be careful planning and selection of destination. Brian and Jason had done a lot of hiking and some camping, but never any backpack camping. Andy had a few years of backpacking under his belt but still wasn't up for a major mountain assault. In the end we decided to go back to Mr. Beaver's Paradise, a small rocky gorge along the Westfield River in Western Massachusetts. It was nearby and the walk from the car was short and level. The gorge itself was pretty neat, with a deep pool, a rope swing and some tall cliffs, and there were several good tent spots.
We picked a mutually acceptable date and met at our house to begin the journey. I had been watching on-line river gauges all week and noticed the river level was high but acceptable. Our route required two river crossings and high water could be an issue. On Saturday it became an issue. A big rainstorm had come halfway across the state overnight and dumped a huge amount of water in the Westfield's watershed, bringing the river up over flood stage. We went anyway, figuring we'd check it out and make other arrangements if needed when we got there.
We traveled west in Chip's Volvo, with the boys in the back playing Gameboy the whole way. We expected a quick, smooth ride but quickly ran into a backup on the Pike. It turned out to be a combination of traffic for the Six Flags amusement park in Springfield and the annual Westover airshow. Yuck! We crawled all the way to Springfield, then finally headed north on 91, glad to be free at last. We turned off at Northhampton and ran into more traffic...a town festival. Fortunately we got through that pretty quickly and made our way west to Chesterfield and down to Indian Hollow.
We parked in the usual spot just outside the campground gate and noted the high water in the tributary stream that ran nearby. Everyone packed up, some pictures were taken, and then we started down the road. The campground itself was packed with a large group of folks. We chatted with them a bit and they were all connected in some way, but they never really said who they were. We mentioned our plans to cross the river and they offered some assistance, but one look at the water told us it was hopeless. The river was a raging torrent of seething brown water. At one point one of the campers got caught in the flow in an inner tube and several of us rushed out to pull him to shore.
Our group moved to the southern end of the campground and debated our options. We could camp there at the campground, try to bushwhack upstream along the east bank of the river to the gorge, or try to find a spot in the woods downstream from Indian Hollow. The downstream option was hampered by the tributary that flowed from the parking area and cut off access south from the campground, but Chip said he'd explore the possibilities down there while I decided to check out the routes upstream.
I walked up through the campers and headed into the woods north of the campground. I was able to follow some old roads and trails at first, but those disappeared and I soon found myself climbing up the steep sides of the river valley. I decided to turn back and rejoined Chip & the boys at the edge of the tributary. Chip hadn't found any way across yet so I explored upstream along the tributary a bit and found a possible crossing. I stripped to my bathing suit, made my way across and checked out the area. It seemed to offer some good possibilities for camping so I returned to the others and reported the news. We gathered up the boys and the gear and proceeded to make our assault. With the aid of a large stick for downstream support I ferried some gear across first, then returned for Andy and then Jason, who both rode across clinging to my back. Chip got his own pack over, then guided Brian as he made it over on his own.
The area on the other side of the stream seemed to be an acceptable spot for camping, but it was a bit moist and noisy with the rushing stream right there. Also a bit close to the campground. We dropped our packs anyway but decided to go exploring to see if there might be better spots. We followed a well-defined trail (hike, bike, ATV?) through the woods, roughly paralleling the river. My hope was that it would descend to the river at some scenic camping spot but it stayed up in the woods. The recent rain left the woods damp with huge muddy puddles in the trail. The boys had fun finding frogs and newts in the puddles as we walked along.
We walked for a good while and never found a good alternate site, so we started to head back. Along the way we decided to check out an area along a small stream that crossed the trail and flowed to the river. We made our way through the woods and came to a small bluff alongside the stream. There was a flat, open area for tents, lots of wood for a fire, easy access to water for dinner and a neat little gorge offering possible access down to the river. There were even some old trails crossing the area. Everyone agreed this was a much better campsite, so we hustled back to our gear and returned to claim the area for the night.
Back at the bluff, we quickly set up our tents: Andy & me in my Tiros, Brian and Jason in Chip's dome tent, and Chip in my Clip Cirrus. A fire spot was designated in the middle area, then we all went exploring. The most obvious route for investigation was the stream gorge. A flat stream up at our tents, it quickly turned into a series of rocky cascades falling down through a narrow, steep-walled gorge. The boys did a great job picking their way down the streambed, walking right in the water in their watershoes, and soon we were emerging from the forest to find ourselves standing at the edge of the river.
We hung out down there for a while and checked out the area before making our way back up to the campsite for dinner. We cooked/ate in two shifts. First, I made a big batch of mac & cheese for the boys (we had intended to have hot dogs too, but they were forgotten), then a second boil yielded tortellini for Chip & I. Chip managed to discreetly enjoy some bourbon throughout the evening and wound up dropping his first helping of pasta on his lap when he tripped over a root, but otherwise dinner was a success. After dinner we got a fire going and told ghost stories for a while before heading to the tents.
Chip, as always, snored mightily all night and the next morning the boys named the area Growling Grizzly Gulch in his honor. Breakfast was dry cereal and snacks (forgot the milk), then we spent the morning back down at the river. The water level had dropped considerably (though still not low enough to cross) and we thought we might have some luck fishing. I tried a number of casts in the eddys behind some large rocks in the current, but got no strikes. I guess the fish were still laying low.
At last we decided to head for home, so we packed up, walked back to the stream by the campground, repeated the crossing in reverse (strip to bathing suit, ferry the packs, then the boys...), and returned to the car. We took a different route home, heading down the west side of the river to the Knightville Dam. We expected to see a huge backup behind the dam but there was nothing but grassy marsh. Where was all the water? We climbed the dam anyway, then drove to Westfield for lunch at McDonalds and drove home.
More pictures
We picked a mutually acceptable date and met at our house to begin the journey. I had been watching on-line river gauges all week and noticed the river level was high but acceptable. Our route required two river crossings and high water could be an issue. On Saturday it became an issue. A big rainstorm had come halfway across the state overnight and dumped a huge amount of water in the Westfield's watershed, bringing the river up over flood stage. We went anyway, figuring we'd check it out and make other arrangements if needed when we got there.
We traveled west in Chip's Volvo, with the boys in the back playing Gameboy the whole way. We expected a quick, smooth ride but quickly ran into a backup on the Pike. It turned out to be a combination of traffic for the Six Flags amusement park in Springfield and the annual Westover airshow. Yuck! We crawled all the way to Springfield, then finally headed north on 91, glad to be free at last. We turned off at Northhampton and ran into more traffic...a town festival. Fortunately we got through that pretty quickly and made our way west to Chesterfield and down to Indian Hollow.
We parked in the usual spot just outside the campground gate and noted the high water in the tributary stream that ran nearby. Everyone packed up, some pictures were taken, and then we started down the road. The campground itself was packed with a large group of folks. We chatted with them a bit and they were all connected in some way, but they never really said who they were. We mentioned our plans to cross the river and they offered some assistance, but one look at the water told us it was hopeless. The river was a raging torrent of seething brown water. At one point one of the campers got caught in the flow in an inner tube and several of us rushed out to pull him to shore.
Our group moved to the southern end of the campground and debated our options. We could camp there at the campground, try to bushwhack upstream along the east bank of the river to the gorge, or try to find a spot in the woods downstream from Indian Hollow. The downstream option was hampered by the tributary that flowed from the parking area and cut off access south from the campground, but Chip said he'd explore the possibilities down there while I decided to check out the routes upstream.
I walked up through the campers and headed into the woods north of the campground. I was able to follow some old roads and trails at first, but those disappeared and I soon found myself climbing up the steep sides of the river valley. I decided to turn back and rejoined Chip & the boys at the edge of the tributary. Chip hadn't found any way across yet so I explored upstream along the tributary a bit and found a possible crossing. I stripped to my bathing suit, made my way across and checked out the area. It seemed to offer some good possibilities for camping so I returned to the others and reported the news. We gathered up the boys and the gear and proceeded to make our assault. With the aid of a large stick for downstream support I ferried some gear across first, then returned for Andy and then Jason, who both rode across clinging to my back. Chip got his own pack over, then guided Brian as he made it over on his own.
The area on the other side of the stream seemed to be an acceptable spot for camping, but it was a bit moist and noisy with the rushing stream right there. Also a bit close to the campground. We dropped our packs anyway but decided to go exploring to see if there might be better spots. We followed a well-defined trail (hike, bike, ATV?) through the woods, roughly paralleling the river. My hope was that it would descend to the river at some scenic camping spot but it stayed up in the woods. The recent rain left the woods damp with huge muddy puddles in the trail. The boys had fun finding frogs and newts in the puddles as we walked along.
We walked for a good while and never found a good alternate site, so we started to head back. Along the way we decided to check out an area along a small stream that crossed the trail and flowed to the river. We made our way through the woods and came to a small bluff alongside the stream. There was a flat, open area for tents, lots of wood for a fire, easy access to water for dinner and a neat little gorge offering possible access down to the river. There were even some old trails crossing the area. Everyone agreed this was a much better campsite, so we hustled back to our gear and returned to claim the area for the night.
Back at the bluff, we quickly set up our tents: Andy & me in my Tiros, Brian and Jason in Chip's dome tent, and Chip in my Clip Cirrus. A fire spot was designated in the middle area, then we all went exploring. The most obvious route for investigation was the stream gorge. A flat stream up at our tents, it quickly turned into a series of rocky cascades falling down through a narrow, steep-walled gorge. The boys did a great job picking their way down the streambed, walking right in the water in their watershoes, and soon we were emerging from the forest to find ourselves standing at the edge of the river.
We hung out down there for a while and checked out the area before making our way back up to the campsite for dinner. We cooked/ate in two shifts. First, I made a big batch of mac & cheese for the boys (we had intended to have hot dogs too, but they were forgotten), then a second boil yielded tortellini for Chip & I. Chip managed to discreetly enjoy some bourbon throughout the evening and wound up dropping his first helping of pasta on his lap when he tripped over a root, but otherwise dinner was a success. After dinner we got a fire going and told ghost stories for a while before heading to the tents.
Chip, as always, snored mightily all night and the next morning the boys named the area Growling Grizzly Gulch in his honor. Breakfast was dry cereal and snacks (forgot the milk), then we spent the morning back down at the river. The water level had dropped considerably (though still not low enough to cross) and we thought we might have some luck fishing. I tried a number of casts in the eddys behind some large rocks in the current, but got no strikes. I guess the fish were still laying low.
At last we decided to head for home, so we packed up, walked back to the stream by the campground, repeated the crossing in reverse (strip to bathing suit, ferry the packs, then the boys...), and returned to the car. We took a different route home, heading down the west side of the river to the Knightville Dam. We expected to see a huge backup behind the dam but there was nothing but grassy marsh. Where was all the water? We climbed the dam anyway, then drove to Westfield for lunch at McDonalds and drove home.
More pictures
