I began by participating in a River Pilgrimage from Source to Sound, sponsored by the Episcopal Dioceses of New England. The leaders went the whole way. I spent six days paddling in middle Vermont with them, and I knew I wanted to do more.
For the rest of the paddling season in 2017, I did day paddles in southern Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Mostly those were alone in a kayak. A few, including two overnights, were with my wife or else with a friend in a canoe. Finally I made it to the Sound.
Last year, I did the section immediately north of White River Junction with a friend in a canoe over three days. In 2019, I did two long trips (by my standards), alone in a kayak, camping beside the River. For both, I dropped my kayak at the beginning, dropped my car at the end, and biked back to the beginning. Those trips together covered 115 river miles.
I also biked alongside the river between Canaan and Pittsburg, since it was too low to paddle there in mid-summer. I completed my Connecticut River pilgrimage with a three day hike from the Fourth Connecticut Lake to the Lake Francis Dam on the Cohos Trail with my brother. The whole thing was challenging and wonderfully rewarding!
