Moose River, NY
Location - Western Adirondack Mountains
Difficulty - Class IV-V Length - 4.5 miles
Level - 3.6 feet Date - runs from 1999 to 2000
Difficulty - Class IV-V Length - 4.5 miles
Level - 3.6 feet Date - runs from 1999 to 2000
The Moose River is one of the most beloved rivers in the northeastern United States.
The four mile run meets the definition of a pool / drop run with ledges up to fifty feet
tall broken by flatwater. Although the whole run can be made in an hour by people
that know the lines, it is often more fun to take your time, getting out to watch your
buddies hurl themselves over the river's impressive drops.
The classic iron bridge at the put in has been replaced, but the amazing view of the
river wide horizon line a hundred yards downstream has stayed the same. The first
drop on the Moose is a fifty foot slide falling steeply into a huge uniform hydraulic that
has surfed boaters for over five minutes. Running the easy river left line through the
roostertail will avoid the hole, but be prepared to take a big hit at the bottom. The
next rapid is a class III ledge about 8 feet tall followed by a bend to the right. When
the river turns ninety degrees left again pull over on the right and scout Diamond
Splitter. This is a class IV or IV+ rapid and in my opinion, is one of the Moose's
trickier rapids. A few lead in drops bring you to an angled curling hole above a ten
foot ramp with a razor fin piece of ledge sticking up at the bottom that has split open
more than a few helmets. There is a slot to boof on river left, but the hole is pretty
sticky.
Flatwater follows as the river winds around some sand bars before entering a wide
gorge shut in by beautiful pink granite walls. Two smaller drops lead to an obvious
horizon, scout from the shelf on river right. Knife's Edge has a sneak line through the
left channel, with a few options in the main right channel. The standard line is an S
turn boofing a flake on the top right that throws you above the second drop which is
split by a nasty outcrop of ledge. Land the boof and run the second drop left
watching out for the potholes in the left wall and the undercut to your right. You can
also ride the river right platform and boof off of its end, but dropping off of this too
soon will land you in a nasty looking crack or on rock. You could also boof the left
slot at the top, but this falls into a pot hole and was the site of a fatality some years
ago. The standard line at this impressive looking rapid is plenty of fun.
The four mile run meets the definition of a pool / drop run with ledges up to fifty feet
tall broken by flatwater. Although the whole run can be made in an hour by people
that know the lines, it is often more fun to take your time, getting out to watch your
buddies hurl themselves over the river's impressive drops.
The classic iron bridge at the put in has been replaced, but the amazing view of the
river wide horizon line a hundred yards downstream has stayed the same. The first
drop on the Moose is a fifty foot slide falling steeply into a huge uniform hydraulic that
has surfed boaters for over five minutes. Running the easy river left line through the
roostertail will avoid the hole, but be prepared to take a big hit at the bottom. The
next rapid is a class III ledge about 8 feet tall followed by a bend to the right. When
the river turns ninety degrees left again pull over on the right and scout Diamond
Splitter. This is a class IV or IV+ rapid and in my opinion, is one of the Moose's
trickier rapids. A few lead in drops bring you to an angled curling hole above a ten
foot ramp with a razor fin piece of ledge sticking up at the bottom that has split open
more than a few helmets. There is a slot to boof on river left, but the hole is pretty
sticky.
Flatwater follows as the river winds around some sand bars before entering a wide
gorge shut in by beautiful pink granite walls. Two smaller drops lead to an obvious
horizon, scout from the shelf on river right. Knife's Edge has a sneak line through the
left channel, with a few options in the main right channel. The standard line is an S
turn boofing a flake on the top right that throws you above the second drop which is
split by a nasty outcrop of ledge. Land the boof and run the second drop left
watching out for the potholes in the left wall and the undercut to your right. You can
also ride the river right platform and boof off of its end, but dropping off of this too
soon will land you in a nasty looking crack or on rock. You could also boof the left
slot at the top, but this falls into a pot hole and was the site of a fatality some years
ago. The standard line at this impressive looking rapid is plenty of fun.
After a short pool comes Double Drop, featuring back to back ten
foot ledges. Many lines exist, but two are standard. Boofing hard
left at the top is easy, but getting to the obvious boof at the
bottom ledge requires a ferry. The main line runs through a
channel at the top ledge that can dump you into a big hole, but
once you break through it is a straight shot to the last part of the
drop. At high water boof left twice here.
Flatwater follows Double drop to a portage around a dam. A
small lake follows the carry to another low angled dam about ten
feet tall that is run right center. Once over this dam you are in a
class II area above 18 foot Agers Falls, which can be run
anywhere, but has an auto boof ramp about twenty feet wide in its
middle. The farther left you go the nastier it gets. The run out
drops another fifteen feet over broken slides. Some confused
class II and III water follows for a few hundred yards to Shurform,
now recognized by a few homes on river right. I imagine that you
should avoid the land associated with these houses, but the wide
ledges of the river give plenty of room to scout and portage.
foot ledges. Many lines exist, but two are standard. Boofing hard
left at the top is easy, but getting to the obvious boof at the
bottom ledge requires a ferry. The main line runs through a
channel at the top ledge that can dump you into a big hole, but
once you break through it is a straight shot to the last part of the
drop. At high water boof left twice here.
Flatwater follows Double drop to a portage around a dam. A
small lake follows the carry to another low angled dam about ten
feet tall that is run right center. Once over this dam you are in a
class II area above 18 foot Agers Falls, which can be run
anywhere, but has an auto boof ramp about twenty feet wide in its
middle. The farther left you go the nastier it gets. The run out
drops another fifteen feet over broken slides. Some confused
class II and III water follows for a few hundred yards to Shurform,
now recognized by a few homes on river right. I imagine that you
should avoid the land associated with these houses, but the wide
ledges of the river give plenty of room to scout and portage.
Shurform is a hundred yard slide dropping roughly forty or fifty feet that is
divided into a right and left side. The right side has a few angled holes at the
top that need to be punched hard to make a mandatory move to the left to avoid
a mess of piton rocks and nasty roostertails. The left side has a fun boof at the
top, but features a mandatory move at the bottom to avoid an undercut rock. A
fatal pin has occurred at the undercut on the left side and pitons are common.
The next rapid is Powerline, noted by the high voltage lines overhead. Run this
class IV drop down the middle or catch the many eddies, but watch out for the
holes near the bottom on either side of the river. This gets big at higher flows.
The river stays busy for the next few hundred yards and I tend to always stay
right running slides and drops until a log crib structure is seen in the water on
the right and the Moose drops out of sight. You have reached Crystal, the
climax of this run and one of the most visually impressive rapids commonly run in
the east.
A couple of lines are good to go here, but I will describe the standard route that
is typically run. It involves running the top ledge where you chose and working
to get left to boof past the deep horseshoe shaped ledge that folds into a bad
hydraulic. I have seen people intentionally melt through this hole, but folks have
hit bottom and it is very powerful. After this the move is to drive left across the
face of the drop following a channel that runs across the falls. Water is falling
off of shallow drops to your right so paddle hard to hit the final drop of fifteen
feet. The elevator shaft plunges you into a hole that is not as bad as it looks.
The best tactic for this final chute is to make a delayed boof. Paddlers that try to
boof too soon end up penciling off of the drop, which is usually no big deal, but
lacks the control and style of a clean landing. If you run this last drop too far
right and pencil in you may hit an exposed flake of rock that has broken some
ankles.
Below Crystal is the take out, but another drop lurks just below. While once
reserved for legendary boaters, Magilla is now frequently run if the dams are
releasing water over it. The legitimate line here is on river left and involves
sliding down a ten foot dam before running narrow channel off of a boof that
drops you fifteen feet onto a shallow ledge.
divided into a right and left side. The right side has a few angled holes at the
top that need to be punched hard to make a mandatory move to the left to avoid
a mess of piton rocks and nasty roostertails. The left side has a fun boof at the
top, but features a mandatory move at the bottom to avoid an undercut rock. A
fatal pin has occurred at the undercut on the left side and pitons are common.
The next rapid is Powerline, noted by the high voltage lines overhead. Run this
class IV drop down the middle or catch the many eddies, but watch out for the
holes near the bottom on either side of the river. This gets big at higher flows.
The river stays busy for the next few hundred yards and I tend to always stay
right running slides and drops until a log crib structure is seen in the water on
the right and the Moose drops out of sight. You have reached Crystal, the
climax of this run and one of the most visually impressive rapids commonly run in
the east.
A couple of lines are good to go here, but I will describe the standard route that
is typically run. It involves running the top ledge where you chose and working
to get left to boof past the deep horseshoe shaped ledge that folds into a bad
hydraulic. I have seen people intentionally melt through this hole, but folks have
hit bottom and it is very powerful. After this the move is to drive left across the
face of the drop following a channel that runs across the falls. Water is falling
off of shallow drops to your right so paddle hard to hit the final drop of fifteen
feet. The elevator shaft plunges you into a hole that is not as bad as it looks.
The best tactic for this final chute is to make a delayed boof. Paddlers that try to
boof too soon end up penciling off of the drop, which is usually no big deal, but
lacks the control and style of a clean landing. If you run this last drop too far
right and pencil in you may hit an exposed flake of rock that has broken some
ankles.
Below Crystal is the take out, but another drop lurks just below. While once
reserved for legendary boaters, Magilla is now frequently run if the dams are
releasing water over it. The legitimate line here is on river left and involves
sliding down a ten foot dam before running narrow channel off of a boof that
drops you fifteen feet onto a shallow ledge.
Magilla can also be run on river right. This line is simple and
involves working down a very fast lead in chute to the lip of a
clean fifteen foot plunge. The only drawback here is that the
dam at the top is higher on this side of the ledge and running
it involves a ten foot slide landing in about 4 inches of water.
It hurts a little, but there are ways to make it less painful.
The Moose is an awesome run. At regular flows from 2.8 to 4
feet it is pretty straightforward. Many many paddlers run the
Moose during the festival weekend in October. As the water
levels rise over four feet some of the lines change and the
holes get pretty big. Many people that run everything on the
Moose at normal flows get a little nervous when the levels
creep up and put a premium on hitting your lines.
Moose Fest is a must attend event. This is a pretty big party.
If you have gone to the festival and not had a great time then
you aren't trying hard enough. Don't miss Friday night. This
is one huge reunion with a good percentage of boaters from
the northeast and beyond showing up to make the run.
involves working down a very fast lead in chute to the lip of a
clean fifteen foot plunge. The only drawback here is that the
dam at the top is higher on this side of the ledge and running
it involves a ten foot slide landing in about 4 inches of water.
It hurts a little, but there are ways to make it less painful.
The Moose is an awesome run. At regular flows from 2.8 to 4
feet it is pretty straightforward. Many many paddlers run the
Moose during the festival weekend in October. As the water
levels rise over four feet some of the lines change and the
holes get pretty big. Many people that run everything on the
Moose at normal flows get a little nervous when the levels
creep up and put a premium on hitting your lines.
Moose Fest is a must attend event. This is a pretty big party.
If you have gone to the festival and not had a great time then
you aren't trying hard enough. Don't miss Friday night. This
is one huge reunion with a good percentage of boaters from
the northeast and beyond showing up to make the run.
Mike McDonnel running the boof line at Knife's Edge. The standard line starts above Mike and
cuts above the outcrop in the middle of the photo. Note the potholes lining the drop.
cuts above the outcrop in the middle of the photo. Note the potholes lining the drop.
Brad Bassi running Agers Falls in the spring of 2000 in an old
Crossfire.
Crossfire.
Brad running the bottom of the standard line at Knife's Edge.
Brad lining up in his Jive at the top of Agers Falls on the bottom
Moose River.
Moose River.
Mike McDonnel dropping through one of the nasty bail out chutes at Crystal after not
making the move to river left in required to hit the last drop.
making the move to river left in required to hit the last drop.
Ryan Goodrow dropping the last chute on Crystal in his prototype Wavesport X.