{"id":28339,"date":"2023-03-20T13:30:04","date_gmt":"2023-03-20T20:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/community.nrs.com\/?p=28339"},"modified":"2023-03-21T10:57:28","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T17:57:28","slug":"no-place-like-home-west-branch-of-the-deerfield-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2023\/03\/20\/no-place-like-home-west-branch-of-the-deerfield-river\/","title":{"rendered":"No Place Like Home: West Branch of the Deerfield River"},"content":{"rendered":"

The entire Deerfield River holds a very special place in my heart, as you may already know if you watched the first season of NRS’s \u201cMy Home Run Series<\/a>,\u201d where the main branch of the Deerfield is featured. This time, I want to share my love for the West Branch of the Deerfield River in Readsboro, 1.8 miles down the hill from my house.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a classic Vermont IV\/V creek that has had a few flood-related changes over the 18 years I\u2019ve been paddling it, but the character has stayed the same. A beautiful piece of whitewater with awesome boofs, flowy drops, bouldery s-turns, and the iconic \u201cTunnel Vision\u201d rapid.<\/p>\n

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Tunnel Falls; Photo: Tino Specht<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The West Branch\u2019s water begins on the slopes of Prospect Mountain, a former downhill ski area in Woodford, Vermont, now a premier XC center. It rambles through marshes and beaver ponds in the woods north of Readsboro (my hometown) until it organizes into the \u201cUpper\u201d West Branch, a fun, three-mile Class III-IV section that runs along a forest road used mainly by four-wheelers, snowmobilers and hikers. When the West Branch is too high, we often paddle this section.<\/p>\n

The river collects more water at the base of Readsboro\u2019s Dutch Hill, a defunct, \u201880s-era family ski area that recently found new life as a back-country destination, thanks largely to a grant and the hard work of some local folks. After another mile or so of flats and ponds, the \u201cMiddle Section\u201d starts a few hundred feet north of the end of my road on Rt 100. This section is short, around a mile. It\u2019s a great Class II-III run with some fun surf waves, perfect for a quick solo lunch run. It finishes just above Readsboro Falls, a 50\/50 drop that marks the official start of the West Branch.<\/p>\n