Overview

This is one of the most remote paddle sections on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. There are very few cross streets, bridges, or even roads near this section. As usual, train tracks are always nearby, because that’s how trains lines were built in this country…following the streams as the path of least grade.

Riverside Adventure Company will be SCOUTING this section on this date. As this is a scouting trip, we WILL NOT be providing our typical trip level of support, however, we are open to the idea of VERY INDEPENDENT AND EXPERIENCED PADDLERS WHO WANT TO COME ALONG AND EXPLORE THIS SECTION WITH US.

Because this is not an “official trip” of Riverside Adventure Company yet, we will only be charging for a share of the transportation costs.

Participants will get the added benefit of this webpage, our planning, our itinerary, our calling ahead to reserve camping spots, and the best humans possible to paddle with…but to repeat…this IS NOT an official trip yet, so we won’t be having food, or many of the support items we include in our regular trips. This trip will be effectively SELF-SUPPORTED.

As such, we ask that no potential paddlers on this trip OVERESTIMATE their endurance or ruggedness. Water levels can be variable at this time of year. You will need to keep ALL YOUR GEAR on and in your boat at all times. We are a LEAVE NO TRACE” group, so we will be asking everyone to take out, what they brought in with them.

This is the PA Wilds There are elk and bears here. There are few roads or bridges nearby, so quitting or extraction due to injury is challenging if not impossible. Make sure all these things are factors in your decision to participate… or not. Last time I made camp in this section of river, I realized about 5 minutes too late that I was camping on a pile of bear pooh. Tough night of sleep when you are solo and sleeping on bear pooh.

I tell you all this not to scare you, but because a SCOUTING TRIP CAN MAKE NO PROMISES IN REGARD TO YOUR SAFETY. We can’t make promises, because we have never paddled it ourselves, so we are learning along with you. We will encounter Buttermilk Falls just five miles into our journey. That’s the only “dicey” sections based on the river mapping we have, but again…we don’t know how dicey. Might be nothing…might be something. We don’t know until we do it ourselves.

Our Team

A better crew you will not find, but you also have to put up with David Decoteau (owner of Riverside Adventure Company). This is the last section of the West Branch that he has not paddled, and try as we might…he would not agree to stay home.

The Route

The Itinerary

As you will hear a few times on this page, the itinerary is “loose” and we need to stay flexible with river trips based on all the factors that effect safety and the enjoyability of the event. But, if the river looks safe, and the weather looks even a little agreeable, the following is pretty much what you can expect in the way of timing of the weekend:

Friday

9:30 a.m. - Friday May 1st - Arrive at Riverside Adventure Company, 476 D and H Avenue, Riverside, PA 17821. we will get loaded and on the road by 10:00 a.m. This trip has a bit more “leeway with time” than some of our other offerings, but if you aren’t on time…we will leave you.

11:00 a.m. - Friday, May 1st - Drop off car at Renovo end of trip take-out location.

11:30 a.m. - Friday May 1st - Arrive in Karthaus and set up camp. attached is a map of how the Karthaus area lays out for our needs. It’s a short walk from camp to Karthaus, but Karthaus is pretty small. We will be camping right on the banks of the river, so it should be nice. This is a DCNR camp area, and it has portopotties. permissions have been obtained.

5:00 p.m. - Friday May 1st - Go into town for dinner, or stay in camp and eat there. Paddlers choice. The Riverfront Bar and Grill was nice last time I was there, but apparently, it’s got some management issues. We will see what state it is in when we arrive. When I go places, I like to visit with the local people when I can. it adds to the experience in my estimation.

10:00 p.m. - Friday, May 1st - lights out.

Saturday

7:00 a.m. - Saturday, May 2nd - Wakey, wakey. Break camp. Breakfast. Packing. etc.

8:00 a.m. - Saturday, May 2nd - On river. We have a pretty big day of paddling on this day, and we don’t want to get a late start, so if you can’t pack and eat in an hour, maybe get up a little earlier than 7:00 a.m.

9:00 a.m. - Saturday, May 2nd - Buttermilk Falls river mile 127.5 - Never paddled it, so I can’t tell you what to expect. This is one of the reasons it’s a “scouting trip”. If we have to portage, or if we all dump it, that might take a while, so that’s another reason we want to get out by 8:00 a.m.

12:00 p.m. - Saturday, May 2nd - Lunch - pack your own of course. Stretch our legs, take a quick break.

1:00 p.m. - Saturday, May 2nd - Back on the river at the latest.

5:00 p.m. - Saturday, May 2nd - make camp - Eat, goof around, do camping stuff. We have permission to camp at a few different spots near Keating, PA. How that works out specifically, will depend a lot on our group size and river levels.

10:00 p.m. - Saturday, May 2nd - lights out, if you aren’t already asleep.

Sunday

7:00 a.m. - Sunday, May 3rd - break camp. breakfast, etc…

8:00 a.m. - Sunday, May 3rd - on river.

1:00 p.m. - Lunch at take out point.

2:00 p.m. - finalize vehicle shuttle.

4:00 p.m. - arrive back at Riverside Adventure Company

Trip timing and Safety

As with anything outside and in nature…the above itinerary is LOOSE. One of the first things you have to learn with river trips is that a multitude of things can effect the trip. First and foremost is river level. We have looked back over the last 13 years of river level information and based on our analysis of each year’s river levels, we have found May to be one of the most consistently and safely navigable months for this section of river. You can talk a look for yourself in this graphic.

Now, these “trends” in no way GUARANTEE that river levels will be safe. If you look at these charts at all, you can see that river level fluctuates pretty wildly on this section of river. As a result, we will need to make a “week of event” call as to its viability when the time comes. We MIGHT go if it’s “higher”, but we WON’T go if it’s unsafe. RAC reserves the right to make that call, and anyone going along will need to sign a waiver giving us that right without argument.

As this is a “transportation only” trip, you are more than welcome to provide your own transportation and do the trip yourself, if you feel our call is too conservative for you, or you simply disagree for whatever reason you might have.

How this trip works with the West Branch Paddlers Club

The Susquehanna Greenways Partnership (SGP) is the stewardship partner organization for this section of the West Branch Susquehanna River. SGP runs a program that registers, records and recognizes folks who paddle significant sections of the West Branch Susquehanna. They call this program the West Branch Paddlers Club.

You can learn a lot about the West Branch Paddlers club and it’s connection to Riverside Adventure Company HERE

More information about the West Branch Paddlers Club

What to bring along

Well, since we are trying to appeal to ONLY seasoned Paddlers, you probably already have your own list of things that you like to bring on multi-day, paddling adventures. But in case you don’t, here are some other folks lists for your consideration.

david-decoteau.squarespace.com/blog/2021/12/4/what-to-pack-for-your-wbpc-or-444-long-weekend-excursion

If you search the internet, you will find many, many more. Pick what works for you. There isn’t an exact right answer. What works on one trip might not work on another. That’s part of the fun.

• If you are ready to sign up…use the sign up box and indicate the number of paddlers in your group.

• If you still have questions, please use the form below. We will get back with you ASAP.