Overview:
This video is long, but probably the best “overview” of my last trip on this section. It was a great October trip, and this video shows some of the island campsites, and river sections. It does not show our Friday evening dinner options, but it does give a good impression of river conditions on that day, and sights you might see along the way.
Itinerary:
Friday
2:00 p.m. - meet at Riverside Adventure Company and get gear onto vehilcles
3:00 p.m. - Leave RAC for the Shady Nook launch which is a Sunbury area launch just below the fiber dam and lowhead dam for the power plant. This launch will avoid a dangerous river condition and potential portage.
3:30 p.m. (latest) We leave from Shady Nook launch in Hummel’s Wharf and paddle roughly 3.5 miles to campsite #116. Arriving at camp at approximately 5:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m. - Set up camp and dinner. Paddlers are responsible for their own dinner on this evening, and the choices are as follows:
Make your own dinner. - staff will supply burners if needed for heating food and some rudimentary utensils and plates, but the actual food will be the responsibility of each paddler.
Penn’s tavern. Paddle from island camp #116 cross river to this well known and locally renounced tavern and eating establishment. Eat and It’s a short, a little upstream paddle, but should be doable in June. We will stay at this establishment no longer than 2 hours to return to camp by 8:30 p.m. and beat darkness.
8:30 p.m. - Campground fun. 10:00 p.m. lights out.
Saturday
7:00 a.m. - rise and shine!
8:00 a.m.- on the water ALL DAY! paddle about 20± miles to Island campground 97 or 93 depending on how sassy we feel, water speed, mishaps, pee-stops, etc. This day will include McKee half falls, and that may cost us some paddling time for portage or safely running the rapids after emptying boats of gear.
5:00 p.m. - choose our overnight island of choice and make camp.
6:00 p.m. - Dinner - will be cooked and served by Riverside Adventure Company, and we will be serving the following:
Jim’s famous Mac and cheese from scratch
Dave’s famous Dinty Moore beef stew and spam (maybe some steaks)
Sheri’s famous Anal Leek-age cooked in Giardia water for extra “beaver-fever” flavor.
Baked Potatoes in the fire coals served with butter and sour cream.
Desserts?
Drinks to be provided by paddlers
8:00 pm. - 10:00 p.m - fellowship and solving the problems of the world by campfire. Anyone talking politics will be unceremoniously banished from the island and sent into exile. Lights out at 10:00 p.
Sunday
7:00 a.m. - Good morning!
8:00 - break camp. Paddle about 6 or so miles to the takeout at Clarks Ferry bridge. Go get ice cream or beers as the mood dictates for the “debrief”.
Riverside Adventure Company has SCOUTED AND PADDLED this section previously and feels confident that a great experience will be had by all. . As a result, we WILL be providing our typical trip level of support, that includes our experience and recommendation for these camping spots, these local establishments and these points of entry and exit along the river. All that being said, RAC also appreciates the fact that every paddling event is a VERY INDEPENDENT AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCE FOR EACH PADDLER . We will be there to guide you, but will not schedule so tightly as to leave no room for your own interpretations and free time.
Because this is an “official trip” of Riverside Adventure Company we will be charging for the transportation costs, our experience, the safety and guidance we bring to the trip, and the Saturday night meal.
Participants receive the added benefit of this webpage, our planning, our itinerary, our calling ahead to reserve spots with our various hosts.
Our crew is the best humans possible to paddle with This trip is almost three days and two night on the river.
Although RAC provides some food, meals not outlined and described here are the responsibility of the paddler. Any dietary restrictions you have should be communicated early so we can make other arrangements. Snacks, supplements, and drinks 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.
All the data we reviewed looked generally like the past few years shown here.
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
this is how the West Branch Paddlers Club breaks down the river into segments. This trip is the second part of Segment 2
What to bring along
RAC will be conducting a SCOUTING TRIP on this section of water on the weekend of May 1st. You can find all the details of the trip on our event calendar. This product is for people who just need transportation and shuttle and no other services.
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.