Oswegatchie water levels?

[tbutler]

Given the dry conditions, is it reasonable to assume that attempting the Oswegatchie traverse in the next week or two would be unwise? Does anyone have recent info on the navigability of the river above High Falls?

[Zach]

I took my mother to Hitchen's Pond for a day trip last week and we met some folks there who said they were going to do the Oswegatchie. When I said I hoped they would have enough water they said the beavers would have taken care of that, but I don't know if they found what they expected when they got there.

[Viking]

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/USGS-04262000/#dataTypeId=continuous-00065-0&period=P7D&showFieldMeasurements=true

[EarleVermonter]

We did the Whitney Wilderness to Oswagatchie this summer. Six paddlers, three tandem boats. Outfitter warnings were all about low water and even tried to discourage us from doing the trip. Not an issue. The beavers do "take care of it". All the dams provide sufficient backwater for paddling. The only place that provided a bit of a challenge was the put-in at the end of the traverse. There was about 25 feet of mud to get to the river. The number of dams are exaggerated. I've heard 50 to 70 on the river. Beaver activity is not that great now. We counted and only encountered 29 total including the Whitney Wilderness piece.

[Wldrns]

The number of dams are exaggerated. I've heard 50 to 70 on the river. Beaver activity is not that great now. We counted and only encountered 29 total including the Whitney Wilderness piece.

It is true. Several years ago I guided a trip down the Oswegtchie from Lows and we lost count after no less than 70 beaver dam encounters. During other trips, not quite so many, but still a lot of aggrevation.

[DuctTape]

The majority were above high falls when I was last up there quite a few years ago. Some real doozies too. I can imagine with low water the take-out at Inlet and the short rapids just before might be rather shallow.

[Wldrns]

The majority were above high falls when I was last up there quite a few years ago. Some real doozies too. I can imagine with low water the take-out at Inlet and the short rapids just before might be rather shallow.

Exactly right. below high Falls the dams are quite few in comparison to the numbers above. There are also a couple of sections of rock gardens that in normal water level are usually walkable while float guiding your canoe down. Here and there in otherwise deep water there are a number of subsurface boulders wanting to grab you that you need to be aware of, but will in low water be well exposed. Even more will be unseen in low water. Shallow Griffin Rapids will be tough to paddle through without walking and dragging over gravel.