7/24/06 - Background on Watertown and the Black River
The previous posts haven’t really explained why it is we come here. Watertown is on I-81 a mere 31 miles south of Canada. It seems to be an old industrial town now supported by the nearby Fort Drum military base. Anyway, it also happens to have the Black River running through it.
The Black has two amazing “park and play spots” practically in the center of town. A park and play spot is a place where we put in the river, play at a specific spot, and get out again without ever going down stream. The spots are called the “Route 3 Wave” and “Hole Bros.” The Rt 3 Wave is an excellent beginner/intermediate surfing spot when the water isn’t too high; 1500 cfs is perfect but it washes out with more water. Hole Bros. is a fantastic hole, wave-hole, or pure wave depending on the level and appears to always be available. (FYI, a “hole” or “hydraulic” is a place where water recirculates back on itself by flowing briefly upstream. Very large holes are “keepers” that never let you out and are avoided at all costs; playing in smaller ones is pretty much the most fun humans can have :-). [Next to climbing, that is. – Heather]
Besides the play spots, there is also a runnable river section below Hole Bros. In the five years we’ve been coming here we’ve never done it; it’s rated a class IV and we did not previously feel up to it. Running this section was a specific goal of this trip, and we’re psyched to have been able to.