The Delaware, who says it can't be fun?                                              Back
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We hear about the Allagash, Salmon, Colorado & other remote & wild rivers. We even hear about lesser rivers:  The Allegheny, Lehigh, & the Youghiogheny to name a few, yet there are many rivers that are not quite as challenging but still a lot of fun. The Delaware is one of these.
Scudder Falls just north of Trenton is a	Skinners Falls in N. Y. is the highest rated
good place for tubing. Isn't Jenny Mount cute.	rapids on the Delaware. That's me in the back.
Separating N. Y., N. J., & Pa. the Delaware flows over three hundred (330) miles through mountains and meadows, past farms, towns and cities, in it's quest to reach the sea. During the early part of it's sojourn it cuts it's way through some of the most beautiful and picturesque areas in the eastern United States. The Catskill Mountains of  N. Y., (Where Rip Van Winkle slept for twenty years.) and the Pocono Mountains of  Pa.. It's about one stretch of the river in this area, a stretch between Callicoon & Minisink Ford that I'm going to tell you. The first set of rapids, (Skinners falls) is rated a six by the Delaware River Basin Commission. (That's not to be confused with the national scale.) It is however the most difficult & challenging set of rapids on the Delaware.
The nice thing about these rapids is that you have about a half a day (If taken leisurely.) before you have to face them, so you'll have plenty of time to get the feel of your canoe or to teach any novices, that may be with you, basic white water & water safety techniques.
The next set of rapids are really nice, they are actually three sets connected by short calm areas of the river. They are just above Minisink Ford and I believe that because of their length they are even more of a challenge then Skinners.
I first started canoeing this area of the river back in the mid 70s. A friend of mine worked for the state of  N. J. & they were running a weekend trip to Bob Lander's. He invited me & I accepted. I fell in love with the river that weekend.
My Friend Kibby (John Walsh) went in one canoe with a girl from his office & I went in another with a older couple. It wasn't long before I learned about hypothermia, looking for something a little more interesting then just floating along with the current I decided to go closer to shore, where there were a few rocks, one of these seemed to be about 2' under the surface so I took the canoe over it. It was deep enough for our canoe, however it wasn't deep enough for my canoe mates. They panicked & we capsized. The other canoes came to our rescue & got my mates out of the water & to shore, started a fire & dried them out. I wasn't so lucky. Oh! I got to the fire but not as soon as I would have liked. You see, I decided to stay with the canoe. So righting it, I climbed in and started downstream in a canoe full of water. Slowly I turned it toward shore & immediately was flipped back into the water. I repeated this scenario five or six times before giving up a having another canoe tow our canoe to shore. I swam to another of the canoes & just about had enough strength left to, with help, climb into that canoe. I wasn't in the water more then 10 to 15 minutes yet I felt weaker then I'd ever felt in my life. There was still some ice along the banks & that water was COLD. So if you ever do the river in early spring always make sure you can bring your body temperature back to normal as fast as possible it you end up in the drink.
After Shivering & shaking for a good half hour we continued on our way. I don't remember anything else about that trip. (I didn't keep a journal & that was twenty some years ago. I didn't however forget how cold I was.) A journal, I've found is a good idea, one you might want to consider, It's amazing how many memories we lose over the years.
After that trip I started to organize my own trips (with friends.). & spent many good times canoeing and camping along the Delaware and made a little money on the side or at least canoed for free.
Another time I'll never forget. A bunch of us decided not to camp at Lander's but to stay at a nice little spot we had found on the Pa. side of the river just below Narrowsburg. After setting up camp & starting a nice campfire we ate, broke out some guitars and partied for awhile. It had been a long day on the river so we turned in fairly early. I had just about dozed off when I almost jumped out of my sleeping bag. Maura had let out the most horrific scream I'd ever heard. "A mass murderer with an axe in camp." was all I could think of. I was wrong, Thank God! It was a raccoon, the largest one I'd ever seen, in our cooler, he had been in her tent shortly before, that's why the scream. Not only was he the largest he was also the most brazen, When confronted with a flashlight in his face, I swear he pointed a paw at one corner of the cooler, as if to say "Over here, shine the light here, I can't see what's in this corner." I mean he wasn't intimidated in the least. When he was ready "About ten minutes." he wondered back into the woods & let us get back to sleep. It was a great weekend & every once in awhile we still bring up Maura's reaction to the Raccoon. It's always worth a laugh.
I have many good memories of the times I spent on or in the Delaware, after all I spent my entire life living within a half  mile of it. I swam & fished in it: boated, tubed, water-skied and went canoeing on it. I'm sure it still has many memories to give to anyone who will only take the time to get to know it. Someday I'm going to canoe down it from Callicoon to Trenton. I'll be adding that story in a year or so.     Al
Some good links for anyone wanting to explore the Delaware are:
Bob Lander's: Campground & Canoe rental	The Delaware River Club: Fly Fishing
Delaware River Recreation Page	Delaware River Whitewater
Canoe trips & rentals	Delaware River rafting
Delaware River (New Hope)	Photo taken on Tohickon Creek