Small, fiery red leaves of a trident red maple loom over the Oswego, Sept. 4, 2006. It seems like fall always comes early on the river.
One of the sandy beaches downstream on the Oswego, April 9, 2006. As a joke, we call this 'Baker's Bluff' -- we slide down it in our boats for a dip at the bottom. (More on that later). 
Foam blasts out of the spillway at the start of the Oswego River, Sept. 4, 2006. At almost 4 1/2 feet, this is the highest I've ever seen the Oswego.9/4/06
Oswego River / 4.46' / 419 cfs / 73 degrees (air) / beautiful
Trip: Oswego Lake to Harrisville Pond (Chatsworth) / 6.3 mi.
Drop in: 3:30 p.m.
Takeout: 7 p.m.
BEFORE: Hurricane Ernesto kept the Shore a rainy, windy mess for Labor Day Weekend. Actually, just Friday and Saturday were a mess; but it was enough to keep the bennies from having one last takeover for the summer. Otherwise Sunday and today were excellent weatherwise. The rivers are super UP after a rainy week. This is the highest I've ever seen the Oswego, which usually hovers around 3 feet, and calls for a few drags over stones. Some other record-breaking readings are: Mullica at 3.5'/415 cfs (me and Chris hit it at 3 foot about year ago and it was like a lake; kindof sucked); and Cedar Creek at 1.98' (no cfs reading available).
* As a side note, famed-outdoorsman the Crocodile Hunter died today after a fatal sting ray attack.
AFTER:
Wow! One of the best trips I've ever had. Went with Mike Baker; it was his first time out on a creek. He did good (only dumped once at a strainer). The foam bubbles at the put-in were ridiculous awesome. You could take to the right of the fork at the very beginning. Baker dragged aground for just a sec only once the whole trip. We had a killer Genuardi'S Southside Slider at the break point. The highlight was dropping in from about a 20-foot high slope (now called 'Baker's Bluff' about an hour from Harrisville. You couldn't help but dump it at the bottom without a spray skirt (next time I'm bringing one and staying at that spot for about an hour!)
This should have been a 2 1/2 hour trip easy; but we took our time, had a few beers so it took 3 1/2. I'm going to try an hit this one again later this week.
