Group Paddle Down the Pemi
| Date: | 9-20-2025 |
| Location: | Plymouth, NH |
| Distance: | 8.27 mi |
| Elevation Gain: | 61′ |
| Total Time: | 5 hr 19 min |
| Parking: | 20+ cars |
Jack and I had such a good time paddling the Pemi the previous month we decided to do it again and invite a few more people. When it came time to paddle the weather was looking real good but the water level was extremely low. In fact it was the lowest I’ve ever seen the Pemi.
After we dropped a car off in Bristol we met everyone up in Plymouth. Many of them did not think this was passable from Plymouth. I knew it would be shallow in this first mile but later the river would deepen. So they decided to drive down to the campground further down the river and meet us at the island.
I did have to drag my kayak over a small shallow section, but Jack and Eric were able to make it over. From here I scrapped bottom a few times but didn’t have to drag the kayak.
It was a beautiful day and now that the water was deeper we could just enjoy the paddle. We passed the Osprey nest but did not see any Ospreys. Further down the bridge was still under construction. We pulled over just after the train trestle. While we were there a train actually went across the trestle. That was cool. I had never seen a train here. Lots of people on board taking pictures of us.
Then we noticed a kayaker coming up stream. It was Dave from our group. He said everyone is down at the island which was about a 45 min paddle from where we were.
When we got close to the island we could see everyone looking for us. It was kind of cool to see. We hung out on the island for a bit and chatted. Some people took off to the toward Bristol. Jack, Eric and I paddled back to the campground and got a ride to our cars.
It was a fun paddle and great to hang out with some of my hiking friends on the water.
