Chris:

I have done a fair amount of canoeing on the Delaware from about Hancock
down to Skinner's Falls but it was a several years ago and some of the
details have faded.  In each case I went on the Memorial Day weekend so what
I saw may be something of the extreme.

I can confirm that there is NYC wildlife in the area.  I remember seeing
people tubing with six-packs tied to their tubes.  There are also a lot of
fly fishermen and recall a fellow we carefully avoided who was shortly
thereafter flanked by two jet skis buzzing upriver at high speed (a friend
has a bumper sticker - "Give a gift to wildlife--fillet a jet ski").

Some stretches are flat and slow and are almost wide enough to sail a
Sunfish on (I thought of that often when the wind was blowing me upriver).
Depending on the water available others could require walking.

Skinner's Falls (above Narrowsburg and just below Milanville, PA) is great
for the experienced canoer and should be fun on a tube.  There was a  safety
check above the rapids the year I ran it, perhaps because someone was
airlifted out earlier in the day (not sure if it was a fatal).  There was a
large group of spectators sunning themselves and drinking on the flat rocks
alongside the falls and they weren't disappointed.  There were two guys in
about an 11 foot simulated birch bark canoe that went down fully loaded with
all their gear piled high and protected in plastic garbage bags, all that is
except for an acoustic guitar perched on top.  We saw it float by a while
later as they rode out the rapids awash to the gunwales...

I remember one or two old bridges but I think many of them have been
replaced with modern ones.

We used to camp at the Red Barn Campground in Hankins (NY) right on the
river, a place that I still remember fondly (there was a very rustic diner
across the street if you didn't want to dirty your frying pan at breakfast,
railroad tracks with the occasional short train rumbling by...).  There was
another one on the PA side of the river in Hancock just upriver of town that
I don't recommend--we still remember it as the "ATTENTION CAMPERS..." place
because they had a loudspeaker system to announce activities, wood truck
circuits, etc.

My friends (mostly fly fishermen) have taken to camping in a place outside
of Equinunk, PA, but it is off the river and I don't enjoy it as much.  The
campsite is generally quieter than the others.  The fishermen tend to head
off around daylight and return well after sunset so the campsite isn't as
important to them.

We did have a "Deliverance" experience once when canoeing in the early
evening in an area upriver from Hancock.  I was transporting one of my
fishermen friends (on one of the branches of the Delaware if I recall?) to
the spots he wanted to try.  They were high cliffs on one side of the river
and threatening noises came from what sounded like kids above us (perhaps
rock throwing too).

There is a spot along the route from Hancock to say Callicoon where there
was always a rowdy bunch.  I seem to recall bottle rockets being fired,
firecrackers being tossed, and (we suspected) a pistol being fired, but
close enough to really threaten us.  A good spot to head to the opposite
shore...

(I don't suppose you run into these types when caving, do you?)

I can't speak with experience of the river downstream from about Skinners
Falls.  All in all I have enjoyed the upper part but remember I had a paddle
to keep moving downriver in the slow spots.

I would like to warn you need to read the signs at the launch points in PA.
We thought they were all BS and didn't apply to canoers until we got fined
pulling out one.  We had to register our canoes in PA (NY didn't register
canoes unless they had an engine) and I think we still had to pay a fine (I
doubt this would apply to tubers but you never know what evil a State
government bent on earning revenue can do to you--in their defense they had
an investment in the boat launch facilities...).  The worst part was we had
to take a fair amount of our time out of our weekend to locate a justice of
the peace, town clerk or someone who could process the paperwork for us and
take our money for the fine (to top it off I got my truck stuck in the ditch
in front of the person's house).  When in doubt use the launch/disembark
facilities in NY!

(I hope this pays you back for all your help with our PHC visit to NYC last
Fall.)


J-strokin' Bruce

-----Original Message-----
From: Met History [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2001 9:29 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Local knowledge of the Delaware River?


I want to go tubing on the Delware River this weekend, but don't want to go
with the 80-people-on-a-schoolbus-outfitters.  We have our own tubes - does
anyone have a good put-in/take-out point?

Best,  Christopher Gray