Early spring flooding that filled up streams and rivers, followed by unseasonably hot weather that makes it more fun to be on the water, has signaled the start of prime time for the region’s whitewater kayakers.

But it also signals the most hazardous time for this specialized sport, when less experienced people are lured onto water that can be deadly because of speed and cold.

“It’s going to be a dangerous weekend,” said Patrick Malfait of Contoocook River Canoe Co. in Concord. “People are going to be throwing the boats on their car and away they go. They’ll hop in the water with their shorts on and T-shirt … with fast-moving water, accidents happen, and they’ve got minutes to get to shore before hypothermia sets in.”

The appeal of early spring river running can be seen in Henniker, which includes stretches of the Contoocook River that are renowned throughout New England for whitewater.

“This used to be a very small sport. People did it with clubs, groups of other people, they didn’t just go out on their own,” said Roger Belson, an internist who set up his doctor’s office in Henniker partly because he is an avid boater and used to drive up from Connecticut to do spring paddling on the Contoocook.

“These days, with a lot of sea kayaking and recreational kayaking, and depictions on TV and advertisements … people have gotten into doing it. The problem is, this is not the time of year for novices to be out,” he said.

Rivers are dangerous in early spring for two reasons: They have more water than usual, and the water is very cold.

The extra water from rain and melting snow – although the latter is less of a factor this year because our winter wasn’t very snowy – is a lure to paddlers since it usually means a river runs faster, has bigger rapids and is deep enough to allow passage over rocks and fallen trees that would otherwise block a run.

Belson, in Henniker, remembers when friends would call him and ask about the level of the Contoocook in town so they could decide on the best time to make a spring run.

“I used to go out and count the number of stones visible on the bridge abutment and see how high (the river) was,” he said.

That doesn’t happen as much any more, however, because the Contoocook, like many rivers, has automated gauges that are displayed in real-time on the U.S. Geological Survey Web sites, so its water height can be found online.

All this extra water produces hazards as well as benefits, however.

Rain and flooding can wash debris such as trees into the river, can cover existing debris so it becomes an unexpected snare, and can heighten the “strainer” effect, in which water hitting a tree is sucked underneath it, carrying the possibility of sucking people down, too.

For another, higher water can cover flat areas or beaches along riverbanks, so that if you do fall in the water it is harder to escape: “If you need to get to shore, all you have is a steep embankment, and you’ll have a tough time getting up,” Malfait said.

Mostly, however, faster rivers and bigger rapids leave less room for error.

A run considered Class I or II, the lowest levels on the scale of difficulty, can become Class III or even Class IV, which requires much more skill and expertise.

However, the biggest danger right now is the temperature of water, which takes much longer to change than the temperature of air.

“The water is probably still in the high 30s, maybe low 40s,” Malfait said.

At such temperatures, people who are not wearing specialized wet suits or the equivalent will become too numb to swim after a minute or less of immersion, making it far more likely that they will drown.

“Most New Hampshire boating fatalities happen in early spring. As the air temperature warms people tend to forget that the water temperature is still very cold,” warns New Hampshire Fish and Game.

There have been two fatalities this year so far; in one, the body of a 65-year-old Vermont who was kayaking on the Connecticut River has yet to be found and is presumably being held under water by debris.

“Each year in New Hampshire, we lose two or three paddlers to hypothermia or not wearing a life jacket,” Malfait said.

In the Nashua region, the best-known stretch of whitewater is in the upper reaches of the Souhegan River, running through Greenville. After the river flows through Wilton, it becomes less wild.

David Brooks can be reached at 594-5831 or dbrooks@nashuatelegraph.com.

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