Shooting Brinkhaven Dam one last time – life and the river will flow on
BRINKHAVEN − Early in the afternoon on Thursday, Sept. 14, I guided my fully loaded canoe toward an opening chiseled out of the right side of the old Brinkhaven lowhead dam. I’d instructed my canoeing partner, Ken Arthur, to paddle hard as we approached the downstream V − paddling lingo for the slick inverted V-shape on the surface of the water entering rapids.
There’s no finessing when you go through the debris field at Brinkhaven. If the river level isn’t high enough, you will scrape bottom on the chunks of concrete and God-knows-what-else down there. Including exposed rebar. The idea is to use the momentum of your boat to slide you over the debris and carry you into the kinder, gentler rapids downstream.
The hull of my aluminum boat grazed the debris as we crested the old dam. We took on a few drops of water from the waves but otherwise made it through unscathed.
It was Ken’s first time going over the Brinkhaven Dam debris field and will likely be my last. The Nature Conservancy will remove it in October.
43 years canoeing and hundreds of times camping on the Mohican
I’ve run Brinkhaven Dam hundreds of times in the 43 years I’ve canoed and camped on the Mohican River. On one occasion, during extremely low water, my canoe hung up on the debris. I had to get out, find footing on other chunks of concrete, free my boat, and hop back in before it got away from me.
On another occasion − on a winter trip − I opted to portage Brinkhaven because a fallen tree was leaning out over the river at the spot where I needed to go through the downstream V. It was the only time I ever portaged it.
More: River cleanups – think of them as scavenger hunts on water
The very first time I ran Brinkhaven Dam, in May 1980, there was a considerably higher drop after you went over the top. I had a styrene cooler reinforced with filament tape inside my canoe. The styrene broke into pieces when the hull slammed into the debris below. Fortunately the tape held it together − well enough for it to hold ice for another day.
Over the years, the current has eroded a lot more of the top and concrete debris, making for much smoother − and safer − passage.
Nature Conservancy removing what's left of Brinkhaven Dam
After next month, that will all be water over the dam. Or what’s left of it. The Nature Conservancy will remove what’s left of Brinkhaven Dam and its debris field. Be forewarned, the river will be closed to boat traffic during the removal process.
The exposed ruins should reveal more history of the dam, which originally was built of timbers in the 1800s to power a gristmill and woolen mill. Like most old dams, it was later modified with concrete.
I have mixed feelings about the project. Pretty strange coming from a guy who, for decades, begged the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to remove it. Personally begged. To the point of bringing ODNR officials on site and pointing out rebar poking out of the concrete.
For more than 40 years, Brinkhaven has been one of my happy places. It was the first place I ever camped along the Mohican River. I camped there dozens of times over the years and always looked forward to visiting with my friend, the late Jim Proper.
I’ve requested that my ashes be spread there − from what remains of the old road bridge that once linked the village to Brinkhaven Road.
That request still stands.
When I cross the river to the great beyond (or Cavallo, whichever comes first), Brinkhaven will be a much different place. The dam and debris will be gone. The river will flow differently. Perhaps what’s left of the old road bridge will have been demolished.
Regardless. I’ll die content knowing the river will continue flowing. Without me. Ultimately without any further intrusion of mankind. Unconfined. Undefined.
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Outdoors: Oslin takes his last ride over the Brinkhaven Dam
