Members of the UMass Outing Club approach a dock on the Connecticut River near the Coolidge Bridge in Northampton, Monday afternoon, after they canoed the river from Canaan, Vt., on the Canadian border — a distance of 223 miles via road. Kevin Bragg said they started the journey at 6 p.m. Friday, and took only one break, during Sunday night’s heavy rain. Twenty-three people rowed four canoes in rotating shifts to complete the annual event they call the Connecticut River Challenge. It is held each year, weather permitting, on Patriots Day weekend.