|
Allagash Wilderness Waterway Northern Region, Bureau of Parks and Lands Maine Department of Conservation Allagash River Canoe Trip Report (August 15 - 21, 2004) by Larry Walker |
 |
|
Allagash Wilderness Waterway Northern Region, Bureau of Parks and Lands Maine Department of Conservation Allagash River Canoe Trip Report (August 15 - 21, 2004) by Larry Walker |
|
|
One of my favorite authors, Ed Abbey (1927 - 1989), liked rivers and floating down them. There is power and mystique or magic to their steady, therapeutic flow. "The current that with gentle murmur glides Thou knowest, being stopped, impatiently doth rage; But when his fair course is not hindered He makes sweet music with th' enamelled stones, Giving a gentle kiss to every sedge He overtaketh in his pilgrimage." - William Shakespeare Even God likes rivers. In the New Jerusalem He went so far as to even design His throne with a river flowing from it that continues down the middle of the main street. Revelation 22:1,2 - "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations." "Shall we gather at the river Where bright angel feet have trod; With its crystal tide forever Flowing by the throne of God? - Robert Lowry, 1864 |
[Pictures link at bottom of report...]
Attendees: Alex Bueller (?), Bob Bueller (?), Michael Dakoto (?), Justin Hamlyn, Perry Hamlyn, Janet LN?, Kyle LN?, Ken Poirier, Tom Wolfe (?), Dave Stewart, Michael Walker, Larry Walker. All participants were associated with Scout Troop 49 of Tewksbury, MA except for Janet who, I believe, is a member at St. Williams Catholic Church where the troop meets and Larry and Michael Walker who are associated with Scout Troop 451 of Mesa, AZ and relatives of Justin and Perry Hamlyn. Sorry I didn't get all the names and spelling checked.
General Description: This trip is along the Allagash River located in northern Maine (see map below). It is an historic river linked with Henry David Thoreau's writings and travels. As is the case with most rivers in the east, it's hard to tell exactly where the Allagash River begins; looks like it could begin at Eagle Lake or Indian Pond or the Lock Dam on Chamberlain Lake. It definitely ends at the St. John River along the U.S. Canadian boarder. The Allagash is, by my estimation, an average size river. Water flow rates vary roughly from 250 cfs to greater than 14,000 cfs, probably averaging 500 to 1,000 cfs. While we were there, the river went from 14,000 cfs down to 2,000 cfs. The portage around Allagash Falls was closed until the flow dropped below 4,000 cfs. (I'm going by memory here). I estimate the average distance across to be about 50 - 75 yards. The Allagash is peculiar among rivers in that it flows from south to north.
Our trip began at a location called out on the map as The Thoroughfare just south of Long Lake. We pulled out well inside the town of Allagash just before the last major "S" in the Allagash where it feeds into the St. John. Total trip river mileage was somewhere between 50 and 53 miles depending on who you ask - I heard 50.3 miles. My estimation on river classifications for this trip were: 99% Class I and 1% Class II. Allagash Falls is probably Class IV. It's about 40' in length. This is a peaceful and fun canoe trip with lots of scenery. The temperatures ranged roughly from the 50's at nights to the 70's in the days. One day it felt like it might have reached the low 80's. It rained sporadically while we were on the river and even then only for short periods. By far the most challenging effort on the trip was avoiding the biting insects at the campsites: no-see-ums and mosquitoes. Very few black flies were to be seen. Repellant, clothing, fogging, cigars, and fire smoke were the standard bill o' fare for defense. A tent is a must under these conditions.
Friday (8/13) and Saturday (8/14) - Michael and I took the red-eye flight from Phoenix to Boston. We spent the day and night Saturday in Salem with the in-laws / grandparents / aunts / cousins / etc. We had a great time just sightseeing and relaxing.
Sunday, 8/15/04 - Met at St. Williams Catholic Church in Tewksbury, MA at around 07:30. Packed up and rolled out from there around 08:30. It's about an 8-hour drive from Tewksbury to Allagash, ME. Basically the route was I-95/I-495 up to U.S. 2: then to State Route 11 to Ft. Kent: then State Route 161 over to Allagash. Arrived at the Allagash Sporting Camp around 17:00 which is in the town of Allagash, ME. Just about as far north in the U.S. as you can get in the lower 48 (I guess Washington State and Minnesota has it beat). Saw a moose and a bald eagle on the way up at a scenic overlook along the highway. Rained on us almost the whole drive up from Tewksbury - remnants of Hurricane Charlie I guess. Burger King for lunch. Sausage hoagies for supper.
Monday, 8/16/04 - Left the Sporting Camp cabin (by the way, they hunt bear, moose, deer, rabbits, and coyotes out of this area) around 08:30. Pancakes and bacon this morning for breakfast. Takes about 2 to 2.5 hours to drive from the cabin to our chosen drop-off site: The Thoroughfare. A Van and a Suburban (pulling the 6 canoes) did the trick for all of us. No-see-ums (also known as Biting Midges, Punkies, or Sand Flies or "teeth with wings") pretty heavy though not unbearable. Saw a doe with her two fawns on the drive in to the launch site.
The river is way, way up - 7' we guess (14,000 cfs as compared to the normal 1,000 - 2,000 cfs flow). The outfitters dropped us off at a place indicated as The Thoroughfare on the map just south of Long Lake. Perry marked it on the GPS, but it's near Umsakis Ranger Station at roughly 46°37' N by 69°24.5' W. Estimate we launched around 11:00 - 11:30. Stopped for lunch around 13:30 at a campsite on Harvey Pond where a spring usually runs: fed downhill through an installed hose. Guess there's a water source back up in Long Lake that was now under water (Drain Pipe (?)). By the way, hardly any noticeable plane traffic across the sky here (well, not until later did I see several contrails). Maine is a beautiful place - good country - Thoreau country. Shot through the broken down dam (guessing Long Lake Dam) at roughly 46°43' N by 69°23' W and then stopped for camp at Cunliffe Islands. Usually the water is low enough that the canoes need to be hand-guided through the dam to avoid hull damage from the "spikes" left from the broken over dam. Smoking a stogie while I write to keep the bugs off (thanks Ken). Nice campsite. Camp is at 46°43.476' N by 69°22.119' W. Weather: partly cloudy skies all day, temperature in the high 70's maybe low 80's. Elevation is 899' at Cunliffe Island. Pitas and lunchmeat for lunch today. Beef stew for supper. Really enjoying the loons, bald eagles, and the kingfishers (I believe). Michael seems hungry all the time. As mentioned we're along with Scout Troop 49. Ken Poirier is their Scout Master. So far, great trip!
Laugh of the day: The boys did clean up after each meal. Leftover food was being dumped into the pit toilets - same stuff different form. Michael, while dumping his beef stew, managed to drop his beef stew and his bowl down the latrine. Couldn't figure out why he didn't want me to hold his legs while he fished it out... Laugh of the camp - no mercy shown.
Tuesday on the Allagash, 8/17/04 - Looks like portage around Allagash Falls is closed; so, trip plans may change. We might be ending the trip early, but who knows? Sure hope not. Left Cunliffe Island around 09:45 and arrived at Inlet campsite around 12:00. Inlet campsite is at 790' elevation and 46°46.191 N by 69°16.309 W. Sharing site with another group (6 guys) from Portland, ME. Did a little fishing this afternoon. Just little ones nibbling around - managed to snag one tiny "fish stick." Tried a little of everything, nothing really hitting. Bagels/english muffins for breakfast. Chicken salad and tuna salad pitas for lunch - good food on this trip. Saw a bald eagle with a fish in its talons flying by. Mosquitoes pretty heavy here - deet repellant seems to work good. Planning for the Lookout Tower (called Round Pond Tower on the map) walk tomorrow. Water is not too cold in river/lake/pond - estimate 60 - 65 °F. No moose to be seen. Several kingfishers and loons and bald eagles - loons sound cool: a lonely, painful call. Chili for dinner. Can't believe Michael's always hungry. All's good. Jim Carter's brothers showed up for dinner. Jim is a friend of Ken's and works with the troop quite a bit and put all the food for this trip together (I gather his wife prepared all the pre-cooked items: beef stew, chili, spaghetti sauce, etc.) - great job! No weight to be lost on this trip.
Wednesday, 8/18/04, second day at Inlet campsite - Other group left this morning. French toast for breakfast. Headed for the Lookout Tower. Paddled across lake (Round Pond), then up the trail 2.4 miles. Takes about 1.5 hours to hike up and about 1 hour to get back. Lookout Tower is about 65' tall. It's not the standard fully operational fire lookout tower. It's an open-topped platform/box with a 4' railing. There are 3 signs posted on the way to the tower stating that it is closed. We climbed right up and the hatch was open. Tower's in good shape - the wood is solid and the steel structure looks sound. I rocked it pretty good from the top a it seemed solid. The tower does show some rust, but only superficial. Nice views up and down the river from the tower. Lookout Tower is at 1,472' elevation (at bottom of tower) and 46°47.662 N by 69°13.992 W. Caught a fish last night - "fish stick"; may try again tonight. Cups-o-soup for lunch. Hike, lunch, nap - good day so far. Trip up to Lookout Tower started around 10:30 and ended around 15:00 with 15-20 minutes canoe time on each end included. Grilled chicken for supper with rice pilaf and corn. Good stuff. There's an active ranger cabin/station located here on Round Pond.
Thursday, 8/19/04, back on the river - Busy day! Rolled out of bed about 04:45 to do some fishing with Michael. Michael and I caught 11 River Chubs: only 4 or 5 of decent size; rest were "fish sticks." I read somewhere, "Chances are you will have to catch a bunch of river chubs before landing your first trout on the Allagash." Our ratio was 13:1. We took pictures of Michael catching 2 and releasing 1 so he can get his Fishing merit badge. Of course, he had to clean the one he kept. Came back and ate a breakfast of bacon and eggs and then rolled on down the river. Nice sunrise over the trees this morning. Good to be out fishing watching the fog lift and watching the bright orange sun pop over the evergreens. They say sportsmen spend more time than almost anyone just watching nature. I can tell you, while fishing and hunting, you spend the majority of your time waiting, just looking around.
First stop is at the spring on Round Pond for a water fill up, then on down the river stopping at various sites along the way to take breaks, snack, and lunch. Funny thing about springs and water sources here, they're all marked as non-potable (by golly it is pōtable!); but, everyone drinks from them, even the rangers! They say it's for litigation protection - oh, brother! We stopped at Hosea-B, Five Finger Brook North (for lunch - missed South...), and Cunliffe sites. Cold cuts, tuna salad, and chicken salad for lunch at Five Finger Brook North. Final destination for the day: Ramsey (could be Ramsay) Ledge. Saw our first moose on the river today! Nice sized cow out for a munch. Saw more eagles, herons, and kingfishers. Got rain on and off today, but nothing heavy. Looks like river flow dropped below 4,000 cfs (per the ranger report) so we can portage around Allagash Falls. Michael and I went out fishing again at Ramsey Ledge (last day on our 3-day permit). I caught another chub and a nice brook trout. We got rained back into camp. Rained pretty good this afternoon and some in the night. We built a nice fire. Had marinara sauce and ziti for supper. Intense game of Spades kept the boys entertained. Peace, relaxation, and good conversation kept the adults entertained. Ramsey Ledge is at 46°55.960' N by 69°11.661 W. Elevation is 736'. All is good! Mosquitoes and no-see-ums are a royal pain and very heavy here! Very annoying. I will never make fun of those netted suits and hats again!
Friday, 8/20/04, back on the river - Left Ramsey Ledge around 09:00ish and got to falls portage around 12:30ish. Checked in with Michaud Farm Ranger Station along the way as required. Finish 1/3-mile portage haul around 13:30ish - not too bad with canoe hauler and hand-truck (two wheeler). As I sit here writing, a couple of red-tail squirrels are chasing each other hotly around a tree trunk and I'm getting eaten alive by no-see-ums. Had bagels and english muffins for breakfast. Cups-o-soup for lunch on the down stream side of the falls. Allagash Falls were cool! Got some nice pictures, I hope. Rapids a little better today, though none are very aggressive at all. Saw a nice bald eagle perched in a tree. Looked like he was scanning for fish. Pulled in to East Twin Brook campsite for our last night (no idea what time - 15:00 or so). Good site. Tent sites available back in the trees. 6-person group we camped with at Inlet site were here as well. They didn't seem to mind.; although, I'm sure we looked intimidating with 12 people and loads of gear. Sunset was gorgeous - pink sky. Steak, beans, and brown bread for supper! Cooked and ate our 2 chubs and 1 trout. The trout was outstanding! The chubs were ok, would be better off fried. The meat is kind of flaky and pretty tasty. Just did the butter, salt, and onions rolled in aluminum foil routine. Weather seemed warmer. All played in river and took baths this afternoon at camp. Cards and campfire finished up the evening. Heading out tomorrow.
Got up in the middle of the night for some relief, and heard this large thumping in the woods. Must have been from the large snowshoe rabbits that inhabit this area hopping around. They are very brown at this time of year. We harassed one up at Inlet campsite.
Rough Animal Inventory: moose, eagles, beaver, deer, fish, rabbits, frogs, squirrels, chipmunks (one even swimming across river), snake (Perry caught him at East Twin Brook campsite), woodchuck.
Saturday, 8/21/04, Heading out day - I can kind of feel the sadness and excitement in the air - sad it's our last day; happy to be back. Almost no dew and no fog this morning: warm weather. Rolled out of camp onto the river at about 09:00. Pulled out of river around 10:00. Stopped at the Michaud Inn location to check out if it would be a good future campsite. Good covered site location - two covered areas - but a long haul for equipment up to the sites. Unloaded canoes, packed, showered, bought tee shirts, and headed down the road by around 11:30 or so. Rained good on us most of the way home. Glad we didn't get this downpour on the river. Ate at Ashland convenience store - good steak and cheese subs. Dropped Dave off in Portland and ate supper there. Got back to St. Williams Church in Tewksbury around 21:30. What a great trip!
Overall: Let me warn you about New Englanders. All that cold wintry weather every year has a powerful effect on their personalities... it makes 'em friendly! I was a little leery that with a group of twelve, there had to be one or two jerks in the crowd - I was wrong. I never met a more welcoming group. Each one treated Michael and I like we were family and we really appreciated it. Maybe we were the jerks this time...
The trip was fantastic! It was well planned and organized and really an easy trip, logistically. Real good bonding time for Michael and I. As I stated in the general description of the river, great canoeing skills are not required. You should be familiar with canoeing and be able to handle a swamping incident - it could happen. The canoes are fairly well loaded with gear. Most of us packed our gear in watertight bags: Sea Lions, etc. These work real well; we had no incidents of leakage. Michael and I basically planned to be under water for the entire week; plan for the worst.
The weather was great. As expected it was typical New England summer weather: "If you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes and it'll change for you." When sky was clear at night, you could easily see the Milky Way: definitely no light pollution - just clouds. Scenery is spectacular. Flying, biting insects were plentiful; be prepared. It pleased God to grant us a safe and enjoyable trip that we will remember for a lifetime.
By the way, don't try to transport plastic cigarette lighters in your checked baggage on the plane. TSA searched and confiscated the lighters in my checked luggage! Some obscure rule they have. Maybe stowage is not pressurized during flight and they might explode...
"The Allagash Wilderness Waterway is a symbol of Maine's unique natural heritage and the historic relationship of its people with the land. And it also is a symbol of hope for the future of wild places as Maine people work together to fully realize the dream that led to its preservation more than three decades ago." - Dean Bennett, author, Allagash: Maine's Wild and Scenic River.
Pictures of the trip | Link to other trip reports | Back to top
