Diary of Our Allagash Adventure
Ten strangers and two guides embark on a seven-day canoe trip on the 98-mile chain of rivers and lakes that comprise the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. Day 1 involves a 3-hour van ride to the put-in at Churchill Dam and a short paddle to a campsite on Heron Lake called Jaws.
(To read a fuller account of the first day and see a gallery of 1st day photos, click on the picture below)
After a hearty breakfast, we reload our canoes for a paddle back to the dam where water is released for our first encounter with whitewater canoeing; we navigate Chase Rapids. Before we are through, one canoe capsizes and requires a rescue, the others get through, somewhat shaken but still upright. We end the day on Umsaskis Lake at Pine campsite.
(To read a fuller account of the second day and see a gallery of 2nd day photos, click on the picture below)
Day 3: Traversing a broken dam
We paddle the length of Long Lake then embark on a shallower Allagash that requires new vigilance. At the remnants of Long Lake Dam we learn to work as a team to “line down” of canoes to avoid the metal spikes that remain from the old dam. We end the day on Round Pond at Inlet campsite. Days 2 and 3 have been our longest paddling days, averaging about 16 miles.
(To read a fuller account of the third day and see a gallery of 3rd day photos, click on the picture below)
Day 4 finds us paddling exclusively on the Allagash River. We learn to navigate around its shallow areas, trying not to get “fetched up” (a North Woods term for hanging up on rocks). One of our paddlers, Dick Farris, catches 2 Brook Trout at a snack stop at Five Finger Brook. Trout was added to our menu at the Deadwater North campsite that night.
(To read a fuller account of the fourth day and see a gallery of 4th day photos, click on the picture below)
Day 5 was short but interesting. We stopped along the river to view the woodland remains of two Lombard Log Haulers and a second stop to visit a restored cabin from the centuries old Moir Farm. We ended the day with a portage and a swim at Allagash Falls. We camped overnight at the falls.
(To read a fuller account of the fifth day and see a gallery of 5th day photos, click on the picture below)
The remainder of the trip is river paddling, with an increased number of “rock gardens” which meant some more “fetching up” and occasionally having to get out of the canoe when we misread the shallows. In all, it was still a lot of fun trying to solve the rocky puzzles that the Allagash provides. We ended the day at East Twin Brook campsite, where Lani demonstrated the art of poling the canoe and some of us tried our hands at this new skill.
(To read a fuller account of the sixth day and see a gallery of 6th day photos, click on the picture below)
After a pancake breakfast, we paddled the final leg of the river to our take out destination in Allagash Village, close to its intersection with the St. John River and Canada. It was hard to leave such beauty behind but it was also a relief to see that our van and canoe trailer were waiting for us at our destination. Ahead was a 5-hour drive to base camp where we all received Allagash Canoe Trip tee shirts and posed for a final group photo.
(To read a fuller account of the seventh day and see a gallery of 7th day photos, click on the picture below)
One of our reasons for taking this trip was to see moose. We had previously struck out in this desire on our Boundary Waters and Adirondacks canoe trips, but we were sure that the Maine North Woods would not let us down. The closest we came to observing these animals was a fresh moose hoof print but, alas no moose.
(To read a fuller account and see a gallery of additional photos, click on the picture below)
Additional Stuff
