Day 53: Allagash Village to the Eastern Terminus of the NFCT (30.8 miles)

Sue Kelly and I in Two Rivers Lunch, surrounded by the authentic charm of the northwoods of Maine.

Dad capsized.  I dropped our camera in the water.  Not a promising start for a 27-mile day.

After a hearty breakfast, we started off at 8:45 a.m. with less than a mile of the Allagash remaining before the St. John.  In this short section lies fairly straightforward Casey Rapids.

Dad suggested I go first today, to find a good line through the whitewater sections.  I had just swiveled around to check on Dad when he tried to navigate between two rocks and hung up on a third, tipping over and going for a chilly swim.  I scooped up his floating hat and water bottle, as he walked his canoe to shore, still with a solid grip on his double-bladed paddle.  In my helpful fashion, I hauled his boat up on shore and dumped out the water.  It was a day later (on the way home) before he realized that was probably where he lost his GPS, rather than in the river itself!

Turning downstream on the St. John, we searched carefully for the last two missing items…Dad’s spare custom cherry canoe paddle and his bleach-jug bailer.  You will be happy to know that although Dad spotted just one of them, it was the paddle.  Where Pelletier Brook enters on river right is a Class II rapid not marked on Map 13, which I successfully ran right down the center.  Dad was nearer shore and was forced to line his boat along the edge.  Trying to take his photo with one hand and bring him a makeshift walking stick in the other, I dropped the camera, so no action shots today.  From here our luck had nowhere to go but up.

Mom has gotten comfortable driving Dad’s Toyota Tacoma truck just for this trip (thanks, Mom!) and she met us in St. Francis for lunch.  In spite of the challenging morning, we decided to continue on after our lunch of cheeseburgers, soda, and candy bars from the general store.  Norm Pelletier, who generously let us access the river through his campground, estimated that we had 4 1/2 hours to go to reach Fort Kent.  As much as I had wanted to dawdle on the Allagash, I wanted to hurry now.  It was starting to rain in earnest, but the four difficult Class II rapids were all behind us.  Dad had run the last several perfectly, including the huge standing waves in Rankin Rapids.  So off we went in the fast-moving current, averaging about 4 mph.

After pausing in the river while Dad went shivering up to fetch his phone, I paddled the short distance that remained. Just before 6 in the evening, I stood at the kiosk marking the Eastern Terminus of the NFCT. I was finished.

We forgot to take Dad’s photo until the next morning as we headed for home. Dad has now paddled Maps 1, 2, part of 10, 11, 12, and 13.

TOTAL MILES: 749.7  (the official NFCT literature gives the total trail distance as 740 miles)

 

Day 52: Big Brook South on the Allagash River to Allagash Village (9.8 miles)

I woke to crisp air and ate the last pack of Quaker cranberry walnut protein oatmeal, a delicious choice that I didn’t tire of all trip.  I stayed late in camp again, photographing more mushrooms and drying all my gear thoroughly, as tonight would be a cabin night.

I had forgotten how beautiful the last miles of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway were, with tall conifers as a backdrop for green grassy banks.  I felt the sadness of ten years ago, treasuring every mile, knowing that next summer’s plans may not bring me to the Allagash at all.  The thought of the meal awaiting me at Two Rivers Lunch did cheer me up a little and kept me from just stopping altogether.  This section includes some Class II rapids, both those at Twin Brooks (marked on the map) and another set midway between McGargle Rocks and Ghost Landing Bar.  These names are haunting, as both stem from logging fatalities of a bygone era.

I was worried I would end with 13 moose for the trip, but just past the sign announcing the end of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, I spotted a young bull, tallied as Moose #14.

Two Rivers Lunch in Allagash Village is always a most welcome sight after days on the river. Waiting for Mom and Dad, I had plenty of time for a salad, cheeseburger, fries, and ice cream.

Tonight we would be staying right here, behind the restaurant, in one of the cabins owned by Tylor Kelly’s Camps.  In 2011, when I arrived in Allagash Village with Dad and Taylor during Paddle for Hope, Sue Kelly gave us the warmest welcome imaginable.  She baked us brownies, brought us shampoo and half and half and let me use her computer for hours (not to mention donating to our fundraising for the Maine Children’s Cancer Program)!   We had made a friend, and have since come to know the rest of her friendly family.  So tonight felt like home, especially after Mom and Dad drove in with pork chops to cook for dinner.  Tomorrow Dad will rejoin me to paddle the St. John River, perhaps in one marathon day to Fort Kent.  We’ll see!

TOTAL MILES: 718.9

Day 51: Deadwater North to Big Brook South on the Allagash River (12.0 miles)

Today is Sunday, a day of rest, and a quiet morning in camp gave me time for thanksgiving and awe at the fact that I have safely journeyed so many miles.  A “good morning” from the garter snake (or is it a milk snake?), the warmth of a campfire, three cedar waxwings in the cherry tree, journaling…and a visit from ranger Matthew Jackson, who came up to chat after learning that I was doing the NFCT.  His family is from the village of Allagash and he has recently moved home to the family’s farm at the site of Dickey Plantation, the home of one of the area’s early settlers.  (Kathy, it won’t be difficult to remember his name, will it?).

Matthew, headed over to Deadwater South, where he is working on creating more level tent sites for future campers.

PADDLER’S NOTE:  The river flow was still very high for August, measuring 1,900 cfs as reported on the bulletin board at Michaud Farm, where all paddlers officially check out of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway (although the AWW continues to Twin Brooks).  I saw many groups between Eagle Lake and Churchill Dam, but then must have gotten ahead of the crowd.

My faithful boat awaits its last portage, fittingly a carry around Allagash Falls.

Today I went into a flurry of mushroom photography…this is my favorite!

The clouds broke while I ate a quick peanut butter and jelly wrap at Allagash Falls. Today, incredibly, my mileage total passed 700 and the ease of this portage confirmed my current level of fitness.

My evening campsite came with a lovely pile of split kindling, a joy to behold.

Yesterday I camped at an old favorite, today I discovered a new one, Big Brook South, an open, sunny space with a commanding view of the river (although access is up a steep and challenging bank).

This is profound…tonight was my last evening of wilderness solitude. One by one, the stars emerged, as I wrote deeper and deeper thoughts by the light of the campfire, never wanting this time to end.

TOTAL MILES: 709.1

Day 50: Sams on Long Lake to Deadwater North on the Allagash River (27.0 miles)

Last summer, Dad, our friend Mike, and I shared a magical campsite abounding in wildlife and blueberries, called Deadwater North.  Today’s goal was a long day of paddling (23 miles was the projected distance in my notes) to return there, although I knew that this year there would be no bacon and blueberry pancakes or baking in Dad’s reflector oven.  Anyway, it was disheartening to start out into a hefty wind right in my face, one that also seemed to keep all the wildlife from the water.  The pull of the current was a welcome ally as I returned to the river after several miles of slow going.  At Long Lake Dam, perhaps in memory of Chris, I decided to line the boat through on river left, as we did in 2005, rather than portaging on river right.

Lazily, I did not even attach a stern line, and was lucky that I didn’t end up swamping the boat.  With the present high water levels, I could actually work it along most of the shore in very shallow water, where the metal spikes remaining from the original dam could easily be avoided.  When I reached the last swift drop, though, the safe, shallow edge evaporated, the river snatched at the boat, and it was almost a disaster.  For a moment, the canoe tipped and took on some water and it took all my strength to wrestle it back under control and maneuver it into the calm pool beyond.  All’s well that ends well, but next time I would definitely attach a second line!

The site of former Long Lake Dam, where I lined my canoe through along this shore.

The first of the landmark elms that greet paddlers as they approach Round Pond. These trees survived Dutch Elm Disease due to their isolation in the Allagash wilderness.

I had one quick chance at this photo as I drifted by, at first thinking this was a merganser nest, but I don’t think it is.

Today’s flower of the day, quite common in the delta approaching Round Pond.

As I entered Round Pond, a squall blew through.  First, a dark gray cloud inevitably overtook the sky, before reaching a point where the cloud simply enveloped my whole world.  Rain pounded the lake and I paddled furiously in an effort to stay warm, passing a family huddled under a tarp at the Inlet campsite.  As usual, I was in my bathing suit and a thin t-shirt and shorts, and probably looked crazy.  At the ranger station, I stopped to bail out the boat and Kale invited me in where it was somewhat warmer, especially after I put on a dry thermal top.  I recognized him from last summer at Michaud Farm and we chatted about float planes and bears and the hit that the moose population has taken this year.

Kale explained that a species of tick which had never successfully overwintered this far north has now gained a permanent foothold.  The ticks are drawing so much blood that moose are becoming anemic, and dying, or, if they survive that, then scratching themselves bare in large patches, and freezing to death during the harsh winter.  After that conversation, I felt quite lucky to see three moose after the weather cleared, a bull and two cows.

This will get your adrenalin going and keep you paddling a few more miles!

This mighty, magnificent monarch of the river seemed comfortable with my presence as long as I didn’t get too close.

A rainbow sky across from Deadwater North as I finished my 27-mile paddling marathon

Mike and Dad, look who’s living among the fireplace rocks at our campsite.

For supper, I tried herbed mushroom risotto with basil pesto, a gourmet dehydrated meal from a new company called Good To-Go in Kittery, Maine.  The company’s meals were recommended to me in the camping department at Maine Sport and this first taste of their food was delicious, with a fresh, colorful appearance and a list of ingredients that were all easy to pronounce (as the package points out).  Not bad when there is no reflector oven in sight!

TOTAL MILES: 697.1

Day 49: Jaws on Churchill Lake to Sams on Long Lake (17.3 miles)

Today…the story in photos…

Still thinking about that cornbread. Heidi promised to send me the recipe, which came from a famous chef in New Orleans. She came down this morning to watch me go and spotted a moose.

All poised to run Chase Rapids, with my gear, feeling butterflies. I decided not to use the gear shuttle service. Josh, the ranger, released 1,000 cfs from the dam this morning, to bring the river to 2,000 cfs.

Looking back at the first rapids. I bailed five gallons of water from my boat after the first two, due to the size of the standing waves. From my journal: “My boat is forgiving and tough and brought me through quite confidently.”

PADDLER’S NOTE: The Saranac River in flood stage was much more powerful and the rapids on the Moose River trickier with less water than Chase Rapids.  I was glad I decided to keep my gear, which gave my boat the same feel that it has had for hundreds of miles.  The first mile of Chase Rapids has all of the Class II rapids, with a chance to catch your breath between each.

Bank after bank of Joe Pye Weed lined the shores.

Look who I met! NFCT interns Jared and Paul on their last day of work, finishing a stone staircase at Meadows. Paul spotted a moose and, earlier, I had seen a mother and calf on Heron Lake. My count is now 9 and theirs 45!

Umsaskis Lake in a time of afternoon stillness. God’s presence seemed to abide here, surrounding me with peace. Uncannily, ten years ago this day was my first on the Allagash, as Chris brought me here for our honeymoon.

Almost forgot my end-of-map photo, but the American Realty Road bridge was still in sight behind me.

Finally, a great blue heron poses, abandoning their usual shyness.

Last moose of a moosey day…this cow didn’t even know I was there as I observed her feeding for a long time. I thought how content she must be – mostly underwater, away from the bugs, and indulging her enormous appetite for tasty aquatic plants. The tan sandy bank on the far shore is typical of the appearance of a campsite from afar.

This is that moose, shaking herself just like a dog!

What an awesome day, what an awesome place, the icing on the cake of this incredible journey!

TOTAL MILES: 670.1

Family time…touring around with Megan and Jacob

Exploring the rocks at Pemaquid Point Lighthouse…look for this view on a Maine quarter!

A well-deserved rest for two hard-working graphic designers

We went paddling of course and the “kids” tried the new canoes on the Pemaquid River and Biscay Pond.

  

Starting with a visit to the old stone bridge

   

Common Arrowroot grows here, too.

  

Paddling partners for a future expedition?

The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens on a warm afternoon…lots of new flowers to learn

  

The artists learning about the visiting exhibition of wind sculptures

Eating at the wharf for the second night in a row…there was no lobster on the NFCT!

Day 48: Priestly Point on Eagle Lake to Jaws on Churchill Lake (9.4 miles)

OK, I could have, should have perhaps, gone farther today, but look at the experiences I wouldn’t have experienced.  Chase Rapids is fast approaching and must be run in the morning between 8 and noon, the hours that water is released from Churchill Dam to create a five-mile run of Class I and II whitewater.  Instead of trying to make it that far, I set up camp by late morning just short of Heron Lake and Churchill Dam, poised to be first in line tomorrow.

Time to introduce you to Ziggy, who checked this morning to make sure that I didn’t forget anything back in camp!

The morning began well.  Rounding Priestly Point, the urgent call of a loon greeted me, then echoed back with intensity and precision from the darkly wooded shore.  Again and again the male called with gusto, his mate nearby.  Always the answering voice quickly responded.  I was so enjoying the wing stretching, the closeness, the echoes, that I didn’t give thought to the why of the scene.  Until I spotted a small dot near the mother – a chick, of course.  I angled away to leave the little family in peace, the calls and their echoes immediately fading into memory.

Today’s flower of the day has been identified as water smartweed. Thanks, Peter, and I think someone else as well!

After my loons, and a yellow-bellied sapsucker, and Moose #4, I arrived in camp and was all settled in well before noon.  I love looking at maps…today I just stared for a while at Map #12 as it dried, seeing how one body of water flowed into another and trying out the Abenaki names.

By mid-afternoon, I’d had my fill of reading, snacks, and gathering firewood, and decided to paddle over to the Churchill Depot History Center at Churchill Dam.  Leaving a note for my Vermont friends welcoming them to camp with me, I spent a full hour at the museum reading about Paleoindians, examining artifacts, and trying to imagine the historic photos bringing life and people to the places that are now so wild.  On the way home, paddling in the lee of the west shore, I spotted a cascade of water.  A bull moose, just raising his antlers, still in velvet.  The reward of Moose #5 for not lazing around camp!

Real people lived their lives here…wish I could go back in time for a day!

Imagine all the biscuits that were baked in this reflector oven found at Eagle Lake Village.

I crept closer by carefully pulling myself along shoreline grasses and bushes while he was feeding.

Chris, Amy, Heidi, Mary, Zayda, Zeb, and Ziggy found my note and look what was waiting for my dinner when I returned to camp. Heidi mixed up her famous cornbread and Chris baked it in a modern day reflector oven!

TOTAL MILES: 652.8

Day 47: Mud Brook on Chamberlain Lake to Priestly Point on Eagle Lake (14.0 miles)

On Chamberlain, rays of sun bring a spirit of prayer to the peaceful lake.

My inner self is relaxing.  There are so many layers of civilization and responsibility to peel away, to quiet the mind.  I rose willingly and ventured forth into a day of clouds and sun, clouds and sun.  Just me beneath the ever-changing sky, able to cross the tranquil waters on a straight course, a gift for rising early.  To me, Lock Dam is the logical portage, just a quick carry over the hump of the dam, although I paused and actually got out my stove to make a second breakfast of potato soup with bacon, my tent drying while the sun was out.

Lock Dam is a short and simple portage…just be respectful of the “DANGEROUS WIRLPOOL” (sic) warns a new sign.

The rushing stream into Martin’s Cove is a manageable and picturesque half mile of fun and the entrance into Eagle Lake.  I paddled along by Pillsbury Island, where Thoreau once camped, under a steel-gray cloud, hopefully watching the sun shine on distant Farm Island.  Well, the cloud won this time.  The skies opened, with gusty winds, an instant drop in temperature and a crazy pummeling of rain on all the world.  Committed at that point to bathing suit and shorts, it was a little late for a rain jacket.  I simply kept my speed up, burning calories and racing toward that distant sun, still there.  As the squall passed, I watched the sun move along the shore, rippling toward me tree by tree, until we met, all my bare skin instantly warming.  Heavenly!

From 1927 to 1933, a real railroad operated in this remote wilderness, its tracks stretching from Eagle to Umbazooksus Lakes. It was worth fighting the wind into the southwestern corner of Eagle Lake to visit these abandoned giants, which are surrounded by a graveyard of other artifacts from that logging era, including the earlier tramway.

I made more wonderful friends today, when Zayda and Zeb and their family and friends camped next to me at Priestly Point. Here is their fort, with all the comforts of home, constructed in an afternoon. My favorite features were the candy dish (ferns in a hollowed rock) and the custom s’more toaster with rack to hold it.

More instantly-comfortable friends…Zayda and Zeb with their parents Amy and Chris in the back and friend Mary in front (Heidi is missing). Do you have any idea how grateful I was to share a hot dog and a dish of home-grown green beans under their tarp? (It rained again).

TOTAL MILES: 643.4

Day 46: Umbazooksus Stream West to Mud Brook on Chamberlain Lake (7.9 miles)

Nancy Spencer drove in yesterday, on a journey of rediscovery, visiting places where she grew up camping with her family. We shared the deserted campground and stories of times gone by in the places that have become dear to me.

Everyone knows exactly how many times they’ve done it – usually either once or never.  “Done it once, don’t need to do it again,” was one through-paddler’s assessment.  (Although I once talked with an Allagash ranger whose count was 9.)  Would mine reach two today?  Twice traversing the treacherous 1.9 miles of Mud Pond Carry, the historic gateway to the Allagash?

The feet of generations have worn the path deep, so that it is never dry, just clear and rocky in places and murky and mysterious in others.  To reach its start, I paddled up Umbazooksus Stream against a storm-strengthened current, pulled myself under the dam through a scary trough of waves, and crossed Umbazooksus Lake to the landmark rock cairn.

This rock cairn restored by Team Moxie in 2011 marks the start of Mud Pond Carry.

After carefully carrying my canoe almost half a mile over downed trees and slippery rocks, I was then able to float it almost that same distance, at times with my gear inside!

Look, I discovered a lunch spot on high ground!

As the water grew deeper, each foot was placed with care.  Invisible under the often ankle-deep murk hid rounded rocks, the remnants of an ancient boardwalk, and a deceptive bottom that might be solid for your left foot and a sucking vortex for your right.  Today the portage yoke proved its worth yet again.  In fact, carrying the boat was actually easier than lugging the second load’s weighty bags, trying to keep them above the mud.

The scariest moment came when my right foot suddenly slipped between two of the hidden boards, then wedged at an awkward angle.  Luckily, I was slowly maneuvering bags at the time.  As I wiggled it out, I shuddered, imagining the possible outcome if I had been carrying the heavy boat with a lot of forward momentum.  Soon after, the bottom firmed up, the water cleared again, and I realized that, yes, I was going to make it.  My count would indeed reach 2.  “Did it twice, don’t need to do it again!” says this aspiring through-paddler.

Mud is demoralizing, creepy, and uncomfortable, packing itself painfully into every crevice of your shoes.

What story lies behind this orphan abandoned along the way?

Remnants of the ancient boardwalk, looking back along the carry.

Frogs of every shape and size inhabit the murky depths.

I was pleased to reach Mud Pond after 5 1/4 hours, just in time to watch some ominous clouds skirt around me. Here I am waiting on the whim of the storm before entering Mud Brook, the fast-moving stream that leads to Chamberlain Lake.

Ah, my campsite at last…a well-earned collapse, comforting warm campfire, and a perky chipmunk for company.

TOTAL MILES: 629.4

Day 45: Lone Pine on the West Branch Penobscot River to Umbazooksus Stream West (14.4 miles)

The croak of a raven and glow of the sunrise made for a time of peaceful writing in camp, getting me all caught up on my journaling.  This meant, traveling solo, that I could pause during the day to journal: “The slow drifting of surface bubbles contrasted with the swift darting of the swallows, as they skimmed just inches from the water.  It was the last of that shadowed time before the bright sun illuminated all.”

A new day reflected in the peaceful waters of the West Branch of the Penobscot

Not many others were on the river, but I visited several times with a young family in a canoe and kayak, telling them that I hoped that they would see a moose.  The young boy excitedly explained that anyone who spots an animal gets ice cream.  I heartily approve of that rule!

A bald eagle circling in the growing wind was the extent of the wildlife and, by the time I reached Boom House near Chesuncook Village, the conditions kept my mind fully occupied.  Chesuncook Lake, which I would cross at its northern end above Gero Island, is usually windy and choppy.  “We’re in for a wild ride,” were my parting words to the family with kids, who were heading down the length of the lake.

At first the wind was a friendly, ferocious force at my back, then a confusion of waves as I entered the lake and saw that glorious view of Katahdin and its neighbors far to the south.  Then the waves were fighting me for control of my boat.  I safely passed the comforting Graveyard Point, paddling for the most part into the powerful waves at an angle, first toward the north shore, then toward Gero Island to the south. Where would I camp?  Where could I reach?  Well, the wind answered that for me, finally just turning my boat broadside to the waves as my arms grew weary and scooting me along, thankfully close to the shore of Gero.  It felt safe, if a bit funny, to be simply along for the ride.

Whitecaps race across the top of Chesuncook Lake, as seen from the protection of Gero Island.

Well, the excitement wasn’t over yet.  After lunch on a comfy log on the lee shore beach of Gero Island, I braved the wind anew to cross into the arm of Umbazooksus Stream, which stretches north above the lake, funneling the waves, this time in my direction of travel.   Staying near the west shore of the arm, I surfed with abandon, luckily having success aiming straight for Umbazooksus West campground, somewhat unusual with its road access and longterm RV residents.  I daydreamed that they were all in awe, watching my perilous journey to join them.

When I got there, the campground was deserted, the RV’s mute as to my paddling prowess.  This also meant there was no one there but me to see my empty boat, pulled fully up on the gravel beach, be picked up by the wind and deposited in the lake.  Boy did I ever drop my last load of gear and run, catching the skidding boat by one hand in waist deep water!  I will let the photos below tell the rest of the tale.  Tomorrow…Mud Pond Carry…

Today gave new meaning to the term “unsettled weather,” as I experienced gusty winds, warm sunshine for swimming, violent thunderstorms, pea-sized hail, and drenching downpours.

And a rainbow, viewed from inside my tent.

TOTAL MILES: 621.5