Anyone been on this trip previously, I have a few days in early october & will canoe this with a few friends. How long did you spend there & how is the west penobscot ?
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lobster lake to chesuncook
- Thread starter forest runes
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I've paddled into and camped on Lobster twice, both more than 8 years ago. You can spend a day paddling around the Lake. There is also a hike up a nearby mountain that originates on the Lake, but I didn't find the trail head. There are some very nice camp sites in there. Try to get Ogden Point if it is available. On both my trips, we continued down the Penobscot to Chesuncook. The water levels were moderate. There is good current in the river and only some Class I type rips in a short stretch where the river splits to go around Thoreau's Island. If you like to fish you might want to camp there.
At the time, there wasn't a shuttle road into Chesuncook, or maybe there was a road but it wasn't much. I understand that has changed.
You can read my trip report from 2008. We started that trip on Moosehead Lake, so there's some extraneous content in there. I have a TR from the previous trip there, which was in 2003, but, it's a Word file. It includes a description of various camp sites we looked at along the way. I'd be happy to email it to you.
It might be getting chilly by October, but hopefully that will have the bugs lying low. BTW, we were unable to get weather radio at Lobster or Chesuncook, if you care about such things.
At the time, there wasn't a shuttle road into Chesuncook, or maybe there was a road but it wasn't much. I understand that has changed.
You can read my trip report from 2008. We started that trip on Moosehead Lake, so there's some extraneous content in there. I have a TR from the previous trip there, which was in 2003, but, it's a Word file. It includes a description of various camp sites we looked at along the way. I'd be happy to email it to you.
It might be getting chilly by October, but hopefully that will have the bugs lying low. BTW, we were unable to get weather radio at Lobster or Chesuncook, if you care about such things.
Thanks Chip , for the 2008 info .I sent a contact as a message look forward to reading your 2003 TR.
Yes. Four or five times.. I don't know if I did that many TR's..its a three night trip to Ripogenus Lake. Two to Chesuncook Village ( the takeout there is new and I have not taken out there and driven the access road) You can do a short trip and stay on Ogden on Lobster or move further down to Little Claw. Lobster is worth a whole day if the winds permit. We were there in June and the winds were up.
Maine is really dry so I don't know how much water is being released from Sebomook Lake to fuel the West Branch now.
Thoreau Island is not the name of the island where the river splits with riffles. Thoreau is higher up near Hannibals Crossing and has no rapids. Big Island is where the channel splits with gravelly rapids. Most take the right channel as it holds more water.
One trip report from 2015..
http://www.canoetripping.net/forums/...r-days-in-june
Big Island has two campsites ( one is two cells)really steep landing with stairs. I like Big Ragamuff and Pine Stream the best.
The campsites are on the map of the Penobscot RIver Corridor
http://www.maine.gov/dacf/parksearch...-seboomook-map.
Boom House is ugh. Canvas Dam great and Gero Island sites great.
We have done the trip in high water from Lobster Lake to Chesuncook in a day in high water. One trip we made it in eight hours all the way down the river from Lobster Lot to Rip Dam. Chesuncook was in a rare cooperative mood that day.
Maine is really dry so I don't know how much water is being released from Sebomook Lake to fuel the West Branch now.
Thoreau Island is not the name of the island where the river splits with riffles. Thoreau is higher up near Hannibals Crossing and has no rapids. Big Island is where the channel splits with gravelly rapids. Most take the right channel as it holds more water.
One trip report from 2015..
http://www.canoetripping.net/forums/...r-days-in-june
Big Island has two campsites ( one is two cells)really steep landing with stairs. I like Big Ragamuff and Pine Stream the best.
The campsites are on the map of the Penobscot RIver Corridor
http://www.maine.gov/dacf/parksearch...-seboomook-map.
Boom House is ugh. Canvas Dam great and Gero Island sites great.
We have done the trip in high water from Lobster Lake to Chesuncook in a day in high water. One trip we made it in eight hours all the way down the river from Lobster Lot to Rip Dam. Chesuncook was in a rare cooperative mood that day.
Thanks Yellowcanoe, every few years we have made a Thoreau inspired trip, this will be the next leg , it great to get a preview of the highlights so as to build anticipation of the journey, I also try to read any history or accounts to see how my imagination squares with the reality of the site !
G
Guest
Guest
I thought the Thoreau Island site was kinda blah, at least on a scale relative to some of the other sites along the river. I like Big Island South, with the steep set of stairs, in part for the elevated view upriver. The riffles are at Big Island, and at low water river right around the island carries more water.
Pine Stream is nice. Boom House (a double) not so much, although you can walk into Chesuncook Village for fudge.
Crossing Chesuncook merits respect. Before our first trip there a very experienced friend mentioned that the closest he had come to swamping a canoe in lake waves was crossing Chesuncook. We paid attention to that caution and stayed the last night at Sandy Point, making the narrow (1 mile?) crossing to the north shore early the next morning.
We didn’t get much further than the north shore. As we paddled along the shoreline a SW wind kicked up and the lake quickly became unpaddleable. We struggled along for a few miles close to shore and finally had to throw in the towel, spending a couple of hours windbound on the north shore, dang near in sight of the take out.
One gear note: The sites have a picnic table with a long ridgepole over the table that extends out to the fire pit. The ridgepole is ideal for hanging a tarp over the table, but it is often a jagged and splintery ridgepole. I would not want to hazard a pricey sil-nylon tarp to that ridgepole, so it is one place where a cheap blue poly special is your friend.
It is a long ridgepole, something like 16 feet long. Other than packing volume it would be hard to bring too large a poly tarp. And maybe a couple of tarp poles for one end.
Thanks for all the tips guys, I plan on bringing a +- 20' w/c canoe as on a previous trip crossing eagle lake we were hit by a storm. While nothing compared to the ocean it got pretty nip & tuk as to forward momentum. Mike that tarp suggestion is a definite, but it didn't help on that occasion as it literally was raining sideways. All We could do was hysterically laugh about being that wet .
Sandy Point is now a parking lot. There is road access now to Chesuncook. I haven't used it however. We continue to the south end of the lake
A year ago June the Lobster road was rough. I expect that later in the season or if logging is going on the road would again be suitable for more than high I clearance vehicles
Watch for Eagles. ! We counted dozens and moose and big big deer.
We do use our old CCS tarp. It is sil nylon. Nearly 16 years old and we check ridge poles by standing on the table to feel for nails and sharp edges. So far so good. Acreage counts for a high tarp and ours is 10x14 .we tried 9x9 once. A hanky. Useless
Just check the size of whatever tarp you bring
A year ago June the Lobster road was rough. I expect that later in the season or if logging is going on the road would again be suitable for more than high I clearance vehicles
Watch for Eagles. ! We counted dozens and moose and big big deer.
We do use our old CCS tarp. It is sil nylon. Nearly 16 years old and we check ridge poles by standing on the table to feel for nails and sharp edges. So far so good. Acreage counts for a high tarp and ours is 10x14 .we tried 9x9 once. A hanky. Useless
Just check the size of whatever tarp you bring
G
Guest
Guest
Kim, good to know about Sandy Point.
I’ve been thinking about doing another West Branch/Chesuncook trip. Maybe finishing at one of the Gero Island sites or Red Brook and thence along the north Shore. Mouser Island (3 sites?) seemed downtrodden, and if it were full there’s nothing left along the north shore.
I’ve never seen the Point site or Sunrise Cove on the east end of the lake closer to Ripogenus.
And yeah, a big tarp. The ridgepoles are not only quite long, but also set very high, so a small tarp is increasingly useless in windblown rain.
Pardon my language but Mouser is crap. It needs to be closed. So overused. It's a favorite destination as it's only 3 miles from the state ramp
We like Red Brook very much. It's close enough for s run out in the morning and there are plenty of beaches for rest stops.
Curiously I have never cruised the south side
We like Red Brook very much. It's close enough for s run out in the morning and there are plenty of beaches for rest stops.
Curiously I have never cruised the south side
G
Guest
Guest
Yeah, I was being overly diplomatic about Mouser Island. The overuse is visible without even exiting the boat, and a brief visit ashore was all I needed to cross it off my list.
I’ve never been done the south shore past Sandy Point, but depending on the wind direction heading to Cardiser Point (a double) or Sunrise and then making the jump north to Ripogenus might work. Then again those are the sites closest to Ripogenus, and they might be as downtrodden as Mouser.
Alas with the road coming in some stuff disappeared fudge and root beer floatsz
G
Guest
Guest
I have never been into Chusuncook Village. My wife and son’s walked in from Boom House one trip and brought me back some fudge. I was not ready to see anything approaching syphilization at the time, and with a passable road in really don’t want to see it now.
No fudge or root beer floats? Can I now get a microwaved burrito at a Circle K?
Mike I think I see a little wiggle room in Kim's answer, no exclamation point.
Well you can go to Chesuncook in search of a Circle K. Bring cash. Bundle of 100's.
Thats what a bit of gasoline brought in will cost. !
Don't think the town has electricity. Bring a siphon hose .soneone might have some to spare
Seriously for Forest Runes fill up in Millinocket or Greenville.
Before you go check with Chesuncook Lake House. They post the road is awful.
Applies only if you intend to post a vehicle there.
Thats what a bit of gasoline brought in will cost. !
Don't think the town has electricity. Bring a siphon hose .soneone might have some to spare
Seriously for Forest Runes fill up in Millinocket or Greenville.
Before you go check with Chesuncook Lake House. They post the road is awful.
Applies only if you intend to post a vehicle there.
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Umbazooksis West is a good place to spot a vehicle if you want to avoid the paddle down the lake, but you would still have to cross the top of the lake and that usually means being broadside to the wind for awhile.
Dave
Dave
Yes it does, I had a couple wild crossings there, on one I had to take on more ballast.
I've gotten lucky crossing Chesuncook.. but almost always have to do a wind ferry with the bow quartering into the waves letting the wind push the hull across the mile crossing..
Once I did pray hard.
Early morning is almost always OK.
Once I did pray hard.
Early morning is almost always OK.
Forest Runes, Henry David Thoreau has a blog..... and I guess a ghostwriter
http://blogthoreau.blogspot.com/
http://blogthoreau.blogspot.com/
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