St. John River, Maine

[yellowcanoe]

It may very well have been 2002 but probably closer to 2004. The most memorable part of our stay was when most of our group crammed in Ledge Rapids Cabin and lit the wood stove. It was on spindly wobbly legs.Nothing gets your attention faster than when the leg on a lit wood stove collapses and the firebox starts rolling down the unlevel floor.. Lit..

there are warnings to always check woodstoves to be sure everything is connected


This is a neat blog http://untamedmainer.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/St_John_Brochure-2017.pdf

 

[dcloots]

YES!!! June 28! Were you the guy keeping me up all night talking???



No, I was not solo (wasn't confident enough to do Class III solo; probably still am not). I went with the same guides I just finished the Allagash with, but with a much, much smaller party. Just 3 tandem canoes in total. Five days/ four nights is what we did and it was plenty. I thought we'd have long paddling days to finish the 115 miles (or whatever it was), but the water on the St. John in May is moving so fast that we covered 20-25 miles per day only paddling about 4 hours a day and not very hard paddling at that! As you might imagine, that leaves plenty of time to set up camp and relax.

We ended the Allagash trip a bit early and paddled 30 miles on the 28th. My father is 73 and was ready to take out due to his back condition. When we got back to the campsite he brewed up the coffee and of course he slipped some Allen's into his Yeti tumbler and once that happens he enjoys a good conversation, especially when the fire is as robust as it was. Probably my last canoe camping trip with my Dad so with toothpicks stuck in my eyelids I stayed up with him. I am thankful for having another canoe trip with him as well as with my oldest daughter who will be heading off to college. My apologies for disturbing your sleep. Sometimes we are all forgetful of how quiet it really is up in those parts when the sun goes down.

 

[alsg]

We likewise finished early. We paddled 27 miles one day, starting from the far end of Round Pond. The ranger at Michaud said there there was an open campsite just down stream, but they were all taken. We just kept paddling. Got caught in that huge rain/lightning storm. Paddled a few miles in that but then waited it out on shore. Then when it let up we made a mad dash for an unmarked campsite (Gravel Pit) that can't be seen from the river but which our guide knew. We set up camp and it began to pour again! The secret campsite was probably four or five miles from Allagash Village so we decided to blow past Allagash Village and go down the St. John's to Pelletier's. Glad we did.

Now that I know the story about this being your last trip with your dad, I'm fine with losing a little sleep. And we did try to make as much noise as possible during breakfast to wake you up.

 

[dcloots]

The Allagash was jam packed. We circumnavigated Round Pond and all sites were occupied with the exception of the Outlet sites which were not very well maintained. Headed to Turk Island sure but that too was occupied. Ended up at Croque Brook and camped for two nights to let the crowds pass. Bissonette Bridge was our put in and you would have thought we were at a canoe symposium with the masses of people there. Must have been 40 people wrangling and jockeying for position. That kind of set the tone indicating that the Allagash would be busy. Norm said he has never seen anything like it in years.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Yikes.. the last time the Allagash had such crowds was just after its designation as a Wilderness Waterway! Wonder where all the crowds came from this year? Good for Norm.. We need him to stay in business. Turks Island has an interesting history.. Joe Jalberts horse Turk fell in that hole while towing a boat up the river. He got tangled in the harness and drowned..
Per Gil Gilpatricks book.

 

[dcloots]

Has anyone on this thread run the St. John solo? As I have said before in other posts, other than my father I am not in a social circle that would even consider canoeing let alone doing the St. John with me. Puzzles me to be honest. I found these videos on Youtube which does paint a better picture, however, I am a little uncertain if my abilities would allow me to pass through Big Rapids and Big Black Rapids. Appears to be just a top ride per these videos if run in very high water (Early May). I am thinking paddle bracing and cross draws would be the most effective paddling techniques in the rapids that I watched in these videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru4...t435y2kwnp0fuvrpuegbk0h00410.1562158895919266

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QUmwt5Hv2Q&list=PLwpXFzUCwOquwkkOiRpNrwqzGDRBlIse3&index=2&t=26s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tul-8WRPZUg&list=PLwpXFzUCwOquwkkOiRpNrwqzGDRBlIse3&index=4&t=4s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDPOrO-ayMA&list=PLwpXFzUCwOquwkkOiRpNrwqzGDRBlIse3&index=5&t=0s

 

[alsg]

Yikes.. the last time the Allagash had such crowds was just after its designation as a Wilderness Waterway! Wonder where all the crowds came from this year?

We got a site at Round Pond Wednesday night but couldn't find a site Thursday and got caught out in a huge rain/lightning storm. Fortunately our guide knew a secret site called "Gravel Pit" which is run by North Maine Woods and is primarily used by loggers but isn't officially part of the Allagash (nor marked nor visible from the river). We paddled 26 or 27 miles from Round Pond to get there. Tiny cut in the river bank. 100 feet back and there was this site. Table, fire ring, and a brand new outhouse (cleanest I'd ever seen).

Heck of a day.

 

[sweeper]

Yikes.. the last time the Allagash had such crowds was just after its designation as a Wilderness Waterway! Wonder where all the crowds came from this year? .

Maybe they're celebrating Trevor O'Leary's promotion to full time.

alsg Is the Gravel Pit just above Twin Brook Rapids accessed from the logging road?

 

[alsg]

alsg Is the Gravel Pit just above Twin Brook Rapids accessed from the logging road?

Yes, indeed. Maybe not as secret as our guide made it out to be!

 

[sweeper]

It is a secret for people on the river, I stopped there during the 50th celebrations driving to MF, did you take the opportunity to run the rapids multiple times?

 

[alsg]

It is a secret for people on the river, I stopped there during the 50th celebrations driving to MF, did you take the opportunity to run the rapids multiple times?

That would be a nope. We were pretty beat that night. And the river was rising and it would have been a tough job walking the canoes back up those rapids in those conditions. I suppose we could have tried the next morning. Instead we decided to enjoy the rapids on the St. John on the way down to Pelletier's campsite.

 

[sweeper]

That would have been a long day. The longest day we've had was from the Falls to Pelletier's Campground but most of that was moving water and at around 2000 CFM

From the river, is the Gravel Bank site just above the road access to the rapids? Twin Brook sites are overused and may stop there the next time we do the river.

 

[alsg]

That would have been a long day. The longest day we've had was from the Falls to Pelletier's Campground but most of that was moving water and at around 2000 CFM

From the river, is the Gravel Bank site just above the road access to the rapids? Twin Brook sites are overused and may stop there the next time we do the river.

My recollection is it was just above the rapids.

 

[sweeper]

Mine also Thanks

 

[lowangle al]

That looked like a great trip PA Tripper. I noticed the guide was paddling that big boat solo from the stern, was he solo the whole trip or just certain situations?

 

[PA Tripper]

https://www.allagashcanoetrips.com/
Here is the outfitter that I have used multiple times and highly recommend.
A few of you have asked about paddling the St. John solo. One of our guides did it but he is an exceptional paddler. I would not recommend it for most paddlers on the St. John or the Allagash due to the frequent strong headwinds.

 

[alsg]

https://www.allagashcanoetrips.com/
Here is the outfitter that I have used multiple times and highly recommend.
A few of you have asked about paddling the St. John solo. One of our guides did it but he is an exceptional paddler. I would not recommend it for most paddlers on the St. John or the Allagash due to the frequent strong headwinds.

Chip and Lani are the best!