A Northern Maine Gem Pt
1 #89
How many of you have ever heard of the Allagash Wilderness
Waterway? Better yet, how many of you have actually canoed the waterway from
one point to another?
Now, the Allagash Waterway is a 92 mile long ribbon of
lakes, ponds, rivers and streams that goes through Northern Maine and its
beautiful forests. It begins at Telos Lake and winds north to Allagash. 3 The trip is quite wilderness
oriented with very little if no cell service and primitive campsites. The trip
itself will test your canoemanship skills in certain places along the route.
There are a number of places where you can put your canoe in and start from,
and each location will reduce the amount of time you spend on the water. 1
Now, I mention this because a number of years back, I made
the trip down the waterway with three other friends. The trip took us three
days and we put in at Umsaskis Lake. Here is a brief look at how that trip
went.
I would be remiss, if I did not start by remembering two of
my mates from that trip, Bill Brann Sr., who just happened to be my boss at the
time where I work. Bill was an avid outdoorsman and Maine Guide who could get
in a canoe and paddle it through the most treacherous of spots with ease. This
will show as I move further. We also had in our group, Randy Keep. Randy also
worked with me and had done the waterway a time before. He came equipped with
his little 2 horse motor that would prove to be very beneficial in those dead
water spots. The other cohort was Bruce Pelletier who still works with me
today.
Bill passed away a few years after our trip, but his memory
and what he taught me on those three days will forever live on in my mind. Sad
to say that Randy has since passed away some time after.
I also remember Bill and a few other old guides I spoke with
telling me to listen as we traveled down the water for voices of the past.
Allow me to explain. This waterway was used heavily in years past for moving
logs from one point to another to get them to the lumber mills. Without going
into much detail many men lost their lives while on the log drives, and the
guides will tell you that if you listen carefully very early in the morning,
you can hear them yelling out directions as they moved the logs down the river.
You can even hear them singing as they go about their daily activities. They mightily
defined this stretch of the water and they remain today even in spirit.
So, moving on, we got dropped off at Sandy Point on Umsaskis
Lake, with our two canoes and all of our gear late that afternoon and then we set
up camp for the night. We gave our driver instructions to pick us up at a
specific point in three days. The goal was to get a good start in the AM.
Morning came and we made our breakfast and then packed up the canoes and were
off. I recall it was raining and the wind was around 15MPH. Undeterred, we
worked our way down stream at a slow pace. Every time we hit a dead water
pocket, Randy would fire up the 2HP and he would grab our bow rope and pull us
along. The weather never changed and as we got to Long Lake, the waves were
crashing into the shore. We decided that we would work to the right side of the
lake and that Randy would tow us along. The motor worked like a charm as the
waves hit the side of our boats. At one point, we stopped on a gravel bar and I
recall Bill saying that we should be very careful moving forward and stay close
to the shore as the wind was really stirring up the waves. Eventually we moved
on and we got to the outlet and resumed under man power. At this point we were
soaked, but as part of our planning, we had made sure to pack things in
waterproof bags and that was a big help. We continued down the waterway with
our destination being Long Lake Dam 2 where we would put in for the night. Once we reached it, we
would have traveled 11 miles of the trip. We set up camp and our tents and got
supper ready. We had already seen a lot of wildlife on the water which only
made this trip more special. I recall the rain continuing to fall and the tents
getting very wet. Thank God we had brought a few tarps which we put up over the
picnic tables. This would help us stay fairly dry and would also help the fire
that we had started to get warm. Day 1 was done and although our weather was
not cooperating, there was absolutely no complaining from any of us. We settled
down for the night, working hard to keep our sleeping bags semi dry. We were
already talking about our day tomorrow and where we were heading to. What do
you think happened next????
Footnote: Hovering over the link just under each footnote will bring it up. Click to go to the webpage.
Allagash
Wilderness Waterway: 1
Long Lake
Dam: 2
Waterway Map
3:
