Need advice for a 4-night trip in Maine or NH

[perrylaroque]

We are planning a trip for May 20-24. We will be canoeing with a group of semi-experienced 30-somethings who can pretend we don’t mind portages. Last year we did the Moose River Bow Loop Trail and absolutely loved it. We took 5 nights to do it so we did lots of fishing and spent two nights at Holeb Falls.

This year we’d like to do a similar trip, here are some of our criteria:

-Not much further north than Jackman, ME. We are driving from Burlington, VT.

-We’d prefer to do a trip where we don’t see any civilization for four days, so no roads along the trail, no towns, etc. We don’t need to do a loop, but this is obviously ideal.

-We’d prefer not to be on a section with motorboats, so lakes with lots of houses would be a negative.

-Trout fishing and moose watching would be a major plus.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

[Chris Gill]

You might consider Flagstaff Lake and the Dead River or Errol NH to Rangeley, Me.

[Kalmia]

From somewhere on Flagstaff Lake to Jackman would give you remoteness, trout, and lack of civilization, but it involves a long haul upstream, and a very long portage on logging roads. I’ve not paddled that stretch (yet). By reputation it is the most difficult and remote section of the NFCT, and the shuttle is not a short one. Another choice would be 4 days touring Flagstaff Lake, with a paddle down to the Grand Falls and back as a side trip.

Another option would be South Arm to Rangeley on the Rangeley-Richardson lakes. This route has one shorter portage and one longer one. There are some camps and houses and a town along the route, but mostly they are clustered on Rangeley lake and near Oquossoc. I’d think you could find some pretty good lake fishing. The Richardson Lakes and Mooselookmeguntic do not have much development – they are quite wild and lovely, in fact!

You could continue from near Jackman down the Moose River towards Moosehead Lake, taking out near Rockwood. I’ve not paddled that either, and I can’t speak for how built up the shorelines may or may not be.

A trip from Roll Dam or Lobster Lake, down the W Branch of the Penobscot might meet nearly all your criteria. Take out at Ripogenus Lake? That’s off the trail, at the S end of Chesuncook. Kate Williams has a trip report for that trip on the NFCT blog page: http://blog.northernforestcanoetrail.org/2011/09/05/family-paddling-on-the-west-branch-of-the-penobscot/

From Burlington you could also consider a trip up to La Verendrye Wildlife Preserve, north of Montreal. That area has many options for loop canoe trips. I’ve been there once, paddling Circuit 77 with one of my kids. I’d think you could chose a trip up there that would meet your needs quite nicely, but it is a little bit more of a drive than getting to Jackman. http://www.canot-camping.ca/english/index.asp?id=117

I pack headnets and bug shirts for trips in late May. I’d think you could be seeing black flies by then.

Have fun! – kalmia

[perrylaroque]

Thanks for the help! Could we paddle from Jackman to Flagstaff Lake to avoid the upstream? Or would we face more upstream that way?

@Kalmia 220 wrote:

From somewhere on Flagstaff Lake to Jackman would give you remoteness, trout, and lack of civilization, but it involves a long haul upstream, and a very long portage on logging roads. I’ve not paddled that stretch (yet). By reputation it is the most difficult and remote section of the NFCT, and the shuttle is not a short one. Another choice would be 4 days touring Flagstaff Lake, with a paddle down to the Grand Falls and back as a side trip.

Another option would be South Arm to Rangeley on the Rangeley-Richardson lakes. This route has one shorter portage and one longer one. There are some camps and houses and a town along the route, but mostly they are clustered on Rangeley lake and near Oquossoc. I’d think you could find some pretty good lake fishing. The Richardson Lakes and Mooselookmeguntic do not have much development – they are quite wild and lovely, in fact!

You could continue from near Jackman down the Moose River towards Moosehead Lake, taking out near Rockwood. I’ve not paddled that either, and I can’t speak for how built up the shorelines may or may not be.

A trip from Roll Dam or Lobster Lake, down the W Branch of the Penobscot might meet nearly all your criteria. Take out at Ripogenus Lake? That’s off the trail, at the S end of Chesuncook. Kate Williams has a trip report for that trip on the NFCT blog page: http://blog.northernforestcanoetrail.org/2011/09/05/family-paddling-on-the-west-branch-of-the-penobscot/

From Burlington you could also consider a trip up to La Verendrye Wildlife Preserve, north of Montreal. That area has many options for loop canoe trips. I’ve been there once, paddling Circuit 77 with one of my kids. I’d think you could chose a trip up there that would meet your needs quite nicely, but it is a little bit more of a drive than getting to Jackman. http://www.canot-camping.ca/english/index.asp?id=117

I pack headnets and bug shirts for trips in late May. I’d think you could be seeing black flies by then.

Have fun! – kalmia

[perrylaroque]

Also, are there any other loops on the NFCT, other than the Bow Loop?

[Chris Gill]

Yes, you can do the trip from Jackman to Flaggstaff. I did it a few years ago with the family, we had very dry conditions in late August so Spencer Stream was boney and we had to line the canoes almost the whole way. In late May you should have much better water. We stayed at Attean Falls the first night, the second day was a pretty easy upstream paddle on the Moose River to Spencer rips. On day three we did the 5.5 mile portage to Fish Pond and stayed at Spencer Lake which is really beautiful. The last day was spent going down Spencer Stream. Cars can be shuttled to the confluence of Spencer stream and the Dead River and you could spend the last night at the Maine huts and Trails Grand Falls Hut.

Let me know if you want more details.

Chris Gill

[Kalmia]

The other loop that comes to mind is the trip from Chesuncook Lake to Caucomgomoc to Round Pond to Allagash Pond to Chamberlain Lake, and back to Chesuncook via the Mud Pond Carry. – Kalmia

[Chris Gill]

I agree with Kalmia abbout the Allagash lake rte but it’s qitea it further east than Jackman. If you wanted to pursue it you could avoid the Mud Pond Carry by leaving a car at the start at Longley Bridege and another car at Chamberlain Bridge. The rte still has two wheelable carrys on getting to Caucomgomuc Lake and the other getting to Allagash Lake. A Great trip if you can do it.

[bigspencer]

*Just my $.01 but I think if you get off the official trail here & there the more wildlife you’ll encounter…
Moose R. is fun but has gotten a little Coney Islandish in comparison with lots of other areas…but agreed it’s still a nice trip.
The Allagash Lake trip is pretty nice…it’s an expansive lake with some ice caves as well for the exploration…but good for long paddles. Numerous other ponds/lakes. Ponds are dedicated that by depth…so many so-called ponds are often not little mudpuddles, and attract more wildlife because of their less-deep extremeties with vegetation.
On the map this may look like a lot more driving, but it’s ~20mi north from Rockwood(after driving in on #15 from Jackman) to the Pittston Farm([lodging &]meals). Actually you can hang a left on Demo Rd that branches off between Long Pond & Brassua Lake..but there’s gas at the store at outskirts of Rockwood along the river…sooo you might opt out of Demo Rd…but then head across the river on Northern Rd to the 20Mile Gate. You have a lake(Canada Falls Lake) with the South Branch(Penobscot) being its inlet(western end of lake) and its outlet, the pushy-water(ww-reputation and nice holes for fishing)…both loaded with brooktrout and landlocks(in the lake). The Penob’s North Branch, in its upper stretches is smaller with access to a couple pools but widens out a bit and slows down for an easy canoe paddle. The whole area is terrific for moose, deer, bird & (sometimes bear) watching, but tough tires…especially in a wet Spring are often needed…with clearance. 20Mile Gate(NMW) is just beyond the Pittston Farm. A hassle but numerous campsites around the area…along with BigBog campsite(up ~15mi) on Budworm Brook Rd…no usual hazards but clearance is always safe to have. Little bit more of a drive but with the campsites & Pittston Farm the area makes for a little trip a little ways back in time when the area was wild, with less cutting and fewer roads…etc. Good anytime really. Bob and Jenn get quite a few snowmobiling crowds in winter as well. The have website too. Often have to wait till dark for animals as there has been cutting in areas along the Golden Road in last year.
$.01
SteveD

[mazumaloan]

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