West Branch of the Penobscot

[GKlose]

Hello all -- our troop is considering a high adventure trip on the West Branch of the Penobscot in Maine. Has anyone done this already?

 

We're talking to an outfitter, but I think the nature of the trip is such that we can do it without a guide (only flatwater and quickwater -- no whitewater). Although I haven't found it on a map yet, I believe this is above the Ripogenus Gorge, so we're not in rafting territory.

 

Thanks,

Guy

[SctDad]

If you have been to Maine in the past I am sure that you know about a place in the outlet malls called teh Kittery Trading Post. Stop in there and look through their maps. They had some good topo maps available for purchase when I was there. All you have to do was find your grin that you were looking for and they will pul it out of the drawer.

 

 

http://www.kitterytradingpost.com/

 

[GKlose]

Thanks, SctDad...I know KTP well (I worked in Portsmouth, NH for about 4 years). Our local REI usually has a pretty good map selection too.

 

I have a Baxter State Park and an Allagash map somewhere in my archives (the piles of papers on my desk) too, but I don't think either capture the West Branch.

 

thanks...

Guy

[SctDad]

If I remember correctly (Being that I last shopped there many moons ago) they had several different overlapping maps for each are. Just wish I cold find something like that around here.

 

Good luck

[le Voyageur]

Check with the MKA Council....

 

 

http://katahdinareabsa.org/

 

 

they run the Maine High Adventure Base, and should be able to provide you with the information you need....

[local1400]

Ditto what le Voy said. The Katahdin Area Council operates the former Maine National High Adventure Base. I would'nt recommend WWR on many of Maines rivers without a guide and in some cases the State of Maine requires licensed guides and river permits. Now matter how experienced they are, some hammerheads get killed every year on Maine waters.

[le Voyageur]

local400 is correct...

 

Get your self a guide. Even with the best maps some sections of the West Branch can be deadly. Misread a horizon line, and it'll get interesting real quick...

 

[nldscout]

If your using an outfitter, he can probably supply all the maps you need if you ask him. He can also tell you if you need a guide.

[GKlose]

Thanks, guys...I didn't fill in all the background, but I went on a Maine National High Adventure Area trek (on the Allagash) when I was a scout, and one of my closest friends from the troop ended up as a guide there the following two summers. It is highly likely that he is also going to be joining our present troop's trek this coming summer.

 

The particular section of the West Branch was recommended to us by the outfitter as a scenic flatwater trek, and he suggested we didn't need a guide for this section. In fact, while we were planning some kind of trek in Maine for this summer, it wasn't until I saw a recent piece on the Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail in Backpacker magazine that things started to fall together.

 

In any case, we have a bunch of planning to do before this happens. Has anyone been on this section (West Branch, down to Chesuncook) and can offer a personal account?

 

Thanks,

Guy

[CalicoPenn]

I've done this trip, a very long time ago, not as a Scout but as the "final exam" for my canoeing class at college (I wish all my final exams were like this - and what better way to earn college credits?). I pulled out my old journal of the trip which had far less "technical details" (like "at mile Q there is a good campsite for X number of people" or "there is no good water source at campsite Y so filtering the river water is a must) that a guide or outfitter could provide and far more impressions more suited to a naturalist/educator (I'm sure my classmates who were pure Outdoor Rec majors had more of the technical stuff - while those who, like me, were Environmental Education majors with minors in Outdoor Rec talked more about the geology and animals).

 

According to my journal, we started out at Seboomook Dam and ended at a site on Ripogenus Lake. The river was mostly flat and calm with a few ripples here and there - nothing too strenuous. Campsites are first come first served which for us meant early on the water and early off the water to make sure we could get a site that could accomodate the size of our group (about 15 people). I saw quite a few Moose on the trip, and loons on Lobster Lake (a short detour but worth it), Chesuncook and Ripogenus. Saw the Northern Lights one night. Keep an eye out for Moose mostly at the marshy areas along the river (should be marked on the map) but be ready anytime to see them. There is bear in the area (we didn't see any) so you should take proper bear precautions. When we got to Chesuncook, we paddled across to Gero Island and made camp on the island. Since we were canoeing to Ripogenus down the lake, we made our way around the southern end of the island and crossed over to the northeast side of the lake where we started heading southeastward. We had to cross again at Ripogenus but the crossing from that side is much narrower than from the other side. Chesuncook is a pretty good sized lake - which means open water waves can be quite high at times - we kept fairly close to the shore just in case - we did retreat to shore once when the waves were too high - a few hours later we were able to set off again to get to a campsite. Camping was allowed only at designated sites, and probably still is.

 

I don't think we had a night where a barred owl wasn't calling fairly close to camp at night - not even on Gero Island. The trip took us 6 days and at the end, we celebrated by taking a guided whitewater rafting trip through Ripogenus Gorge - highly recommended if the conditions are good and the folks are old enough to handle it.

 

Could Scouts do this trip? Absolutely - Seboomook Base (MNHA) had guided trips along the West Branch all the time. Can you do it without a guide? Yes - it can be done, if you're well prepared. Sometimes, though, it's good to have a guide who knows the best campsites, and spots to rest and have lunch, and knows the area - it could be worth the price of a guide just to keep from missing things on the river that you will likely miss without a guide.

 

And who knows, maybe you'll end up with a guide that comes from my alma mater.

 

Calico

 

 

[GKlose]

Thanks, Calico Penn -- I remember the old Seboomook Base -- one of the older scouts in my troop worked there for a season or two, while my friend worked at Matagamon Base a year or two after that.

 

Guy