Riverton - June 26, 2021

Six paddlers from five states (RI, MA, CT, NY and NJ) representing 4 clubs (HRCK, RICKA, AMC-CT, AMC-NY/NJ) in a wide range of boats met at a central location in CT to do the 11-mile run on the Farmington River from Riverton to Satan’s Kingdom.

Bill and I arrived early and took a walk down to the Satan’s Kingdom rapid – brought back memories of hanging out down there with Matt and Scott. We put-in below the Goodwin Dam off Hogback Road, and took out at the parking lot at the Satan’s Kingdom State Recreation Area – about 11 miles. The river was running low - 300 cfs from Goodwin Dam and 35 cfs from the Still River. We spent most of our time dodging rocks and trying to avoid the shallow spots. Still a nice day.

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River Description from American Whitewater

Saco River Portages

Borrowed this list of portages from a guy on P-Net who did the 136-mile trip down the Saco River from NH to Camp Ellis at the Atlantic Ocean in ME in June 2021

Redstone Rapids - Conway, NH.

When the water is too low or too high you might consider doing a portage around the right side or even walking and roping down the boats through the rocks and small rapids. Too rocky when low. Class 2 or three with higher water.

Swans Falls - Fryeburg, ME.

Easy portage on right. Take out up a little hill just before the dam. Small hill going down to a beach. This is also a campground and they have a small store that sells fire permits which you should have if camping on the river.

Great Falls - Great Falls, ME.

Portage on right. An easy take out. The put in says to walk down a long path down to the river. We decided it was too rocky and filled with roots, so we put our trolley wheels on and walked down River rd to a parking lot on the left where there was a short path to the river. Not a very difficult portage if you have wheels.

Steep Falls - Steep Falls - Standish, ME.

Portage on left above the rocks just before the falls. Use caution when the river is high… When the river is low, there is a great beach below the falls. Not the easiest portage, but two people can pull the boats up, through a narrow bike and hiking path down to the beach path. Note: there are several sets of rapids below the falls. We were able to go straight down the middle in both, but in higher water these might be a bit much.

Limington Rips - Limington, ME.

Portage on right. Easy up and onto River Road. Take out when you see the rapids below. You’ll see a clearing on the side of the river and a farm house in the back. There is a long walk down river road that takes you to Bonny Eagle Recreation Area where you can put your boat back in.

This is a popular swimming and recreation area. Recommend trolley wheels. Long walk down.

If you seek a thrill, the rips are not that bad lower down, but we didn’t want to take any chances and as it was low, we didn’t want to flip on a rock. Looks like fun class 2 and 3 rapids though.

Bonny Eagle Dam - Bonny Eagle, ME.

Portage on right before bridge and dam. Not easy getting out. Steep and rocky. Once out you will have a long portage to put back in. Totally missed this one on the map and our pre-drive…, but a local fisherman told us where to put in. You need wheels for sure! Head across the river and take a right on to Warren Rd. You’ll have to walk about ¼ mile passing a few homes on the right. There will be a warning sign and a path on your right. It was a bit overgrown, but we checked it out and put it in there. That wasn’t bad. There was some swift water just after we put in, but it was fun and refreshing. Be prepared, the next dam is just ahead!

West Buxton Dam - W. Buxton, ME.

Easy portage take out on river LEFT just before the dam. Slight bank up to the road. Then you will need to head down across the street keeping the dam and mill buildings to your right.

There are cement stairs and a walkway to put your boats in. Don’t be alarmed if you hear the sirens warning the dam will release water. It happened to us and we were shocked. A local told us they did that quite often. From there the river becomes narrow, but deep. Again it’s not long until the next dam.

Bar Mills Dam - Buxton, ME.

Take out is on the right before the bridge. It’s an easy out. Come out and cross the busy street. Head down Canal street to a dirt path and you will see a path and a staircase that leads down to the river. It’s not even ¼ of a mile, but it’s good if you have wheels. We also needed to lower the boats down the stairs into the river. The land adjacent is private.

Skelton Dam - Buxton, ME.

Cross the wide open lake-like river and stay to your right. This will save you time.

Take out is easy and on your right way down in the right corner along the dam. The portage is not well marked nor maintained. A boat ramp allows easy access to take your boats out to a field and a parking lot. To get to the put in, you have to walk up on the dam road and down a hill onto a dirt road and then a path that follows the river… We found no place down the road to take out, but there was a small sign and a narrow metal staircase that led to a short path to the river. We had to use the ratchet straps and lower our boats. This would be difficult for many. It’s very overgrown and could be easily missed.

Cataract Dam - Saco ME.

This is the final dam prior to making your way to the Atlantic Ocean. From here you are only a few hours to Camp Ellis on the left or Biddeford Pool on the right. We took out at Camp Ellis.

The portage for this dam is on the LEFT at Diamond park. You will see a playground and dock. We pulled our boats up. There is a parking lot and if you’re lucky you will have someone there with transportation to take you to the next put in. If not you will need wheels. You will need to make your way down Pine Street and then left onto Elm street and take a right on Water Street and then across the road onto Front Street. Head down and the boat launch is on your right. The Saco Yacht club is just past that. It’s all city walking and it’s quite a hike. We put in and made our way down to the Ocean. It was an easy paddle down as we timed it perfectly when the tide was going out. Tidal information is important. Don’t forget to check that schedule out before making this last trip.

Charles - Dedham Loop - June 19, 2021

Al at the put in

I knew Justin would be coming down for Father’s Day, so I wanted to do an early morning trip. Al, Bill and I decided to do the Dedham Loop on the Charles River.

The Charles River arises at Echo Lake in Hopkinton, and flows generally east for 80 miles, zig-zagging through 22 cities and towns in eastern MA before emptying into Boston Harbor. There are a number of great flatwater trips on the Charles including the section from Medfield to Natick, and the Bays Region from Natick to Wellesley.

Bill in the stern

About 5-miles below the Cochrane Dam and the Bays Region, the Charles makes a 5-mile loop around Dedham. In 1635, settlers dug a half-mile ditch across the top of the loop to allow greater cultivation of hay. The water flow from the ditch resulted in a natural peninsula, creating Dedham Island (Riverdale). The ditch helped to alleviate flooding and improve meadow grasslands.

We put in at the Dedham Parks & Recreation Building (269 Common Street, Dedham). The loop can be run clockwise (upstream in the Charles, downstream in the ditch) or counterclockwise (downstream in the Charles and upstream in the ditch). We went counterclockwise and enjoyed the easy downstream current. The river was at 1.2 feet, 184 cfs on the Dover gage, and we had no problem paddling up the ditch. In higher water it could be difficult to paddle up the ditch against the current.

Up the ditch

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Dedham Loop Water Trail Map
Charles River - Dover Gage

Trashpaddler Blog

Lincoln Woods - June 13, 2021

I just got back from 4 days of paddling in the wind on Umbagog Lake. So what did I do today while Michelle went to visit the Brothers? I paddled in the wind on Olney Pond at Lincoln Woods. The place was packed - especially the beach.

Umbagog Lake Camping - June 7 – 10, 2021

Looking north up Umbagog Lake

I really wanted to get out to do some camping this spring but nothing was coming together. Rather than wait I decided to plan a trip on Umbagog Lake and see who was interested. Most of the usual camping crew was busy, but Bill and Earl signed on so we had a trip!

Umbagog Lake is located along the border of NH and ME near Errol, NH. The lake runs almost 11 miles north to south and is fed by the Magalloway, Rapid and Dead Cambridge Rivers, and is the source of the Androscoggin River. The lake is part of the Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge and Umbagog Lake State Park.

Dead Cambridge River

Umbagog Lake State Park includes a base camp at the southern end of the lake and 33 remote campsites around the lake that are accessible only by boat. I crossed the upper end of Umbagog Lake when we did the Magalloway trip last fall. On this trip we would be site-hopping from south to north. I’d be paddling with Bill in my Spirit II. Earl would be paddling his sea kayak.

We meet at Umbagog Lake State Park and shuttled a car to the take out at the Errol Dam. Once all the boats were loaded we set out to explore the southern end of the lake. The day was sunny and warm, but the wind was blowing from the west giving us following waves and a strong tail wind as we paddled east toward the Dead Cambridge River. From there we paddled west and north before crossing over to Big Island at Tidswell Point.

Ribeye steaks on the fire

Our first campsite was site R9 on Big Island – a large wooded site on a point with water views on both sides. We quickly fell into the usual ritual – gather wood, set up camp, cook dinner and settle in around the fire for the night. Dinner was ribeye steaks cooked over the fire with shrimp macaroni salad. It was an early night – we turned in around 9:00. Paddling for the day was around 6-miles.

I woke up around 5:00 and crawled out of my tent to get some pictures of the sunrise. Bill and Earl weren’t far behind so we lit the fire, cooked breakfast (omelets and home fries) and started packing up camp. The day started off cloudy and the plan was to be on the water by 8:30 in hopes of avoiding some of the afternoon wind.

Heading out on day 2

We headed out across the lake at Tidswell Point and paddled through a series of small islands (Bear Island, Blake Islands and Matallak Island) to Tyler Point. From there we had a 2-mile crossing to Pine Point. As we set out for Pine Point the wind was blowing from the west creating challenging crosswinds and waves. We did out best to quarter the waves. When we reached Pine Point we looked back and saw Earl quite far behind. We pulled around the point to get out of the wind and wait for him to catch up.

After 10 or 15 minutes I climbed out on Pine Point to see how Earl was progressing, but there was no sign of him. We paddled back around the point, and in an abundance of caution along the shore all the way back to Tyler Point to see if he stopped for a break or retraced his steps – still no sign of him.

Crossing to Pine Point

At that point we started to get a little nervous, so we called the rangers to see if they could check our next site (R15) in case we had somehow missed him and he had gone ahead to campsite. Shortly after I got a call from Earl telling us that he was at the campsite. He had pulled over the take a break (not sure how we missed him), and continued on when he couldn’t find us at the point.

Bill and I were relieved, but now faced a third crossing to Pine Point. The wind was stronger and we were getting tired, but we made the crossing fine. From there we headed west to the mouth of the Rapid River, and then north toward Sunday Cove to our next site R15.

Windy afternoon in camp

As the afternoon progressed, the wind picked up considerably, and we were glad not to be out on the water. We took a break for lunch, and then set up camp. We even set up the tarp in case we got some evening rain – we didn’t.

Dinner was Jonathan’s fried fish (egg wash and bread crumbs) and Maine Guide Potatoes (boiled potatoes and onions with butter). Then we settled in around the fire for the night. Paddling for the day was 10-miles for Earl, 14 miles for Bill and I due to the multiple crossings at Tyler/Pine Points.

Earl makes the crossing on day 3

We woke the next day to sunny skies and light wind. The original plan was to paddle over to the Rapid River and hike up the portage trail before crossing the lake to our next site R28 at the mouth of the Magalloway River. Concerned about afternoon winds, though, we decided to skip the Rapid River and head over to the campsite first thing. This would allow us to cross in lighter winds and smaller waves.

Even in the morning we had winds out of the northwest, but we made the crossing fine. We dropped our gear at the campsite and headed south to Molls Rock. Bill had stayed at this site several years ago when he did this section of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail. The sun was hot so we jumped in the lake for a swim. From there we headed up a section of the Magalloway River before retuning to the campsite to set up camp.

Chef Bill cooks dinner

We had a leisurely afternoon in camp, but no one seemed to mind. Dinner was Chef Bill’s pasta with gravy (tomato sauce with onions, peppers and sausage - breakfast, not Italian). After sitting around the fire it was another early night. Paddling for the day was around 6 miles.

I slept late the next day, not crawling of my tent until around 6:30. By then, Bill had the fire going, and Earl was already starting to pack. We got the coffee going and cooked breakfast (pancakes and bacon) before Bill and I started to pack. It was a leisurely 4-mile paddle down the Androscoggin River to our take out at the Errol Dam. After retrieving cars and packing up we snapped a couple of final pictures before beginning the 4-½ hour drive home.

Links:

My Pictures

My Video

Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge

Umbagog Lake State Park

Remote Campsites Map