- Reco today: 12.7 miles
- Stevie Allagash /Quebec National Trail Alternate (123.3 – 136)
- Stevie Allagash /Quebec National Trail Alternate (123.3 – 136)
- Total walking: 4,176.2 miles
- Total rowing: 191.2 miles
Climate: 50-55 ° F, cloudy and cloudy, rain during the time in the river, clarified later
Allagash Falls Campsite for Lunch of Dos Ríos
There were some rain drops hitting my store in the early hours of the morning. When leaving, the skies were cloudy, a kind of mixture of light gray and darker gray. Our breakfast and the time of packing remained dry, although fortunately. This morning we tested a liophilized scrambled egg lot with sausages and vegetables. Another backpacking meal/first level kayak cured by Dave H Master Trailsman. I also combined a hot chocolate, a French vanilla cream and instant coffee to make a particularly fine beer. In general, a good start a day.
The transport of Karl and Ellie last night was a great decision. That left only a great load of our team each and then Dad returned to the remaining things while packed and organized. Somehow we managed to keep an early launch time, today at 7:44 am
Yesterday, the Ranger had told us that under the cataracts, the underground underground and Muskellunge had decimated the trout population. We agreed that it was something sad, but at the same time, our trout fishing has been quite slow and, therefore, was anxious to try some new species. Immediately, once in the water, we swing some plaster, but our fate continued to hesitate.
Starting, we were ruming quickly. As I mentioned before, the water is very low at this time and today that would be very clear. They had warned us, but I think that when leaving the Razed Station yesterday we had reinforced ourselves with a renewed motivation and we thought we could handle it. The river would prove that inspiration today.
There were numerous shallow gravel bars that made us get stuck, leave the kayaks and walk through stretching at the same time. Usually, it was not far away and we could go up again and go, but sometimes they were particularly frustrating. It was enough to shout to the universe with frustration, as I sometimes do.
In addition to frustration was the rain. It started immediately at the beginning of our palette, but at first it was off. Maybe there was half an hour to forty -five minutes from the light and then rose and did not give much until the last mile of our day. The wind also fought against us, a powerful wind against which sometimes caused the river to rise with strange waves due to the difference in current and wind directions.
We both grew cold, our soaked rain team. The continuum inside and outside the kayak and the river combined with the flood created conditions for which it was extremely difficult to stay dry and warm.
Around 10:00 am, we reached the side and we had a small hasting and strategy talk. We talked about whether it made sense to wait, but we agreed to stop the physical movement and effort of our body would make us even colder. Each of us sinks another layer under the jacket, for me my fleece of Melanzana and for dad his swollen jacket, then forged ahead.
The additional layer helped for a while and lifted my mood. From time to time we try to fish again during the times of those times and manage to catch a couple of «little ones.»
In the last morning hours at noon, my moral was quite low. I felt that the dad was also under the surface, despite his attempts to lighten the mood and maintain positive things. However, we walk (can you walk in a boat?) However, and finally we reach our last test, Twin Brook Rapid. This was the only one another class 2. Until today, I honestly thought he was just the one, Chase Rapids, that we had such a difficult time a few days ago. And after that first experience, we were a little frightening when entering another.
I would like to say that it was our new skills that we obtained during the trip that helped us to go enlightened, and surely that helped, but even more I think this was not as fast as it was Chase. As I was curved through the last wave, hitting some semi-submersed rocks in the process, I fell figuratively of the river path of Allagash Wilderness. There was a wooden sign that told us that we were going to the left of the river, so the last miles were no longer protected as an upstream had been.
There were not too many changes that we started seeing occasional houses in the cliff and once we noticed a signal for a business located along the way above. Finally, relaxed to the absolute bone and near the point where the early exit was considering (if something seemed viable), we saw a red and yellow sign ahead. That was the description that the ranger of the Michaud farm had given us to find if we wanted to visit the restaurant of Dos Ríos Lunch!
In addition to food and hot and dry drinks, there was a launch in Canoa and Kayak that led to the road. This was all, we had reached the small town of Allagash where near the Allagash River are based on the St. John River!
However, the river could not let us go without throwing a curved ball more to overcome. When leaving our river ships and gather some selected items as dry clothes (or the dry clothes we had anyway) to have in the restaurant, Dad took off the crocodiles and found more than a dozen small leeches together with his foot! Gross, do you say? In fact it was. He started them, but we were both thrown a little. Even so, food, heat and dryness were first and foremost in our mind, so we quickly climbed the hill
It was a somewhat comic scene that entered the small restaurant. Most of the tables were full and many people looked at us while we were soaked and dripping near the host post. However, once the manager or the owner saw us, he took us through the dining room to the other side and through a door. Apparently they have a kind of bunk available to rent and was unoccupied at this time. In just a few moments, he pointed to us and left us to drink dry clothes. However, the thing is that Dad really had none. It became something a little better and I got into my additional layers that had survived the wet morning, but we were still quite frigid.
This is after lunch fever has cleared. Such a cozy place. And it was delicious and were super kind with the people of kayak hit by the weather.
He helped the restaurant had a roasted temperature, from the grill that I supposed, and soon I had a hot coffee in front of me. We both obtained cheese hamburgers, and dad on one side of crispy onion rings and I some even more crispy fried potatoes. It was spectacular! While all this was happening, a boy had understood a conversation with Dad and offered a trip to Fort Kent, Maine, where the truck was parked.
My initial scheme with this Aqua Blaze was to continue another 27 miles to Fort Kent, Maine through the St. John River. For several miles, St. John acts as the border between Maine and New Brunswick, Canada and the crossing of customs and closest borders is on a bridge in Fort Kent. I wanted to do kayak until the end, but in recent days communicating with our outfitter of driver drivers and the various rangers with whom we had interacted, it was very clear that it was not a great option at this time of year.
The water level in San Juan was too low. Imagining walking through the gravel and shallow cobblestones like those we fight today, that was enough to transmit me. That being the case, we adapt and put our eyes to reach this point, after which I would walk along the rest of the route. We had paid for a transport service to leave Dad in Fort Kent, so that was our only hypo, until now.
Dad jumped with his new friend Ed as he passed and drank more coffee and wore the wifi. After investigating a little about the motels in the area, I returned to the kayaks and began to transport everything down the hill to the road. All things were working for us and after a short time, the silver gray truck arrived. «We launched» all inside and tied the kayaks on the back and left. It was so nice to be in the warm truck!
At about 11 miles northeast, we arrive at the Pelletier camp. He had talked to the owner, Norm, by phone and had a room available for the night. It turns out that it was a kind of mini apartment and worked perfectly for our needs. Lavandería, kitchen, life space to spread all things and organize, a clothesline to hang and dry things, etc. … We are fine in the «city» tasks once they registered.
My parents have been great support for me in all my walks. Dad has joined several times and every time he accompanies me, it is a great help. Part of that is that it has climbed some and obtains the paths of the through, knowing that there is a seemingly endless list of things to do when we reach civilization. The other part is only him and his personality. He is a do’er and shows that he cares to help with physical acts of goodness.
Then, during our stay, while working in blogs and investigated my route forward, I was organizing and packing, cooking, preparing dishes and, in general, helping doing as many things as possible to mark the list. So, a great thanks and shout to Dave H «Master Trailsman», huh? And what a great feat incredible to have joined on this epic trip through the forests and waters north of Maine!
My appetite closed tonight, but I had a good cup of hot chocolate from the Keurig machine. Dad and I worked on things in hours later than we had been doing on the road, after 9:00 pm! And then, when he went to sleep, I continued until 11:30 pm working on the phone things. I was a little overwhelmed by the planning of what is ahead, but as always on this trip, things work on time. Then, I went to sleep with a cheerful humor, feeling relieved and proud of what we had just achieved.
Along the way, I began to make a list of our «sightings.» I don’t think I added anything on the last day, but this is what we saw (some we count, others not) …
- Moose – 6
- White tail deer – 4
- Birds
- Great Blue Heron
- Eagle Calva – 6
- Kingfisher
- Common Loon
- Canadian geese
- Duck with brown head (common Merganser?)
- Red squirrels
- Bull frogs
- Sanguijuelas
- Minnow Shiner fish
- Brook Trout – 1
- Strange catfish
- BEAVERS – 5
- Nets – 4
- Water Snake – 1
