Adventure on the river
On memorial day week we had a canoe trip on the Allagsh river for 8. We started our journey at the Umsaskis throughfare and canoed down to the St. John river. The trip is @60 miles. Five of the participants had done this trip with us last year and two were newbies. The first day started off sunny and warm but with a stiff wind, which made paddling up long lake difficult. We made it to the first campsite destination around 2pm and settled in for the night. The morning brought clouds and rain but spirits were still high amongst the group. The fishing didn't seem as good as in the past but I think the long winter held on about 4 weeks more in the north than usual.We made it to our second campsite just after noon time and the winds had really picked up but the rain had stopped. Dave and I tried to fish Round pond in the early evening and had paddle in 3 foot white caps making things a little interesting to say the least. We came in to a fantastic meal of baked macaroni and sat around the campfire disscussing the next days journey. The next morning was clear and warm. The fishing below Round pond produced some keeper fish that we would have for supper that night.A stop for some snacks and a shore lunch around noon found us gathering some fresh water clams which would also end up on the stove that night. We set up camp at Cuneliffe depot and prepared our meal. The morning brought more rain and the cold weather started to sink in on all of us. About a half mile from our next scheduled campsite one of the canoes went onto a rock and capsized. After gathering the contents from the river we made a quick paddle to make camp. Everyone was cold and shivering so the building of a fire and drying out was our main concern. Afterdrying the clothes a hot supper of beans and hot dogs warmed our insides. The next part of our trip only took two hours and we were at the St. John take out point. The weather and the capsize slowed us down some but sprirts were still good and we left the river with plans for a return.
Guide Talk
http://www.westernmaineoutfitters.net/guidetalk/article.php?story=20080611064210991