Moosehead lake to Chamberlain lake (start of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway)

Continuing the post-trip recount of our journey through Northern Maine.

Awake early at the hardscrabble point campsite, on Moosehead lake, so we could try to skip across calm waters, as the big lake can generate some large waves. Onto the water at 5:45, and we made good time, but not quite good enough. We were paddling along the shore, and jumping from point to point, and as we neared the final cove where the northeast carry was, the waves got large. We were trying to cut across them, so we didn't have to take them sideways, but we just couldn't make it where we needed to go. So, we pulled up to shore, and carried to a road. A short portage to a boat launch around the last point, and we were able to paddle trouble free to the northeast carry. On this whole trip, there were 5 times I was seriously concerned we could capsize. Each time was on large lakes. Lake Champlain, going to North hero Island, Lake Memphremagog, at Perkins landing, Umbagog lake, crossing the large part of the lake, Upper Richardson lake near upper dam, and now Moosehead lake. However, common sense and a bit of luck prevailed, and on none of these lakes did we capsize the canoe (although we did at one point)

Anyways, onto the northeast carry, a historical portage between Moosehead lake and the West branch Penobscot river. There used to be horse and carriage shuttles to transport people and equipment on the portage. There happened to be a small country store along the route (it was the ONLY thing on the route) and we stopped and bought some snacks and a loaf of fresh, homemade bread, delicious.

The Northeast carry was not difficult, a dirt road and we used out portage wheels. The end however, was extremely buggy- the mosquitoes were swarming around us, and we hurriedly loaded the canoe up and launched onto the river. We ate our lunch floating along, to escape the bloodthirsty creatures.

The Penobscot river was large and wide, with a decent current and we made good time. Stopped at Thoreau's Island campsite, evaluated the day, and decided to push on to the next set of campsites. Home for the night was Smiths halfway house campsite, a nice place.

The next day found us paddling down the Penobscot, and onto Chesuncook lake, another of Maine's largest lakes, although we were just crossing the tip of the long wide lake. We decided against a side trip to Chesuncook village, a town with 12 year round residents, and homemade fudge and root beer. Returning from the village would mean a couple miles paddle right into a strong headwind, which we were sheltered from at the moment crossing the lake. Oh well...
Across Chesuncook, and up Umbazooksus stream, really an arm of Chesuncook. Camp at Umbazooksus East campsite, a site with a picnic shelter, and mowed grass.

We spent the evening and next morning preparing ourselves for the next day, the infamous Mud pond carry...

A short paddle the next morning found us carrying the canoe around a low bridge, and onto a marshy stream, where we saw a pair of moose, and we watched them for a few minutes. We then ascended a beaver dam, and paddled up through a permanently open dam (took a couple tries) onto Umbazooksus lake. We began searching for the poorly marked start to the Mud pond carry portage. Found a rock cairn, and an old T-shirt. There was shoe-soles, a broken sandal, and numerous discarded socks. Like those aren't ominous signs or anything.

So, what exactly is the Mud pond carry, and why is it infamous?

Well, the portage trail (a historic route, used by Henry David Thoreau and a transport route for heavy equipment on the tramway carry) follows what appears to be a brook, through a dense forest of spruce and fir. The “trail” goes right up the stream, which at nicer parts of the trail has a gravel bottom and cold water. Other parts of the trail consist of muddy puddles, and deep, sticky mud. The trail is about 3-5 feet wide, and it is often easier to just keep walking through the mud and water than try to stay out of it (as I would find out). The portage ends by wading through a beaver dammed pool at the end, and onto shallow mud pond. It is also notoriously buggy, as you can imagine.

We began following the stream through some bushes, and I found a nice nalgene bottle and a nasty hat in the mud. I kept one of these things, guess which one?

The trail soon crosses a logging truck road, then we dive into the heart of the carry. Ankle to calf deep mud and knee deep stagnant puddles. We saw numerous discarded and broken sandals, and a pair of shoes someone unsuccessfully attempted to duct tape to their feet. Our own sandals were staying on, and we had each put on a pair of sacrificial socks as a barrier against the mud. We were double carrying this nearly 2 mile long portage, so that means carry our packs and food over first, walk back to the beginning, then carry the canoe over, so we traversed the muddy trail 3 times in all. As we near the end, the water in the trail gets deeper, we are approaching the beaver pool. It gets up over my knees (I’m 6’2”) and then we reach the end, and mud pond! Then, it’s back again….

I carried the canoe by myself, as I am pretty sure-footed while portaging the canoe, and it’s actually easier in the long run for me than having both of us carry it over a tough trail. Meghan took the paddles and some miscellaneous gear. At one point, when I was trying to avoid a particularly deep mud hole, my sandal snagged a root, and I tripped and fell with the canoe over my head. Luckily, I only got a few scratches. This was one point in the trip I could have gotten seriously hurt, and we would be in trouble. Thankfully, no harm done, and I just walked right through the mud the rest of the way, except for the beaver pool. I set the canoe down and lined it over the pool, with Meg riding (she wasn’t too fond of the beaver pool)

And we were done! I actually enjoyed the portage, in the sense that it was a difficult challenge, and completing it was satisfying. Meghan thinks I'm a bit crazy about that. She dealt with the portage in her own way, and we made it.

Across mud pond, and down mud brook. Mud brook was a narrow, rock strewn brook and for most of it, we needed to line the canoe. But, for a short stretch, we had a fast, exhilarating ride. The water was deep enough, the rocks few enough, so we went for it. It was fast, and 6 feet wide. We were directing the canoe by pushing off the shore with the paddles. And then, our fun stopped. The rocks came back and we had to line onto Chamberlain lake. 

We ate lunch at the mud brook campsite, and that was the end of our MUD for the day.

Paddled up Chamberlain lake, which was surprisingly calm, and into the crow's nest campsite, near an old railroad grade, part of the logging history in the area. We had our one and only campfire here, after a long, hard day. We slept well, and knew that one of our last "hard parts" of the trip was complete, and it should be smooth sailing from there. 

Chamberlain lake is part of the AWW (Allagash Wilderness Waterway) the official start of the end of our trip!

The next post will detail the historic tramway carry, and our first couple days on the Allagash river.

~Chris