Narraguagus River – Deblois, ME
September 16, 2009The Narraguagus river in Washington County generally doesn’t stir in the mind’s of whitewater enthusiasts. Better known as an excellent trout fishery, supposed Atlantic Salmon breeding ground, and listed as an excellent flat-water canoe trip, we took a look because, well, it was there! And during a time in August where pretty much everything was dry as a bone, there was still about 180 cfs flowing that assured that there would at least be a trickle to float on.
And a trickle there was. The most accessible put-in, one maintained for the canoe route, turned out to be where Route 193 crosses over the river in Deblois. A pleasant view of an interesting boulder garden greeted us from the bridge, choked with wood, with a high water mark several feet higher than current flows.
Just being on the water was a great time, but it was difficult to keep your thoughts off how great it could be at high water. Numerous routes would open up with some excellent wavetrains. I’m thinking there might be a few good small drops and maybe some playable holes, but it’s difficult to tell exactly what it might create until we come back! There’s an ATV trail that runs along both sides for scouting, but breaks away from the river after some ways.
The small slot drop in the middle of the river offered up the HUUUGEEST boof of the day (ie not too big). Was really pushin’ the envelope dude, shredding the gnar.
So after an epic scratch drop past a fallen cedar, we continued the quest downward. It was a relatively easy run with such slow flow, and other than some boogie water for the next quarter mile or so, nothing too exciting cropped up until we hit the biggest rock feature that was practically begging for water to be going over it. If you miss the signs (which I imagine would be pretty hard to do), there’s a camp on the right hand shore, possibly uninhabited, that marks the location of the rapid.
It’s the first and only horizon line you’ll see on this stretch. There’s some nice gradient on the right fork that was the ideal run for the lower water, but the left drop is likely the reason to come back to this scenic stretch of water.
At higher water it’d be a drop I’d walk over and over just for the kicks. Was probably the single most bony runs my kayak has ever dropped, seeing as there was more rock that water. But still, it’s a beautiful feature with a small drop off at the end of the slide.
This was the highlight of the entire stretch. After the first mile or so of river, with curiosity driving us on, we paddled downstream for about 10 miles on the flattest water I’ve ever seen. Barely any flow. We had originally anticipated a few mile paddle to Schoodic Brook. But after paddling for some time and many map consultations, we decided the Schoodic Brook was nowhere to be found and enjoyed the sights of bald eagles, deer, king fishers, and the rest of the wildlife.
So we paddled and paddled, seeing power lines only once, until we saw a single house high on the left bank. Climbing through tall grasses, up a muddy bank, we eventually began to hike out on this individual’s incredibly long access road. a Lesson quickly learned was to make sure that your paddle is properly stowed when you plan on dragging your boat behind you for a few miles. So after realizing I was missing a paddle, and a nice mile jog or so back to retrieve the paddle, we made it to civilization: route 193. A great feeling to finally be back to the road, so we celebrated with roadside blueberries.
After reaching the road, we quickly found that our plan to hitch hike 6 miles back to the car was flawed. Apparently nobody picks up kayakers in Downeast, Maine. So the decision was made to stow the boats in the woods and keep thumbing it til’ we get to the put-in. After about 5 miles we hit the Wyman’s blueberry facility, and got a ride from a friendly staffer back to the bridge.
All in all, I think we’ll do the Whitewater stretch and hike back up through the woods next time.
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