Beverly's Allagash Page

Dear Bob

The Allagash trip was a blast. All the pre-trip preparation and learning how to paddle "in six easy lessons" was worth it. We planned to start at the south end of Chamberlain Lake, at the bridge, and end up near the Canadian border, but we got nervous about our own abilities and changed our plans in late July. Only Constance was sure we could do the whole thing. Up till early this year all most of us had done was 2 weeks at summer camp as teenagers.
Constance was the newest member of our little group of eight. We had a regular schedule of Broadway shows and other "city" stuff. We had gone on some vacations together and were all very good friends. When we asked her what she though would be a good vacation, Constance really shocked us with the Allagash idea. We thought she was kidding at first, but she made it sound so wonderful and do-able that we all decided to go for it.
The 7 of us started with basic canoeing lessons in February. By April we were actually getting good at it. Constance taught us just enough basic strokes to do the job. She said "it's better if you don't even know the names of the fancier strokes so you learn them by the motions first." I thought it was a bit strange but it worked. In no time we were combining the basics into the fancy stuff. There's really nothing to it. All the basic motions combine into some pretty fancy moves. She had us doing rescue drills, end tank dumps and I even got good with a throw bag.
In April we started canoe camping. At first it looked hopeless. I had never been without indoor plumbing in my life. The so-called facilities at Mullica River Camp were a bit too aromatic for me and I ended up with a little folding shovel and a roll of toilet paper back in the woods. That's where I learned an important bit of backwoods lore "until you get good at it, take your jeans completely off." We were all pretty lost in the woods on that first trip. Freeze dried food is disgusting stuff and the bugs were just too much.
I think Constance actually let us suffer a bit that first time so we would appreciate doing it right. By our third time out we were eating really well and even started baking deserts. Good food and learning how to deal with the bugs made a big difference.
We were buying gear as we learned how to use it and Constance's garage was getting fuller by the week. The whole trip actually cost less than 2 weeks in Jamaica, when you figure in tips and all those little extras. Canvas Duluth Packs and screw-top food drums were getting stacked higher each time I was there. The four canoes took up the most space. We bought Mad River canoes, Kelty tents and tarps and North Face sleeping bags.
Safety first, comfort second, Constance (AKA little Hitler) kept drilling into us. She made it fun though. At the end of July, when it was 103 degrees in the shade, we were setting up the tents blindfolded with the garden hose blasting us with cold water. It's even harder then it sounds after a few beers. Stuff like that was great for confidence and now I feel bad about being one of the girls that wanted to end the trip at Umsaskis. We let her down. She was right. We could have done the whole thing without pushing too hard at all.
The ride into the put in was "interesting". We nearly hit a Moose. Constance hit the brakes and we stopped just in time. The only harm done was that the fire extinguisher came loose from its bracket and emptied itself. I nearly went along with the extinguisher. It was a good thing the top was down. Most of the white powder went out the back.
Weather was so-so. It rained all but one day, but at least it was only for a few hours at a time, mostly at night. The "inside ground cloth trick" worked perfectly, we never had damp spot, well, at least not from the rain. In spite of the intermittent rain the sun came out frequently, so it was warm enough for swimming, if not for tanning.
We stopped the official points of interest like the farm and the trains. It was interesting, but you can only look at the rotting remains of a farm and some old rusty locomotives for so long. Pillsbury Island was where some famous guy camped years ago but was nothing special, as far as I'm concerned, till a deer walked right between the tents during dinner. I used to think of the squirrels in Central Park as wildlife but this was really neat. We paddled less than an hour the next day. Smith Point campsite was nearby and we wanted to stay where the infamous "alien abduction" occurred. The closest thing we had to a visitation by a little gray man was a huge Bull Moose that interrupted breakfast. He just ran through camp. The first thing I noticed was Liz's eyes bugging out. She just mumbled something through a mouthful of granola and pointed over my shoulder. By the time I turned around, he was only a few yards away. He crashed into the lake and swam for the far shore. Constance got back from the outhouse just as the Moose disappeared into the woods on the far side. She claimed not to have seen or heard anything but she didn't get all those pine needles in her hair while sitting in what passes for a toilet out there.
It was only a few days into the trip when we had fallen into a routine that felt even more natural than getting up for work. At 5:15 the wristwatch alarm went off. By 5:45 all the stuff inside the tent was packed. At 6:30 we stopped what we were doing and ate breakfast. We rotated cooking chores. One of us in each tent was a packer and the other cooked and cleaned up breakfast. As soon as the Canoes were loaded, usually sometime between 7:15 and 7:45, we started paddling. Lunch was in the campsite for the next night. Dinner around 5-ish and bedtime was soon after the sun went down. Only once, when the wind picked up early from the south, did we have to paddle in the wind. I really felt sorry for the through-paddlers that do the trip all the way to the north end in one week. They would paddle past us in mid afternoon in a wicked wind. I wonder if they think they are having fun.
The food was great! It turns out that I have a knack for baking. I traded off my cleanup chores for cooking. Fresh baked banana nut bread is delicious in the middle of a camping trip. I made brownies, pizza, "sort of" muffins, several types of bread and a "to die for" chocolate cake. The name was too accurate. Jo went into some kind of sugar shock. She had no idea that she was a borderline diabetic. She got a raging headache, dizziness and spent half the night drinking water and peeing every 20 minutes. I felt really bad about it, but at least she knows to get checked out by a doctor.
Other than her diabetes, a few scratches, a few leeches, bug bites and a case of Poison Ivy, the trip was pretty much incident free. The Poison Ivy wasn't bad but it could have been avoided altogether. Always look before you squat. No, it wasn't me. I got most of the leeches. I must be tasty. They really do let go when you salt them, but you bleed for hours sometimes. I spent most of one day with a maxi-pad taped to my foot.
The group ahead of us at Lock Dam provided our other excitement on the trip. The lock and spillway were removed when the dam was rebuilt. Now the water runs through a big pipe and dumps into a stream below the dam two feet in the air, only a few feet from the put-in. We had carried about half of our packs over the dam and were watching the last of the group ahead of us leave when I was hit in the chest by a throw-bag. Constance yelled, "belay me". It was already too late. The cheap fiberglass canoe was carried by the current in the direction of the pipe. They were paddling hard but overloaded canoe just kept moving towards the pipe. Constance got a line on it, but by the time I had it tight it was too late. The rush of falling water nearly tore the bow off the boat, right in front of the bow seat. If I were only a bit faster and I could have stopped it in time. We did keep it from spinning around and getting trashed at both ends. All the gear was recovered and nobody was hurt but it was one hell of a scare. We actually managed to fix it for them. We punched holes on both sides of the nearly gunwale to gunwale crack and baseball-stitched it back together with some cord. We put on 4 layers of duct tape to waterproof it and they were on their way, still shaking. Even though I was too slow to stop their boat they still thanked me over and over. I felt kind of guilty because I didn't get it entirely right, but I felt good because I kept them from getting totally trashed. Sometimes I think the only emotions I have are conflicting ones.
The fishing was pretty good. After I learned how to cast without endangering people around me and how to get those slimy fish off the hook, it was fun. A left-handed reel would have helped. My first really big one ended up as dinner for two at Scofield point campsite. Constance made Pirogues and grilled the fish over the campfire. Not exactly restaurant fare, but it was delicious. Other than gutting and cleaning the fish the only down side of it was the looks I got from the two Vegetarians on the trip.
Chase rapids were great. We camped at the dam for 3 nights. That seriously curtailed the skinny-dipping. All of us ran the rapids at least six times. We skinny-dipped in the only good swimming spot along that section, right at the shuttle pick-up point. The Ranger that shuttled us back up to the top after each run really seemed to be enjoying his job. I noticed that wet women in dry clothes piqued more than just his interest. Our minimalist attire must have been the highlight of his week.
We camped two more nights below the dam. Both campsites were small and uncomfortable compared to the ones south of the dam. The worst part was the reality that it would all be over soon. We would all be going back to jobs in civilization and would only see each other every third weekend like we always did. I suspect that instead of Broadway shows or checking out restaurants we will be planning next year's trip.

Love Bevy

Ps: On the way home we stopped at the outlet malls just north of the border of New Hampshire. We scattered in all directions depending on what we were interested in. I was kind of supprised that I was drawn to the basement of the Kittery Trading Post, the fishing Dept. I spent nearly $300 in there. Including a nice left handed reel.