S-2016-9-24
Start: Stealthing
at Bisonette Bridge, AWW
End:
Sweeney Brook campsite, right after (the last!) Long Lake
On the
Way: Allagash Wilderness Waterway, Allagash River,
Umsaskis Lake, Long Lake
Miles:
~15. 68 to go!
Weather: Sooooo cold.
Cloudy, the clear in the evening, but most persistent wind of the whole
damn trip!
Map: 12,
13
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| Map 13! Last one! |
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| Map Overview |
Today it seems like I just couldn’t get warm. Like a Hollow Day for eating, where your
tummy always wants more no matter how much you feed it, but swapping out hunger
for lack of body heat. I think it stems from
having pretty had circulation in my feet, which I’m sure isn’t helped by hammock
sleeping. That and having a wet ass
24/7.
Anyway, on account of that, my shoulder really acting up,
and nothing really causing me to hurry into Fort Kent besides the vanity of my
final number of days on the river, I took it easy today. Well, there was a lot of wind, compounding
the cold and making my last couple of lakes an utter workout. I’m sharing campsites tonight with two
fellows who are out in a rental canoe. I
dunno how they managed that whitewater in a canoe, or managed to come so far in
a day (the Churchill Dam ranger said they had come by around noon). They did mention that they stopped today at
1400, so they couldn’t have been pushing that
hard.
Also this morning, I got up at ~0600 to avoid any
outfitters who might have shown up to put-in at the bridge, put on my wet and
miserable river clothes, skipped breakfast and headed out into the fog. I couldn’t even see the river that well.
It was, in a word, dismal. Pain doesn’t frequently overcome me, but I
had to stop and wallow in self-pity over the state of my poor frozen hands and
immobile fingers a few times. When my
usual method of sticking my hands under my pits didn’t help, it was time for a
break. I stopped and waited for the sun
to rise a little higher and had a proper hot oatmeal and coffee breakfast at
the first campsite downriver. The sun
burnt off the fog on the river so I could actually see, some water steamed off
my river clothes, and I felt much better.
That break, plus a nap it took in the sun later at Long Lake Dam (one of
those autumn sun patches where you think you should be warm, but really aren’t…) made it a low-achievement kind
of day. Basically, today’s lessons
amount to “daybreak starts are way over-rated.”
It does mean, though, that I should aim to book it tomorrow. I have one night’s stay left on the fee I
paid to camp in this watershed, although I could probably sneak another. They’re patrolled by seasonal retired guys in
motorized canoes, and the check-out point is miles before the end of the fee
zone—what kind of system is that?
The Allagash is lovely, though. I’m looking forward to a day where I’m not
rushing through or blinded or preoccupied by cold, and can focus on the quality
scenic stuff that this river is known for.
You know, like avoiding rocks.
Things Learned:
+ According to one of my sitemates, most east-coast coyotes
are actually cross-bred with wolves from Canada. HUH.
Not sure if I believe that.
+ Sleeping next to a bubbling brook drowns out the buzzsaw
snores that any aforementioned sitemates might produce. Also, earplugs help: was very glad to have
brought a pair.
Trail Magic:
+ Lots of kingfishers!
I’ve been fascinated with these birds ever since my parents hung an
Audubon poster with a giant painting of one in the center on the basement wall,
but I’ve never seen them in person.
They’re very cool.
+ The Last Long Lake of the trip! There’s been no less than three Long X’s (two
lakes and a pond) on this journey.
+ With the changing autumn temperatures come the changing
autumn leaves. My inner white person is
quite enthralled by them.
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