Allagash peak time advice?

[ReluctantFarmer]

I'm planning a solo trip up the Allagash Wilderness Waterway at a specific, can't-move week in July, and wondering if there's any specific advice for trying to navigate the river during its peak popularity.

How bad is going to be finding a campsite? Should I think about packing both a tent and a hammock in case I end up not finding an ideal site? What are the chances I end up having to be social and share a site with a group if I get there first? What's the etiquette at the sites labeled as having multiple cells?

Is it too early to guess at the water level? I really want to run my own (composite) boat, and dragging or getting rebar through the hull at Long Lake dam would be unpleasant.

I'm generally familiar with the river and logistics; I've done it from Chase Rapids a couple of times before... but it was 20 years ago, and never in the peak months and not solo.

 

[Pseudonym]

In 2018, my Allagash trip originated at Churchill Dam on July 6th. We were nine people in five boats and certainly ran into quite a few other groups and came across occupied campsites, but never had too much trouble finding a spot in the vicinity of where we hoped to camp.

Last year, my group (sadly without me) paddled from Allagash Lake up to Bissonette Bridge during the same timeframe (just after 4th of July) and their report was about the same.

I would think you should be fine with respect to water levels. The lakes upstream of Churchill Dam store water and smooth out seasonal fluctuations, barring some aberrant drought situation. I used to work at a camp that ran four Allagash trips every summer: two June-July and two July-August and I can't remember ever hearing of any being cancelled due to water levels being too low, but our resident Mainers in the forum might have better insight.