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.

 

[sweeper]

Best advice would be to get up and on the water early, (you'll also see more moose that way). We've only had to share once and we were the askies.

If you don't feel comfortable running LL Dam you can look at lining on River Left which is still a lot better then the Carry on the Right.

You can watch the flow here.

Allagash River near Allagash, Maine

Discover water data collected at monitoring location USGS-01011000, located in Maine and find additional nearby monitoring locations.

waterdata.usgs.gov

 

[ReluctantFarmer]

With a week or so left, it looks like flow rate is trending down rapidly, but there’s at least a little rain in the forecast. Still trying to decide if I’m going to run my composite boat through Chase Rapids; thinking at 1200 I will, below that, no.

I’ve ended up with a full 4 nights free (which never happens) so also considering planning doing a 0 mile day on purpose or getting a Maine fishing license.

 

[sweeper]

@ReluctantFarmer Chase rapids flow at the dam is the same whether the flow is 500, 1500 or 5000.

This is from the Chief Ranger

The difference is how long the gates are open

 

[ReluctantFarmer]

Already way below 1000. Fast approaching 700. If the pattern holds we'll be at 500 on Monday.

Maybe I'm fooling myself but I'm thinking I really only need 3.5" in a solo canoe, and maybe the dire warnings about 500 cfs don't apply to me. Extremely reluctant to change plans here but I may live to regret it.

 

[Art D]

The water at Chase Rapids is determined by the release from the dam, while the Allagash gauge measures flow far down river after numerous streams have entered the river. In other words, the gauge is not a good measure of the water in Chase Rapids.

I’ve run Chase twice, once with the gauge measuring low water and once with it measuring a healthy 1,700 cfm. The water in Chase was about the same both times.

 

[ReluctantFarmer]

once with the gauge measuring low water

What was the rest of the river like, and how low?