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Moose River (Me.), August 9-11, 2022

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As kids, my twin brother and I had done trips on the Saco, the Androscoggin, and the West Branch of the Penobscot twice. While we both do local day trips with our respective families, our haitus from tripping lasted decades. When an injury prevented me from hiking in the summer of 2019, I proposed a trip on the river section of the Allagash, which was a grand time. Since then it's been a trip each summer: the St. Croix in 2020 and the Bog River—Oswegatchie Traverse last summer. This summer my brother and I decided to tackle another Maine Classic, the Moose River Bow Trip. Typically we've tripped in June when hopefully, but not always, the water is higher and the bugs keep the hordes of other people away. Our schedules this summer didn't align until August, so we planned to drive up and put in on August 8, with an open-ended itinerary.

Heavy rain, however, was in the forecast for Sunday and Monday, with off and on showers through the week. We decided to postpone by a day, so that the worst of the wet would be over, and headed up on Tuesday, August 9. When we headed down the dirt road to Attean Landing we discovered that it was flooded.

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We crossed the flooding only after seeing a vehicle with comparable clearance safely cross. The parking lot attendant at Attean Landing said that they had received over six inches of rain over the past two days and the water was still rising, flooding the parking lot. So we headed back—when the photo above was taken—parked in the pull-off just before the gate, and ferried our gear a couple hundred yards down to the Moose River just upstream of the railroad bridge and Wood Pond.

We hit the water at 1:57 p.m. and paddled upstream toward Attean Pond.

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The lake was quiet and in just under two hours we made it to the West end and the portage to Holeb Pond.

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We made the 1.25 mile portage in two trips, and ran into a father and young son duo on the return from the first trip. The portage was straight-forward, though the first half was pretty wet, and we made camp at Portage Campsite on Holeb Pond. My brother cooked up a tasty lamb goulash for dinner and we went to bed satisfied.
 
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We awoke to Wednesday morning to a calm Holeb Pond and to find that the water had risen at least a foot, if not more, and my boat, while not moved, was now in the water. As my brother and I took our time eating and packing up, the father and son team hit the water, and we saw them no more.IMG_4960.jpeg
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After an uneventful paddle across Holeb Pond, we arrived at the outlet only to find that Holeb Stream was flowing back into Holeb Pond with a strong current.

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As we made our way upstream down Holeb Stream to the Moose River, the current grew in strength, to where it became a lot of work to make headway as we neared the Moose. Once at the intersection, we rested in an eddy and mulled our options. The current of the Moose was exceptionally fast. The parking lot attendant had told us that they expected the water to rise through Thursday and showers were forecasted through the week. We decided to take the cautious route and bail, and headed back to Holeb Pond. Back at the outlet of Holeb Pond, we encountered a canoe and kayak of experienced paddlers, who were also doing the Bow Trip. With renewed confidence, we turned around and headed once more up down Holeb Stream.

The current was swift, but the sailing, er, paddling was smooth down to the portage around Holeb Falls.

Camel Rips was flooded:

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The flooded alder here give somewhat of a sense of the height of the water:

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We were able to paddle past the first section of the portage all the way to the campsite above the falls.

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We made camp at the site at the end of the portage before checking out the falls on the side channel.


My brother cooked up mango shrimp for dinner.

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Thanks for the write up.
How did you transport the shrimp? Were they frozen? Inquiring minds want to know.
Jim
Jim, yes, the ice was frozen and kept with other perishables in an Ice Mule Pro XL cooler backpack, which my brother got specifically for canoe tripping. I'm not sure about the first night's meat, but unless it is cured, all meat for after the first night is frozen. My brother likes to cook, so we eat well.
 
While we didn't see the theesome in a canoe and kayak after leaving Holeb Stream, a couple camped at site at the start of the portage and on Thursday, August 11, they were just about to put in as we departed.

The look back up at the outrun of Holeb Falls.

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While the water had dropped over a foot overnight, Mosquito and Spencer Rips were still mere riffles.

Spencer Rips

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Presumabely because Bog No. 5 and the wetlands along the alder-lined stretch of the Moose River below Spencer Rips hold so much water, the farther downstream we went, the less the water had dropped overnight, as evidence by the evident high-water line on the alder leaves, so by the time we reached Attean Rips, the water may have only dropped half a foot overnight.

The couple who had departed Holeb Falls just after us arrived just as we were walking back to our boat after scouting Attean Rips. The volume of water turned the Rips into a fun class II with some waves big enough to soak me in the bow. Attean Falls however, were another story. With the volume of water and the hazard posed by the two strainers, especially the second, and based on the class III that we ran in 2020 on the St. Croix, Little Falls, we rated this as Class III. We ran river right around the corner, but first had to move to the left of a sizeable rock before cutting hard right to stay way the second strainer. What fun!

Attean Falls

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Looking back up from below the falls.

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We ate lunch as we moseyed downriver and were soon back at Attean Pond. We had planned to spend a third night on the pond, but as it was still early afternoon, the lake was calm, and the skies blue, we decided to finish the trip.

Attean Pond, looking Northish.

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Attean Pond, looking Westish toward Holeb Pond (out of view).

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A still somewhat flooded Attean Landing.

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Approaching the takeout.

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With my modified ottertail and my ride.

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Looking at Attean Pond from Rt. 201.

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It was a great trip, made extra fun by the extra water. Fortunately we only had a few sprinkles on the first afternoon and were otherwise dry.

What next?
 
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Attean Falls

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It was a great trip, made extra fun by the extra water. Fortunately we only had a few sprinkles on the first afternoon and were otherwise dry.

What next?

Great trip report. Wow, that's a lot of water! I've done 7 bow trips and never had that much. Usually Attean Falls is scratch-n-sniff.

I recommend the Allagash Loop. The longer carries keep most of the riffraff out.
 
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