Sep 17, 2023, Kennebec Gorge at 5000cfs

Kayakers: TC’s Suzanne and Gary Cole, Jeff Sweet, Ken Gordon, Paul LeClerc, Pat Cavanagh, Peter Hockmeyer, Matt Porter, and in a tandem duckie: Clyde Mitchell and Jessa Solis.

Clear blue skies and warming temperatures greeted us on the day after the storm. Once again, we made our way down the river surfing and squirting where we could. We had some rolls below Big Mama and in Magic but it all worked out well. Jessa and Clyde continued down while the rest of us took out at Carry Brook. There was a group of Connecticut boaters on the river and it was nice to see more than the usual number of kayakers enjoying a day on the Kennebec. We even saw Peggy Dwyer with a raft full of friends – that was a blast from the past. 

Sep 16, 2023: Dead River at 3500cfs

Kayakers: TC’s Suzanne and Gary Cole, Ken Gordon, Clyde Mitchell, Devon Carter, Pat Cavanagh, Paul LeClerc, Jeff Bickford, Jeff Swett, and in a Shredder: Bud Gilbert, and Scott Gee.

Hurricane Lee was looming large, but after carefully checking the weather, we decided we could probably get a day in on the river before the winds and rain hit. As it turned out, we had a couple of strong gusts and maybe some light rain, but the real rain held off until we were off the river. With nine kayaks and one shredder, we had an early start and as a result were off the river by 2:30. We made our way down stream, surfing our favorite spots and enjoying a more relaxed river than at 5500. Since we were early, we waited to have lunch below Elephant Rapid at Poison Ivy Beach (poison ivy easily avoidable). Braces and rolls were working well until the second half of Lower Poplar where we had two swimmers. It was not an easy place to get boats and bodies to shore, but we managed and no one was worse for wear.

There is currently no Webb’s shuttle, so we ran our own. Three of us hung out in a car at the public takeout, while another car took the drivers back to the put-in to get theirs. Addie Webb said she would be running Webb’s Shuttle next summer. We really hope she does!

Jul 23, 2023: Kennebec River, Ballfield to Forks Plantation Takeout

We had beautiful weather for our Kennebec River trip from the Ballfield in West Forks to a takeout in Forks Plantation about five miles downriver.  Held on the second day of the summer picnic, we waited for the 5,000 CFS release to arrive.  John and his friend paddled a tandem canoe and Nancy and Ron solo kayaks.  We were the only hard boats on the river but there were lots of tubers.  It was a very pleasant way to end a busy weekend.

Participants:  John Preble, John’s friend, Ron Chase, and TC Nancy Chase

Jun 11, 2023: Sebasticook River – Clinton, Mill Park to Benton Falls Dam, carry, on to Kennebec River

The Penobscot Paddle and Chowder Society paddled the Sebasticook River
from Clinton to Benton Falls Dam and then from Benton Falls Dam to Fort
Halifax Part (Kennebec River) Sunday. Beautiful day, excellent water
level (3″ below last step at Mill Park), great people, amazing number of
eagles everywhere. There are more eagles (more than 40) on the section
below the dam than anywhere in the continental U.S. per Nate Gray at
Maine Marine Resources.

We had 9 boats and 10 people from Clinton to the Benton Falls Dam and
11 boats and 12 people from the dam to Fort Halifax Park (Kennebec River).

Bruce Weik, Pauline Boyce, Andrew McDowell, Emma McDowell, Ron Chase,
Nancy Chase, Kevin Morrissey, Beth Main, Shawn Main, Karin Eberhardt,
Loren Starcher, Allan Fuller

The eagles are there to eat the alewife (herring) that are migrating
up the Sebastocook River. There have been more than 5 million alewife
that have passed the Benton Falls Dam going up the river so far. That is
the biggest river migration on the whole east coast of the U.S. There
were schools of herring breaking water. They were being driven to the
surface by the stripper bass chasing them. The herring are food for all.
About 20% are netted and sent to Canada in refrigerated trucks to be
canned for human consumption.

Jul 24, 2022: Kennebec River – Carry Brook to West Forks

There were several trips on the second day of the Summer Picnic Weekend.  Nancy and I organized a paddle on the Kennebec from Carry Brook to West Forks.  New member Ken Stickney met us at the ballfield for the shuttle to Carry Brook where we met a sizeable contingent of Chowderheads who had finished the fish flow in the gorge.  The group consisted of an assortment of kayaks, canoes, and inflatable boats.  Everyone successfully navigated large waves in Big Black Rapid.  From that point, it was different strokes for different folks.  Some surfed and played while others floated and socialized.  The weather was superb, the water level excellent, and the company even better.  A great way to end a to an exceptional weekend!

Participants:  Ken Stickney, Deb Harris, Allan Fuller, Krea Galway, Shweta Galway, Ryan Galway, Reid Anderson, Mike Fask, and TCs Nancy Chase and Ron Chase