Post by esspeegee on May 11, 2013 9:15:03 GMT -5
Took a couple days off work to paddle the South West Miramichi during the early May gift of "heat-wave and high-water".
Our plan was to start at Half Moon on Tuesday afternoon and finish at Porter's Cove at around noon on Thursday. The water was at around 1.5 (blackville gauge) so we didn't expect to be dragging but didn't plan to be travelling at record speeds.
We started at Half Moon at 3:30 on Tuesday afternoon, in the blazing (25+ degrees) heat, and drifted down to Lake Brook and through the Louey's. We arrived at Big Louey before 4:30 and so we decided to push on simply because the river was so inviting and we had soooo much daylight left. The campsite at Big Louey's rapids is spectacular and I really debated sticking around there for the remainder of the day, listening to the water and watching the sun go down.
We picked our way downstream and through Old Hens and Chickens, stopping at McKiel Camp. I've never pitched my tent on the lawn of any of the camps along the river and so felt a bit like I was cheating / squatting ... but it was a ridiculously perfect place to spend the night. This time of year, the sun literally sets directly up the McKiel brook. We enjoyed a late supper, under the big fir trees, watching the sun turn the confluence into liquid gold.
Went through Burnt Hill at noon. Nobody was there so we took the opportunity to put our nose prints on every single pane of glass. Bow-woman, SC, had never seen these camps before so it was a hoot strolling the grounds by ourselves on a hot sunny day.
By early afternoon, we feared our beverages would be getting warm. Sure, we could stick them in the river ... but that would take time, would be a hassle, and wouldn't be give us that "as cold-as-ice on a hot summer day" experience. Luckily, we spotted a mini-glacier that was clinging to life in a shady bank of cedars. We cracked of some small ice chunks and ... presto ... we hand some hand-numbingly cold drinks again! :-)
Paddled by Trout Brook campsite at around 4:30 and thought we'd try our luck further down river (maybe on the "sunny side"). No dice.
We paddled into a wicked (brutal) headwind for the next 1.5 hours while we searched for a decent camping spot ... all .... the ... way .... to .... Hayesville. No campsites.
Under the bridge. Still no campsites.
At this point, it was nearly 7pm and the wind had stopped. The river turned calm and the sun was starting to set ... there was kinda pink glow everywhere. We decided to switch to "travelling mode" and make it to Porter's cove before dark.
Took a super cool "cheater route" through the Boisetown islands ... probably saved us 30 or 40 seconds. ;-)
Made it to our car in Pond's yard with (relatively) lots of light.
We really enjoyed paddling this stretch of river in the late evening but we REALLY wished we'd have found a good campsite somewhere below Trout Brook because the adventure was done early.
This early in May we had the ENTIRE river to ourselves ... nobody on the water, nobody in the camps. Aside from a deer crossing the river and a rather calm beaver guarding the iceflow, we spent the two days with only the birds.
I can't get enough of this river.
Our plan was to start at Half Moon on Tuesday afternoon and finish at Porter's Cove at around noon on Thursday. The water was at around 1.5 (blackville gauge) so we didn't expect to be dragging but didn't plan to be travelling at record speeds.
We started at Half Moon at 3:30 on Tuesday afternoon, in the blazing (25+ degrees) heat, and drifted down to Lake Brook and through the Louey's. We arrived at Big Louey before 4:30 and so we decided to push on simply because the river was so inviting and we had soooo much daylight left. The campsite at Big Louey's rapids is spectacular and I really debated sticking around there for the remainder of the day, listening to the water and watching the sun go down.
We picked our way downstream and through Old Hens and Chickens, stopping at McKiel Camp. I've never pitched my tent on the lawn of any of the camps along the river and so felt a bit like I was cheating / squatting ... but it was a ridiculously perfect place to spend the night. This time of year, the sun literally sets directly up the McKiel brook. We enjoyed a late supper, under the big fir trees, watching the sun turn the confluence into liquid gold.
Went through Burnt Hill at noon. Nobody was there so we took the opportunity to put our nose prints on every single pane of glass. Bow-woman, SC, had never seen these camps before so it was a hoot strolling the grounds by ourselves on a hot sunny day.
By early afternoon, we feared our beverages would be getting warm. Sure, we could stick them in the river ... but that would take time, would be a hassle, and wouldn't be give us that "as cold-as-ice on a hot summer day" experience. Luckily, we spotted a mini-glacier that was clinging to life in a shady bank of cedars. We cracked of some small ice chunks and ... presto ... we hand some hand-numbingly cold drinks again! :-)
Paddled by Trout Brook campsite at around 4:30 and thought we'd try our luck further down river (maybe on the "sunny side"). No dice.
We paddled into a wicked (brutal) headwind for the next 1.5 hours while we searched for a decent camping spot ... all .... the ... way .... to .... Hayesville. No campsites.
Under the bridge. Still no campsites.
At this point, it was nearly 7pm and the wind had stopped. The river turned calm and the sun was starting to set ... there was kinda pink glow everywhere. We decided to switch to "travelling mode" and make it to Porter's cove before dark.
Took a super cool "cheater route" through the Boisetown islands ... probably saved us 30 or 40 seconds. ;-)
Made it to our car in Pond's yard with (relatively) lots of light.
We really enjoyed paddling this stretch of river in the late evening but we REALLY wished we'd have found a good campsite somewhere below Trout Brook because the adventure was done early.
This early in May we had the ENTIRE river to ourselves ... nobody on the water, nobody in the camps. Aside from a deer crossing the river and a rather calm beaver guarding the iceflow, we spent the two days with only the birds.
I can't get enough of this river.
