Miramichi put-in

[Ken Corbett]

Almost everybody starts their trip on the Miramichi at Burnt Hill.

Has anyone started farther upriver on the South Branch? The portage over to the Saint John begins at Foreston. Has anyone put in at Foreston and paddled down to Half-Moon?

Has anyone put in above the Irving gate on the north branch at Juniper? I understand there is a road in from the Birch Ridge road out of Plaster Rock that lets you run twenty miles of the North Branch before you come to Juniper. Is it gated?

Is this classified info?

Ken

[Ken Corbett]

I found out from a lodge owner that all the roads out of the Plaster Rock area into the North Branch of the main Miramichi are either gated or impassable. The only way in is through Irving's gate in Juniper.

So there's a day's worth of paradise paddling we'll never see. Oh well.

I'm still interested in the Foreston put-in on the South branch. The same gentleman said it was doable, one day to Half-Moon, but I need to know more. My buddies Scooter and Hal are coming up in May to run the Miramichi with me and I want to start in Foreston.

Ken

[trailey]

Andy Buyting and a group run the river the weekend after Victoria Day. I believe that they put in at Juniper. You might check with him.

Dave Orser

[tgneal]

Hey Ken,
Did you Scooter and Hal actually try putting in at Foreston? My buddies and I are thinking of trying the Foreston put in this year and were wondering what it is like. I notice from the map that Rte 107 crosses the South Branch at Foreston. I'm assuming this is the put in.
Any info you have on this put in would be very helpful.
Thanks,
Tom

[Ken Corbett]

Tom,

No, we went on the Nepisiguit instead. Best river ever.

I think I'm going to try the Foreston put-in this spring, though. I google-mapped it and spoke to some locals and they said it was no prob.

Another alternate put-in is the Irving Gate past Juniper on the North Branch.

I've looked into getting in way up on the North Branch, but the roads are either gated or impassable, I'm told.

Ken

[tgneal]

Thanks Ken,
I'm wondereing what paddling on the South Branch is like as it looks awfully narrow on the maps.
The North Branch looks a bit wider.

Tom

[Ken Corbett]

The North Branch put-in is at Irving's Gate, near the train bridge above Juniper. It is wide and meandering, some quick current, enjoyable. A nice warm-up for tenting at Half-Moon.

Ken