Kennebec Multiday Canoe Trip

Since moving to the East Coast, each year my brother-in-law and I have been on a mission to complete at least one multiday canoe/kayak trip in the Northeast. The Kennebec was one that both of us had our eyes on since previously running the Saco and a portion of the Connecticut. As a whitewater kayaker in the area, I had heard about the Kennebec many times. It had been described as a Class III-IV kayakers' playground of massive waves funneling through Kennebec Gorge. It sounded sick. But unfortunately this time, whitewater wasn't our agenda... this trip was for the 100 miles of flatwater.

PLANNING

It was somewhat challenging trying to find information about a full descent of the Kennebec. Most of what we found detailed the upper sections and a write-up of an 18-mile stretch from Waterville to Agusta. To further prepare, we found ourselves leaning heavily on satellite images on Google Earth. Through these images, we were able to pretty successfully identify possible portage routes, camping locations, and even some interesting art as shown in the picture below.

PORTAGES

While we used Google Earth to help scout out portages, we identified at least nine mandatory carries due to dams. From past experiences, we knew that some of these would be well marked with established paths, and others would consist of pulling boats up steep embankments followed by a long hike through overgrown areas. While there were some challenges, our portages turned out to be some of our most exciting and memorable experiences of the trip. We started our first portage at Wyman Dam in high spirits. We were well rested, energetic, and ready for adventure... By the end, we were ready to be done with portages. This thing was a beast. Not only was it one of our longest portages, but it was the most difficult. It started with a grueling climb, was interspersed with sections of tick-infested brush, and ended with a trecaherous descent down a steep scree slope.

DAM SUPERVISORS

Our portaging technique up to this point went as follows. First, try to find a portage trail (this rarely worked). Second, we would refer to our Google Maps and try to locate the safest, closest possible location to the dam that would result in the least amount of hiking. When we arrived at Madison Maine, we pulled our canoe out on river right, just under a bridge, hiked the canoe up to the road, and began searching for a route back to the river. While doing this, we happened to come upon a little gem known as the Good & Plenty Diner. So we did what any good survivalist would do. We sat down for a massive breakfast. While we were there, another patron entered the establishment, approached us, and somewhat perturbed said, "What are you guys doing?" We went on to explain our trip, route, and progress so far. His tone quickly changed from mildly annoyed to super stoked about our trip. It turned out he was the dam supervisor and paddler. He had been watching us the entire time as we ducked the safety buoys, and used the incorrect portage access. This guy was so cool in fact that he used his break to haul us and our canoe down to the river, making it our fastest, and second most enjoyable portage of the trip. After putting back on, we immediately capsized and swam through the next set of rapids.

PIZZA

Our trip had been amazing so far! We had seen incredible scenery and wildlife, felt rewarded by our challenging dam portages, and met some incredible people along the way. Around 5 pm on day four, we arrived at the Hinckley Boat Launch in Hinckley Maine. We were pretty exhausted, so we decided we would get our gear gathered up and hunker down for the evening. Because this was a public boat launch, we wanted to appear as normal as possible, so we decided not to set up our camp until it got dark. In our attempt to act natural, we ended up doing the opposite. Things started to get weird when we ordered Uber Eats to deliver us pizza for dinner. I know, I know, it's not exactly roughing it when you get pizza delivered on a multi-day trip, but what we have come to find is that when you're paddling through cities and not remote wilderness, you have to adjust how you do things... and pizza was on the menu! So the pizza delivery dude shows up just as it starts to rain. Another group is loading their power boat quickly to avoid the rain, and the pizza dude hesitantly rolls down his window, accepts our wod of cash, hands us a pie, and continues with his day. Meanwhile, the lady who was sitting in the truck, waiting for her bay to load up the boat, drives by on their way out and just awkwardly stares and shakes her head. I look at Nick, as we get soaked in rain and say, "Do you think they will be talking about us later this evening?" He responds with a chuckle, "They are talking about us right now!" Despite it being a little wet, the pizza was amazing.

BILLY

After our delicious pizza dinner at the end of day four, things continued to get more weird when a local couple showed up to go for a quick dip. While we were laying there in the park like a couple of hobos, this guy approaches us to inquire about our trip. He turned out to be a pretty chill dude named Billy. We offered him the last of our pizza, then decided to get our tents set up and catch some z's. That's when the drama began. Despite this being a public area, Billy was on the shit list and was getting an ear full. While I don't remember all of the details about this altercation, the gist was that Billy had f$@&ed up... He was living the life of a couch surfer, loving his way across the country. Go, Billy! After about an hour of sobs and shrood cries of, "Biiillllyyyy", a car pulled up and Billy dropped the most mic drop line I've heard to this day, "I may be a couch surfer, but I'm also a pothead." Without another word, several bolts of lightning lit up the sky, the most epic downpour ensued, and Billy was gone.

EZRA

So you know that feeling of accomplishment you get when you take on a long expedition or grueling trip? Well, that was all put to shame when on day five we reached portage number 8. We were just finishing with another difficult portage that consisted of an uphill grind, a long hike through a railyard, and a sketchy march down a windy trail littered with poison ivy. Once finished, we spotted another canoeist traveling up the river. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, a wide-brimmed hat, and was paddling a spectacular wooden canoe loaded up with leather drybags. He looked like someone straight out of a history book. It turned out his name was Ezra, and he was doing a similar trip to ours, just in reverse. Nice!

THE LAST PUSH

After one of the most satisfying final portages of our lives(see the shopping cart picture above), we shoved off in Waterville Maine, camped at a park in Agusta, and continued our final push to the ocean. One of the most exciting parts of this section of river was the sturgeon jumping out of the water mear feet from the canoe. As we inched closer to the ocean, the waterway became wider and the tides began to have an effect on our pace. As the light started to fade, we had to make the decision, to find a spot to camp in this area that is surrounded by private land, or continue our push to the Atlantic. We decided to continue the push. We quickly discovered that neither of our headlamps were bright enough to adequately illuminate our path, and it's quite unsettling paddling towards the ocean when you can't see where you're going. Fortunately, between Nick's navigation, and my blind trust, we were able to reach the Atlantic at low tide. As a final greeting, while we pulled our canoe across the soggy beach at low tide, thousands of crabs bared their pinchers anticipating our approach. A couple hundred yards, and several pinches later, we arrived at our final destination.