Penobscot, S. Branch, Maine, US |
|
| Usual Difficulty | V (for normal flows) |
|---|---|
| Length | 3.5 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient | 45 fpm |
Located in the remote wilderness of northwestern Maine Canada Falls section of the South Branch
of the Penobscot River is the latest success story for American Whitewater. The first summer
recreational release occurred on Saturday July 2nd 2005. An agreement hammered out by AW director
Tom Christopher with Brascan power, Plum Creek, and the Piscataquis and Penobscot Indian tribes
guarantees releases every Saturday during July and August of each year for the next 50 years.
Posted on the MVP message board by Phil Urban on July 2, 2002
Canada Falls ( South Branch of the Penob.) . This gets a little harder to relate. When they did
the flow study, the lake was *full*. They (John Frascella and some others that know that river as
well as anyone) put on at what the "new engineer" was saying was 900. The river was just up in
the trees. More like what they new as twice that CFS "traditionally". John, a C1er, but a
Cribworks regular, said that was all he wanted. But, because of the smallness of the impoundment,
and no real flow gauge, the level drops as the release goes on. What was 1500ish today may be
1200ish tomorrow and 900ish the next day, even though the phone is telling us 1500. So, the phone
info right now is not real reliable, except to tell us that they are releasing a goodly amount of
water. If its in the trees when you get there, take a long hard look before you put on, but its
not likely to be that high. There used to be a rock, in the water at the putin, that had
0,1,2,and 3 painted on it, I think the paint is still there. I've paddled it through that range,
but not above. IMO, at those levels, it was still a class 4, 4+ run. If John is at the edge of
his comfort zone, when its reaching the trees, then I've gotta figure that's a class 5 level.
When I did it at "1000+" in the past, it was not in the trees at all.
Seboomook is much more reliably measured when releasing, so what we have always known as 950 is
still 950. Also, the West Branch is releasing 2800, but John (who lives there in the summer and
knows that river *very* well) says that it is more like what we've come to know as 3000 to 3100.
This is a level that punches up the difficulty considerably, especially compared to recent low
flow seasons.
John was excited (if you know John, he's an excitable guy :)) that I'm posting this to the MVP
board. As with many of our hard won negotiated rec. releases, more boaters using the resource is
a good thing. In this case the deal is not done, so y'all have a responsibility to come on up and
have fun. :-) We boated there on Father's Day weekend, at 940 CFS, and our party of 7 was all
alone, 'cept for the Otters, Mink, Loons, Moose etc, etc. Sorry this was so long, hopefully the
info will be useful to some folks. How accurate all this info is, I don't know, how well I've
relayed it is undoubtedly poor. :-)
Canada Falls releases negotiated by American Whitewater. Every Saturday from July through mid September.
Flows begin at 10 am and continue until 3pm on each release date. River Flow information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Low: 400 cfs | Medium: 900 cfs | High: 3000 cfs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Phone line: (888) 323-4341 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Flow Info
For current flow information go to the Great Lakes Hydro America website and look under Canada Falls Dam.
| When | River/Gauge | Subject | Level | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6y224d07h57m | Penobscot, S. Branch [ME] |
Bill at Megahole
|
500 cfs | Mark Lacroix |
| > 10 years | South Branch Penobscot [ME] |
The Face of Power
|
n/a | Alex Harvey |
| Mile | Rapid Name | Class | Features (Legend) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.8 | The Slide | IV+ |  |
| 1.4 | SYBOF | IV+ | |
| 2.0 | Upper Split Decision | IV+ | |
| 2.2 | Lower Split Decision | IV | |
| 2.3 | Megahole | IV | |
The SlideProbably the most visually intimidating drop on the river. As the river splits around a large island take the narrower right hand channel to the slack water just above a sharp horizon line. Take out on river right to scout or carry around. Just above the drop the two river channels meet once more then plunge over a slanted rock slab. The left side of the slide is a vertical wall that may be undercut. At the bottom of the slide the channel constricts to just about 20’ into a huge exploding boil. At higher levels a rather large keeper hole forms. The usual route is to start at the converging river channels above then run through the center of the slide down into the boil with a left lean as you hit the bottom of the slide. The rock slab on river right gradually angles down to the river bed forcing the water to push to the left creating the exploding boil at the bottom of the slide. Just below the boil there is a shallow spot followed by a large recovery pool.
SYBOFAfter a fairly long section of class II and III water you may eye several exposed ledges protruding from river left. Take out in the large eddy on river left just above one of the ledges. Just downstream river left (and out of site from river level) is the South Branch campsite where you can access the river to scout before you run. The river drops sharply towards the right vertical river bank then takes a rather sharp left turn then drops over a two foot ledge into a very large keeper hole. The hole is nearly river wide with a passage on river left. Run the upper rapid directly to a river right eddy just below where the river hits the right bank and takes a hard left. You will need to be fairly aggressive to punch into this eddy. From the top of this eddy set up and execute a hard ferry to the river left eddy, once here it is a simple run to the left of the hole. Do not underestimate the power of the current here and get sucked downstream into the hole. Just after the slot the river splits around a midstream rock ledge then leads into a calm pool.
Upper Split DecisionNot far below SYBOF the calm water ends and you are once again in class II and III waters. A couple ledges and turns down and you will notice some rather large midstream rocks and obstructed passages. Pull out on river left and scout. The top of the rapid has a river wide hole, weakest on the left. Once past the hole the flow splits around a large midstream ledge, the left channel runs through a rather obstructed and shallow drop at the lower release levels. River left drops over an “L” shaped ledge easiest run on far river left. The more difficult line is up close to the midstream ledge where the flow piles up against and takes a sharp and steep left hand turn. I then drops into a two step drop with a trashy hole at the bottom of each. Do not hug up too close to the midstream ledge; at the bottom of the first step there is a large semi-submerged rock that may knock you back into the hole.
Lower Split DecisionThis is really just the lower part of the same rapid. Shortly after the upper drop the river once again splits around some midstream ledges. The river left route has a steep drop by a large protruding ledge. Downstream from here the river is somewhat shallow at the lower release levels and requires some maneuvering to get through.
Bill at MegaholeTowards the bottom Lower Split Decision there is a near river wide hole that is best run on the far left.
(iCal)
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Canada Falls Lake to Pittston Farm, Penobscot, S. Branch Maine, US (mobile)
User Comments
to the dam type but it will give you an idea. Also Brookfield's "Forecast" flow is very unreliable,
check the gage the morning you leave.
faded when I saw it last and I don't know how it relates to actual level. I believe section is
easier then this thread suggests, a couple extensive rapids (namely split decision or "Three Doors"
as I was taught) but everything is pretty straight forward. I have always run it with a playboat
however creekers might make the moves a little more fun. I haven't done it real high though, only
up to 1100ish. Edit