Penobscot, W. Branch, Maine, US |
|
| Usual Difficulty | III-V (for normal flows) |
|---|---|
| Length | 17 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient | 22 fpm |
| Max Gradient | 80 fpm |
After a long drive by logging roads dodging Moose, put-in at McKay station. There is usually
dependable flow here all Summer. The section from the dam to Chewonki's Big Eddy (about 2 miles)
is considered a class V run. Just below the put-in is Exterminator hole. At normal summer levels
punch the hole on the left. Below exterminator is Staircase rapid. Shallow class IV with a nice
wave train at the end. Just downstream you will notice the main flow of the river goes to the
left around a shear rock wall go to the left for Big Heater rapid. To the right a narrow channel
leads to a nice little drop (Little Heater). Just below the heaters on river right is
Troublemaker hole, a nice powerfull playhole. Pull out on river left just above a bridge.
Downstream lies one of the most difficult rapids in all New England. The Cribworks should be
scouted from "Vulture rock" which lies on river left where the river turns left. The
move should be obvious to any veteran boater. Drop through the Turkey Shot on river left then
move toward river right through Final Chute. Avoid going river left after Turkey shot, the river
runs through a boulder sieve that could trap a boat or swimmer.
Below Prays Big Eddy the river alternates between long stretches of flatwater and sudden large
drops. Some of the rapids in this section are "Big Amberjackwockamas" (Big A),
Neswadnehunk (Soudyhunk)falls, and Abol.
The West Branch of the Penobscott has been compared to the Upper Gauley and many New England
boaters will come here for a warm up before venturing to West Virginia.
Camping can be found at "Chewonki's Big Eddy" located just below the Cribworks. Phone number 207-882.7323. There are other individual campsites scattered about the area maintained by the paper companies. Inquire at the gatehouse about them.
From Portsmouth NH take Interstate 95 through Maine approximately 240 miles.
Take exit 56 (Millinocket/Medway) Maine route 157/11 Take a left (west) on 157/11 towards
Millinocket. On the other end of Main street in Millinocket look for signs for the Golden road,
Baxter State park, take this road. Note: The road changes to a good dirt logging road about 10
miles in. Be carefull of Moose and fully loaded logging trucks.
Approximately 18 miles bypassing the entrance to Baxter state park you will come up to a gate.
This is paper company land, in 1999, the toll was $4 for Maine residents and $7 for
out-of-staters. Note: The owners (Bowater/International paper/Scott paper) will not allow you to
enter their lands with a Mountain Bike. If you do have one you will be required to lock it at the
gate until your return.
Approximately 11 miles to McKay station, look for a small sign.
Retrace your route back to just before the bridge over the river and take a right over a smaller, rougher dirt road. Approximately 1.5 miles to the base of Pockwockamus Falls.
Some paddlers are only interested in running the Rip Gorge through Cribworks section. For those
people take out just downstream from Chewonki's Big Eddy Camps (formerly Pray's Big Eddy). The
message below was forwarded by Gary Bamberger.
Marc and I had a fun run @ Rippogenus Gorge/Cribworks Saturday and were in the process of loading
up the car when the manager/owner of Chewonki's Big Eddy Camps (formerly Pray's Big Eddy) came up
to us and asked that we not take out there anymore. We were on the shoulder of the "Golden
Road" loading up but we did walk across their land from the beach to the road. He was
pleasant enough and explained that the state of Maine had built a new take-out just downstream
from the traditional one and asked that we use that one. After loading up we went to check it out
and it is a nice parking area abutting the Chewonki campground just downstream about 150 yards.
It's about 1/3 the size of the Magic Falls take-out on the Dead River and has a permanent
out-house and plenty of overhanging shade trees for dogs left in cars (as there isn't much shade
at the McKay Station put-in). There is a sign (brown like those used in Baxter) that says
"Big Eddy" on the right side of the Golden Road. The parking area is not easy to see
from the river but neither is Magic Falls on the Dead.
It must have been "family day" on the Penobscot Saturday because Marc and I only ran
into 1 other group of paddlers all day (Mike, his daughter Anna and Kim) although there were a
lot of fishermen on the right shoreline. I told the Chewonki man that I would post this
information on several message boards to help get the word out and alleviate this trespassing
issue. gary
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River Flow information |
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|
Low: 1800 cfs |
Medium: 2400 cfs |
High: 3000 cfs |
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 Phone Line: (207)723-4341 Extension 163 |
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| When | River/Gauge | Subject | Level | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penobscot, W. Branch [ME] |
Neswadnehunk Falls
|
n/a | Andrew Gunnoe | |
| West Branch of the Penobscott [ME] |
Turkey Chute
|
n/a | Mark Lacroix | |
| Penobscot, W. Branch [ME] |
Cribworks
|
n/a | Mark Stover | |
| 190d15h01m | @Penobscot, W. Branch Ripogenus Gorge to Debsconeag [ME] |
Strider in Rip Gorge
|
0 cfs | bob heckler |
| 4y143d02h41m | Penobscot, W. BranchRipogenus Gorge to Debsconeag [ME] |
Turkey Shoot Eddy
|
n/a | Ryan Gerry |
| 7y160d10h41m | Penobscot, W. Branch [ME] |
Cribworks
|
2400 cfs | Mark Lacroix |
| 7y222d10h41m | Penobscot, W. Branch [ME] |
Cribworks
|
3200 cfs | Mark Lacroix |
| 8y181d10h41m | Penobscot, W. Branch [ME] |
Cribworks
|
n/a | Mark Stover |
| 8y193d11h52m | Penobscot, W. BranchRipogenus Gorge to Debsconeag [ME] | This is how we roll | n/a | n/a |
| 8y223d10h41m | Penobscot, W. Branch [ME] |
Little Pockwockamus Falls
|
3200 cfs | Mark Lacroix |
| 9y193d10h41m | Penobscot, W. Branch [ME] |
Surfin Big A
|
3400-3600 | NATHAN WINSLOW |
| > 10 years | Penobscot, W. Branch [ME] |
Neswadnehunk Falls
|
unknown | Bob Dunn |
| Mile | Rapid Name | Class | Features (Legend) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | Exterminator | 5.0 |   |
| 0.2 | Staircase | 5.0 | |
| 0.8 | The Heaters | III+ |  |
| 1.2 | Troublemaker Hole | III+ |  |
| 1.8 | Cribworks | 5.1 |  |
| 4.5 | Big Ambejackwockamus falls (Big A) | IV+ | |
| 5.0 | Horse Race | III | |
| 7.5 | Neswadnehunk Falls (Soudyhunk) | IV+ | |
| 9.5 | Abol | IV+ | |
| 10.5 | Pockwockamus Falls (Big Pock) | IV+ |  |
ExterminatorJust downstream of the put in lies the Exterminator. This is a large river wide hole that flips rafts and "involuntarily" cartwheels kayaks. Punch the hole on far river right next to the wall or try to sneak around the river left side by catching the eddy just above the hole.
Caution: Over the 07-08 winter something has apparently "moved" most paddlers agree that the right hand line has become much more difficult pulling boaters back in for more. Most raft guilds will admit they lost more customers in summer of'08 then they ever have in the past. The right hand line is still runable but if you're in a playboat be ready for an involuntary second look at the hole.
Staircase
Little Heater
Troublemaker hole
Cribworks
Neswadnehunk Falls
Abol Rapid
Big Pockwockamus Falls
reach
state
reachlink
Ripogenus Gorge to Debsconeag, Penobscot, W. Branch Maine, US (mobile)
User Comments
Branch for more than twenty years I know it pretty well. Most of the information provided in the
main river description is current but some of it is decades out of date -- the road has been paved
all the way from Millinocket to McKay Station since the 1980s and there hasn't been a gatehouse on
the Golden Road since the mid-1990s. Some of it is just plain wrong -- Magic Falls is on the
Kennebec River, not the Dead. The put-in is at McKay Station, the dam itself is another 0.8 miles
above this point and the upper section of the gorge carries only fish-flow water except during
flooding. Exterminator (Falls) is the top step of the Staircase; it is a genuine Class IV at
2200-2400 cfs and can increase to Class V as the flow level changes either up or down. Easy to
scout from the cliffs above it can be run either left or right depending on the flow. Once you
leave the put-in at McKay the next calm water is Dead Moose Eddy at the foot of the Staircase. The
second drop of the Staircase is marked by Fist Rock (river centre) and this drop can also be run
either left or right, just not too far left because of the pour-over, and not too far right because
there are rocks that can trap a kayak. The Heaters lead into the Little Eddy, which usually has
several fishermen, and from which you leave through Little Eddy Rapids. Troublemaker is a large
diagonal wave from river right to river centre caused by a granite shelf located about halfway
between Little Eddy and the Cribworks. The Cribworks is a great Class V run. As advised in the main
river description scout this rapid carefully from Vulture Rock before you commit to run it. Once
you've passed under Telos Bridge and skirted Telos Hole there are two routes open to you, Turkey
Chute/Shoot (left) and S-Chute (right). The two chutes are split by Pelican Rock. Turkey Chute is
the intelligent choice -- look for the marker wave at its top. Once below Turkey Chute if you can't
make it to river right for Final Drop, go left through the Chicken Run. Do not stay in river centre
because that is where the Boulder Pile waits and I once saw a kayak trapped in it for the better
part of a day before it finally popped out. Below the safety eddies at the Cribworks watch out for
Bonecrusher (river right) as you carry on downstream to Big Eddy Rapids. The public take-out at Big
Eddy is well described in Gary Bamberger's note on the main entry. Well below Big Eddy you find the
ninety degree left which marks the long slide down to Big Ambejackmockamus Falls. The first drop at
Big A can be run either tight left or tight right -- avoid the middle, it is a drowning pool.
Second and third drops at Big A provide good surfing spots where the main flow goes to river left.
Take-out is river right below third drop or continue downstream through the Horserace -- 1.3 miles
of Class II -- it doesn't have much to offer but you can find something to do on the small waves.
Below the Horserace is 2.1 miles of the Nesowadnehunk Deadwater before you round a bend to the left
and find yourself in the shallows at the brink of Nesowadnehunk Falls -- follow the main flow over
the flume river left and be ready to roll. Below the falls is 0.4 miles of shallows before you get
to a great stopping place at Nesowadnehunk Stream (river left) and the start of the Abol Deadwater.
Three miles downstream Abol Bridge crosses the West Branch -- there is a store at this location,
lunch time. Below Abol Bridge is 0.6 miles of moving water before you get to the top of Abol Falls
-- run it right down the centre, both sides have large bones. Another 0.6 miles brings you to
Little Pockwockamus, followed immediately by Big Pockwockamus Falls. Run Big Pock down the centre.
There is a great play spot at the bottom. The main public take-out is river left 0.6 miles below
Big Pock.