What’s special about the Allagash
By Matthew LaRoche
Why do people love the Allagash Wilderness Waterway (AWW)? Is it the quiet? The peace of mind? The wildlife? Or is it the fishing? Maybe it is just a chance to get away from technology and the high speed world we live in today. We all need to recharge our batteries once in a while, and the AWW is there waiting for you when you need that rejuvenation.
I recently talked to a friend of mine who had just finished a canoe trip from Indian Stream to Allagash Village. When I asked her what she liked most about the trip, she quickly said, “The quiet, wildlife, and the lack of the next thing to do in this fast-paced life we live.”
Maine’s north woods, and the Allagash in particular, offer outstanding opportunities for solitude – places where the sights and sounds of nature, rather than man and machines, dominate your senses. It is hard to explain until you have experienced it, but when you are all snuggled into your sleeping bag on a cool autumn night, and all you can hear is the water surging over a set of rapids or the call of a loon on a placid lake, you will understand. That is the sound of nature.
September is one of my favorite times of year to be out in the woods and on the waters of this beautiful state that we call home. The bugs have usually retreated for the season, the kids are back in school, the days are warm, and the nights are cool and crisp.
One of my favorite reasons for loving September – the fish start biting again. When the water starts to cool down, those fish that have been sulking in a spring hole, or in the deepest park of the lake, become active again and start moving towards their spawning areas. If you know where to go, it is no secret that brook trout and salmon move towards the major tributaries of lakes to carry out the reproduction of their species. Fall fishing can be fabulous. The fish are all decked out in their spawning colors and are in prime condition.
The only drawback to a fall canoe trip is that the water levels can be low. If you are flexible with your trip itinerary, you can definitely plan an expedition to the waterway around the water levels. If the river is low, you could plan a trip primarily on the headwater lakes or schedule an extra day for the trip, because when the water is low, it will be slow going on the river.
I actually don’t mind the low water, because navigating the river at low water is a little bit like a puzzle – trying to figure out where the best channel is.
Go find your “Maine Thing” to do this fall, and visit the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. You won’t be disappointed!
The Allagash Wilderness Waterway is managed by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Bureau of Parks and Lands. For general information visit www.maine.gov/allagash. For an information packet, call 207-941-4014, or write to the Bureau of Parks and Lands, 106 Hogan Road, Bangor, ME 04401.
Waterway notes: Limited edition, signed and numbered AWW prints are still available for purchase. Profits from the sale of these prints will be deposited into the AWW Endowment Fund. It is contemplated that interest from the fund will someday supplement the regular AWW budget. You can check out the prints at www.maine.gov/allagash.
Matthew LaRoche is superintendent of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway.
