NH, ME, VT > June 5-8 > Kayak/Canoe Camping Trip

[atrane21]

Official Plan of Action Below:
Trip - Redstone Covered Bridge to Hiram - Roughly 45 miles give or take a few.

Friday - Those that can make it friday we can all meet up and spot as many cars as possible at the take out point. Hopefully enough so there is no spotting needed on saturday morning. Those arriving Friday we need to find a place near the put in spot to camp so if you have any ideas lets hear it.

Saturday - Everyone else arrives as early as possible so we can get a decent push off time. We will be leaving from Redstone Covered Bridge and there seems to be some decent parking close by for those arriving saturday. Does a 10AM launch time work for everyone? If you're running late we can always wait for you. If this needs to be a little earlier or later please post up and we can work that out. We will paddle saturday for about 15-20 miles and camp some where between Canal Bridge and Walkers Bridge.

Sunday - Get a decent push off time so we have a full day of paddling. We will have about 20-25 miles of paddling this day. We will camp somewhere after Brownfield Bridge.

Monday - We can take out time getting up and pushing off. We should only have roughly 5 or so miles to do this day so we can all get a decent start on the drive home. We will load up all the vehicles at the takeout point with all gear, kayaks, and people and shuttle back to the put in point in Conway.


Things to bring:
- LOTS and LOTS of bug spray! The bugs were INSANE last year.
- We brought some fire wood along as well and split it between all of us so we had some nice dry pieces of hard wood when in camp. Might be a good idea again.
- Food will be to fend for yourself, unless we all decide to pitch in a make some kind of feast.


Anything i'm forgetting or something needs changed above please post up and let me know.

Edit: Here are maps again in case anyone wants to reference.
http://www.woodlandacres.com/images/fbigmap.jpg
http://www.sacovalleycanoe.com/734x6...Ga3y0sUCV_.png
http://s379.photobucket.com/user/sac...t-2-1.jpg.html

Another Edit:
1960HikerDude offered up one of his kayaks for someone that does not have one. Please get in touch with him if you're interested. Also, do I need to make preperations to get any other rental kayaks here on base? Please let me know as soon as possible so we can figure out transportation. Currently I'm in 100% for this trip but I there may be a last minute hiccup if the military decides to finally send me home. But as i said i'm in for sure as of right now and will update if anything changes.

[atrane21]

Camping for friday ideas:
- This campsite is just up river from our put in location. We could all camp there friday night and paddle down stream saturday morning to meet the rest of the group at the bridge. http://easternslopecamping.com/rates.htm

- We could always try and stealth camp some where near by but with spotting most of the vehicles at the take out it might be a major pain to do this.

- There are other campgrounds as well but not quite as close.

Any inputs??

Edit: I just called the eastern campground and they said we can put 4 people on 1 site for $58.99 a night. That'd be roughly $15 a person. The spot where the primitive sites are is just off the water and would be perfect spot to just put in right there in the morning and paddle down to the bridge to meet the others. I think this is going to be our best option. I looked at the sign up sheet and almost everyone is planning on a friday arrival. We will need at least 3 sites.

[jofish]

Hi atrane. I'm trying to convince a buddy of mine to join me, in which case we'd likely bring a 2 person canoe. If not, I'll be coming by myself and looking to rent a 1 person canoe/kayak. I should know in the next couple days if he's in.

Regardless, I'll have to leave Sunday night. Is there a good place to leave a car near the bridge in Brownfield? I'm somewhat familiar with the area (my grandparents have a place in Porter), but I have no idea where I could park Friday night to Sunday night. Thanks!

[atrane21]

Hi atrane. I'm trying to convince a buddy of mine to join me, in which case we'd likely bring a 2 person canoe. If not, I'll be coming by myself and looking to rent a 1 person canoe/kayak. I should know in the next couple days if he's in.

Regardless, I'll have to leave Sunday night. Is there a good place to leave a car near the bridge in Brownfield? I'm somewhat familiar with the area (my grandparents have a place in Porter), but I have no idea where I could park Friday night to Sunday night. Thanks!

There is a big parking lot at brownfield bridge that we parked at last year. It's perfect spot for a takeout.

The only issue I see if you need a kayak from me is what we do with it when u leave on Sunday since we're paddling until monday. Another option is there are outfitters up there you can from and they will actually come drop off and pick up the kayak for you if need be. I'm not sure what they charge though.

[jofish]

There is a big parking lot at brownfield bridge that we parked at last year. It's perfect spot for a takeout.

The only issue I see if you need a kayak from me is what we do with it when u leave on Sunday since we're paddling until monday. Another option is there are outfitters up there you can from and they will actually come drop off and pick up the kayak for you if need be. I'm not sure what they charge though.

Excellent. My buddy is a tentative yes, so that's good news all around. We'd just need someone to help us leave our car at that parking lot in Brownfield, likely later Friday night. Another quick question; are there rules on the Saco about alcohol? Is it allowed? I assume no glass?

[Snaggletooth]

No drunkenness , leave no trace , don't bring more than your boat can hold.

[jofish]

That will be perfect then. Not a big deal either way; I just like to know what what the rules/regulations are beforehand.

[gogrillz]

Sorry guys, can't make this one. We took too many days off for July 4th. Have a great time, looks like a blast!!

[sunshower]

We are 100% in for Saturday 10a launch. We are not familiar with the area and will need something to plug into the GPS to get to the right starting point. We will have a double kayak and will bring our Biolite stove and grill too to share. Should we bring air pads just in case we have to convert hammock to ground?
We are very excited!!

[atrane21]

We are 100% in for Saturday 10a launch. We are not familiar with the area and will need something to plug into the GPS to get to the right starting point. We will have a double kayak and will bring our Biolite stove and grill too to share. Should we bring air pads just in case we have to convert hammock to ground?
We are very excited!!

air pads.. ground??? I don't understand.. i hang from trees haha.

Here is GPS coordinates 43.983226, -71.116213 if you look on the sat view on google maps you can see the red covered bridge right there. Also, there looks to be a parking lot right there for the few cars left there saturday.