Allagash question

[swamp]

I'd like to take a shot at an Allagash trip ( maybe next month if I can pull it off). My only big problem is how do I get to the point where me and my kayak are at Chamberlain Lake and my truck is at Allagash Village. I know that my options are 1: Park at Allagash Village and get transport to the put-in., 2: Drive to the put-in and arrange for someone to drive my vehicle to Allagash, or 3: Fly in to Chamberlain and get my truck to Allagash somehow.
Anyone have any experience with this and how you handled it (and what the various options might cost)?

 

[Bob]

put the 'Busa in the back of your truck and lock it to a tree at the take out point...

 

[el-bagr]

While I haven't run that exact trip, I've run multi-day river trips in the area using shuttle services -- either driving to the put-in and paying a local to drive my vehicle to the take-out, or getting a pick-up at trip's end to ride back to the put-in. Advantages of having someone shuttle your vehicle to the take-out include (1) once you're off the river, you're free to do whatever you want, and (2) if your truck's already at the take-out, it doesn't matter when you get there, even if you're a day early or a day late.

Do check with North Maine Woods (or don't) before you try taking a motorcycle into Chamberlain Lake, even in the back of a truck. I'm not sure how you could get there without going through a checkpoint, and 2-wheelers are prohibited.

 

[RoySwkr]

A few years ago the cheapest way was to have a shuttle service drive your vehicle from put-in to take-out, they would take a vanload of drivers in sometime the week you were out and perhaps retrieve vehicles from several groups at once. This is actually faster than flying back as it can take place in parallel with your trip.

Next cheapest is to have the shuttle service just drive you back -they don't need to have space for all your gear.

If you don't want your vehicle on logging roads, you can hire somebody to drive in the whole group with gear but naturally that tends to cost the most.

The general store in Allagash (Pelletier's?) can put you in touch with a shuttle service.

 

[spider solo]

We stayed a night at an outfitter in Allagash then he dropped us with his truck near Allagash Lake if I remember correctly and we paddled back to our vehicle.
This was quite a while ago, so you won't be finding him these days.

His name was Wilma, probably spelled differently. One thing to keep in mind was this fellow only had one leg...he had lost the other in a crash a few years earlier, on the dirt roads in the back country.
If you find yourself driving on them in dry weather any vehicle kicks up a big cloud of dust. The custom is to pull over till the dust clears a bit then continue.

Though I can't speak for Chamberlain Lake in particular, my vote would be to use a local outfitter for the shuttles.

It should make a nice paddle trip for you and you'd be ahead of the busy season.

 

[psmart]

For a more ambitious trip with a minimum of back-road driving, drive to the north end of Moosehead Lake, put in at Roll Dam, paddle the West Branch to Chesuncook Lake, them upstream to Mud Pond Carry, portage to Chamberlain Lake, down the Allagash, and get a float plane to take you from the St John River back to Moosehead Lake. Takes 10+ days, and covers a lot of country that a typical Allagash visitor never sees.

 

[CINDERSMOM]

We did that trip quite a few years ago. We thought the shuttle fees were a little high so we just went and put on and paddled and said we would deal with the shuttle when we were done. About a day from Allagash village we saw a sign on the side of the river "Shuttle service" and a phone number. We took down the number and continued on. When we got to Allagash village we went to the store and inquired about a shuttle. They offered to do it for a fee. We then called the number and negotiated a better fee with the gentleman at the other end. we just had to wait for him to finish his breakfast and then he came and took us and our canoe back to Churchill Dam. It was about an 8 hour ride on all dirt roads. He was a retired gentleman with nothing else to do that day and happy to chat with us. But after getting the ride we realized that the shuttle fees really aren't that high, it's a long way back to your car by road.

 

[blaze]

Sean Lizotte, who owns Allagash Guide Service, was recommended to me, and so we used him in 2009 for one night's lodging (a very roomy and reasonably priced log cabin), canoe rental, and shuttle from Allagash Village to our put in (Churchill Dam, in our case).

http://allagashguideservice.com/

Have a great trip!

Jonathan

 

[Amicus]

Sean Lizotte, who owns Allagash Guide Service, was recommended to me, and so we used him in 2009 for one night's lodging (a very roomy and reasonably priced log cabin), canoe rental, and shuttle from Allagash Village to our put in (Churchill Dam, in our case).

http://allagashguideservice.com/

Have a great trip!

Jonathan

Sean did well by us too under the same circumstances in '06. We saved money by foregoing the cabin - he let us sleep free on its very roomy porch.