packrafting in New England
anybody have any recommendations for a hike/packraft loop of any length in New England? actual experience valued, but not essential.
Lazarus
Allagash wilderness waterway in Maine outside fly out by sea plane from Millenockett not exactly rafting more like canoe or kayak but a beautiful adventure in untouched forest.....few logging roads and some old hunting cabins that's about it.Originally Posted by 1azarus
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Well if you want some gross speculation... looking at that NET map I see lots of blue spots.
A few wilderness lakes there by Ragged Mountain might be fun to poke around and find some isolated spots to hang along the shoreline.
Not sure what going down the Connecticut River would be like?... but looks like a few options where the trail could be used to form a loop back to the car.
Another Kevin may have some better speculation on some routes through the Adirondacks.
Otherwise, as you know, I'm no big fan of pool toys so I have no actual experience with them or that region in general.
If I ever were to use one though... any good canoe country would be nice as you could take some of the longest portages and get back into the areas that those toting 16' canoes may not wish to tread. So if you know a popular canoe route, look on it's margins and you'd likely have a good packraft trip.
I've never packrafted - although it looks interesting - and I haven't paddled (at least not more than a day trip in a rented boat) in years.
New York is not New England!
As far as the Adirondacks go, St Regis Canoe Area and Saranac Lakes Wild Forest are paddler's heaven. St Regis has over fifty ponds, so it's really a place to just get out and explore. The Seven Carries and Nine Carries are popular routes through it. I thru-paddled the Saranac Lakes once when I was in high school (it takes only a couple of days) and that was great, too.
When I resupplied in Long Lake on my second attempt at the Northville-Placid, there was a group of boy scouts shopping in Hoss's (or was it Northern Borne?) who were in the middle of a 50+-mile paddle of the Raquette River, and they were obviously having a blast!
And then there's the Northern Forest Canoe Trail. Some of the portages are hellish with a boat - I heard of one through-paddler who wore out three sets of wheels. Trying those sections with a packraft might be interesting, they're easier to carry. The NFCT runs from Old Forge, NY, on the west side of the Adirondacks, to Fort Kent, Maine, so some stretch of it is indeed in New England.
I always know where I am. I'm right here.
Maybe check out the Saco River in Maine? Years ago we used to do a Memorial-Day weekend trip down the Saco, near Fryeburg. In any case you're very close to prime hiking in the White Mountains.
http://www.sacobound.com/saco/camping.php
I have led several canoe/backpack loops of the Bigelow range and Flagstaff lake in western Maine. Pretty country. With at risk kids we took 6-9 days but you could do it faster. Wind could hold you up in a packraft at times.
People have done this on the CT river from the headwaters in NH all the way down to Old Saybrook at the Sound. There was a writer at the Hartford Courant that did it in a canoe and wrote a series of articles along the way if you want to look that up. The Saco River may also offer some opportunities, presuming we start getting some rain sometime.
so, my "dream" is that this loop is really about a great hike in one direction, and drifting (not paddling) on a river (not a lake) to get back to a car. the packrafting is hopefully an entertaining distraction/bragging rights component. it should possibly even work with an inflatable sleeping pad. i am basically a hiker, not a canoe guy. I ran into a hiker from Alaska a while back that went on and on about this packrafting approach -- hike out of town, float back home. seems pretty "organic."
Lazarus
Yar- I think you summed up the basic appeal well.
The western folks at BPL are really the drivers of the sport- as that territory/terrain lends itself better to the general turning of the wheel one can find when hiking from a rivers outlet up to it's source and then turning around and floating home. The packraft seems to be the most practical tool to answer the challenge of the wild river crossings found in the wilds of western North America- or simply the only option for some routes on the more extreme side of use.
They seem to handle a rapid okay- but they don't track for **** and there's almost no chance I'd consider one for any real lake crossing or upstream use.
But it's not meant to be a cruiser in canoe country by any means and your approach seems best suited to that craft- a decent float with some steering. You might get away with a double pad... but you might recall some discussions had here on various sleeping pad floats and the logistics. That said... you might find a 6' diameter float tube makes a decent sleeping pad if you want to flip the concept. I've seen several at BPL claim to use their packraft as a sleeping pad in fair weather... and I know I've enjoyed a nap or two in a tube. At your height you'd likely find the 6' tube a similar lay to your hammock.
On that note... look up a tubing/canoe rental place. They will know some local floats and you could likely tie in a hike around them if you find the right one. Wouldn't plan much more an a mile an hour on a lazy float unless you were out on spring swells. So a 20-40 mile hike with a 10-15 mile return would be plenty for a long weekend. I can think of a great example of that option here with the Hennepin canal trail and Fox River- guessing you've got something similar if you poke around and ask a few of those folks where they do their floats.
Is the Connecticut River something you could reasonably go on? Looked like you could easily find a section or two of the NET to tie into with a side trail for access- specially up in MA.
Otherwise I think folks are pushing you towards Maine as that's likely the closest geographically to the typical western out'n'back packraft style trip.
Moose river loop up in Jackman Maine, More than 30 miles with two portages that start and end the trip at the same landing. Has every thing you could look for the whole trip is lake or downstream, nice little mountain that you travel completely around and can hike to from multiple spots. Legal established campsites. a nice little waterfall and some little rapids and it can easily be done with little experience in 3 nights it can be done in 1 long day if the water is way up and you know what you are doing. But it is so nice you will want to take three nights.
I have no experience packrafting, but wonder if PA's Pine Creek would be suitable to descend using such craft to Ramsey after following the Mid State Trail (guidebook sections 15 and 16) north to Blackwell, or from Ansonia back to Blackwell after hiking up West Rim Trail.
check section hiker. he has posted on both trips and gear.
Can't blame you for not wanting to pack raft lakes. If you don't mind a shuttle as part of the loop doing the northern section of the Cohos trail could pair with a descent of the northern stretch of the Connecticut river previously mentioned. The northern Cohos still has some road walking and you might have to deviate a little if you want to avoid the Connecticut lakes. While the Connecticut is a front country river my understanding is that there are reasonable camping options. It could make sense to pick a likely river that would be a nice paddle and stitch together a walking route from existing trails, logging road/snowmobile trail, and bushwhacking to make a loop. The St. Croix river on the ME/New Brunswick border is a great relatively easy back country paddle though I am unsure of the surrounding land. Fun to ponder.
https://runbox.com/mail/read?message=2201207
packraft mass drop...
Lazarus
? ? ? ? ? ? ?
i thought the link worked... for kokopelli hornet lite packraft
Lazarus
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