I’m heading up to the West Branch of the Penobscot later this week (Thursday, Friday, Saturday trip) [Wednesday, Sunday on the road]. The level on the nearest upstream gage looks a bit low. I haven’t been up there in twenty years. Anyone have an idea how rocky Big Island to Ragmuff would be at this water level?
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/me/nwis/uv?site_no=01027200
I might just do Roll Dam to Lobster and spend Friday/Saturday around Lobster.
Rainfall is down…not sure on exact fig
Not sure on the Penob from Seboomook Dam downstream, haven’t paddled it since June. There’s a release on the So.Branch 8/22. Most lakes/ponds are okay …fwiw.
Steve
during the period we ran in June
the levels were 140. Rain would help. The rocks were avoidable and we hit nothing even though we were in solo boats and took different lines.
Just make sure you go with the most volume when the river braids below Big in the island section.
Does the west branch ever get too low
– Last Updated: Aug-18-15 6:13 PM EST –
to boat? I'm thinking it was 1981 or 1982 when everything got so low. Black pond totally disappeared, Seboomook Lake was much shorter, beginning quite a ways down the lake bed, past the islands.
North branch and South branch the norm is too low to go during the summer months unless you get a good rain but it never even occurred to me that the west branch could get too low to boat.
The East branch can get scrapy in the summer. Stair Falls, Bowline Falls and Grindstone all benefit from more water not less.
Sebois dries up.
Perhaps the water patterns/releases have changed coming out of Seboomook Dam in the last 35 years, are things really that dry in the NE?
Once ended up on Lane Brook by accident- put in on the wrong beaver flowage- now that was mess. Definately too low to boat at all times of year!