Sheepscot serves up thrills to whitewater enthusiasts

By KEN ALLEN

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Paddle name: Sheepscot River Region: Kennebec Water type: Rapids sections in spring Difficulty: Intermediate Length: 7 miles between Kings Mills and Head Tide ends with a set of rapids about three miles long Put-in: Between Route 17 in Coopers Mills and Sheepscot village. Take-out: Same as put-in. Other: The riverbed drops so quickly just before the Kings Mills and Head Tide section that folks sitting low in a canoe just upstream must confront a frightening illusion. Maps: Get driving directions from MapQuest.

During my 20s, white-water canoeing became a passion. The sport usually has a short season in Maine, dependent on the spring run-off. The exact time frame varies with weather patterns, but high water generally lasts from mid to late March until about mid-June, the latter depending on latitude and elevation. In short, spring comes early to the bottom third of the state and late to Aroostook and Piscataquis counties. This year, though, it is coming later than usual for sure from Kittery to Fort Kent.

The Sheepscot River between Route 17 in Coopers Mills and Sheepscot village has plenty of spring traffic, and by mid-April, canoes and kayaks have tattooed rocks up and down the river with varying colors of paint. Thirty years ago, aluminum marks predominated, but these days, I see a rainbow of colors but not much silver, illustrating that hulls built from space-age resins dominate in the 21st century. Each spring, this river attracts crowds because even though roads parallel both sides, unbroken forests between the banks and road create the illusion of wilderness. Yes, make no mistake. This is a delightful float.

The Sheepscot offers few, scary thrills for experienced canoeists between Coopers Mills and Sheepscot village, but it is no place for a novice to learn white-water canoeing. Or, more precisely, I would not want my teenage daughters learning to negotiate rapids and blow-downs there.

The stretch between Route 17 and the confluence with the West Branch of the Sheepscot runs fast and narrow, and a few times, I have come rocketing around a bend and had to do some frantic maneuvering to get around a tree that had fallen across the channel. Can you visualize a raging current pinning you in the limbs of a fallen tree?

The seven-mile section between Kings Mills and Head Tide ends with a set of rapids about three miles long. The riverbed drops so quickly there that folks sitting low in a canoe just upstream must confront a frightening illusion. They cannot see the river below the very start of the white-water — only trees and sky — so it looks as if the Sheepscot is dropping off the end of the earth. This creates the image of a high falls, which sends newcomers ashore to view the river below from the safety of the bank, before downstream in the canoe.

In high water, canoeists sail over the boulders to Head Tide, but in lower flows, successfully negotiating the rock-strewn channels calls for draw-, pry- and back-stroke skills in unison with a partner. Really high water comes with another problem — haystacks at the foot of short, sharp drops that funnel through narrow openings. The trick is to back paddle hard to slow the canoe so the bow does not plow into the hill of water, which can lead to a giant lapful of the icy Sheepscot, maybe enough to submerge the craft.

White-water canoeists often tell tales of near-death experiences, but despite what I have just said, most of my memories are extremely pleasant and docile. For example, 30 years ago, David Brann, who grew up in Windsor, and I were canoeing between Head Tide and Puddle Dock, a lowery, unseasonably warm day that created a lifetime memory of a simple dining pleasure.

Dave spotted strings of groundnuts, hanging high and dry against a sheer, dirt bank on the outside of a bend. These almond-sized tubers grow like a necklace, connected together with a vein-like root, so we raked them off with our hands as the canoe drifted past. Normally, collecting enough for a meal requires plenty of digging, but that day, gathering a glutton's portion took less than a minute.

After we gathered the wild food, Dave gave me the history and folklore of this plant. Groundnuts were a staple of Native Americans and early settlers, and it is easy to see why. They have a potato-like taste, so baking them with butter and onions creates a flavorful side dish.

A lot of my white-water canoeing trips have stories galore like this one, emphasizing a truth about outdoors sports. Often, the pleasures have nothing to do with the sport itself and furthermore, can be a delightful learning experience.

Central Maine has myriad rivers to float, and I have done the Medomak from the Ellard Road in Waldoboro to downtown Waldoboro as well as the upper reaches of that historic, Mid-coast drainage, large sections of the St. George, larger sections of the Sandy, a very dangerous river, and more too numerous to mention.

(Just as a side note for folks heading to the St. George, "Come Spring" by Ben Ames Williams, a best-selling, historical novel published in 1940, is about the the settlement of St. George River valley.)

Even the somewhat gentle Medomak offers bad stretches for novices, but books such as the AMC Canoeing Guide offer solid information on easy sections of these rivers, where beginners can practice the intricacies of paddling in currents.

Newcomers to river running should never ignore advice about the dangers of high water in spring. Canoeists and kayakers need three items this time of year — life preserver, wetsuit and helmet — as well as an attitude best described with a cliché. In rapids, discretion is the better part of valor.

To reach Ken Allen
e-mail: kallyn800@aol.com