Most Mainers are unaware that we are arguably the whitewater capital of the eastern United States.
At the heart of the sport, is the little town of West Forks in western Maine, which to many is a veritable whitewater Mecca.
It is on Route 201, about an hour north of Skowhegan, and sits at the confluence of the Kennebec and Dead Rivers.
From early May to late October, kayakers, canoeists and rafters flock to this area to challenge the rapids of these two outstanding whitewater rivers.
To accommodate them, an abundance of campgrounds and rafting companies has sprung up throughout this area, collectively known as “The Forks.”
It wasn’t always this way. For nearly a century, the logging industry utilized the Dead, and Kennebec, along with many other Maine Rivers, as the means of floating their logs to the mills, where they were processed for lumber and paper. It wasn’t until the late 1960s and early 70s that all of this changed, and trucks replaced the rivers as the primary means of transporting logs and pulp.
Ed Webb, who has lived on the shore of the Dead River in the West Forks for decades, gladly shares his knowledge of the local history of both the logging and whitewater industries.
He has been a professional logger all of his adult life, and has also been intimately involved with the whitewater business since its infancy. He recalls that his brother shuttled the first two known paddlers of the Dead in 1956, and the whole town waited in fear, fully expecting to see their bodies float past. Fortunately, these pioneer paddlers made it safely downriver.
However, it was not until after the last pulp drive on the Dead in 1969, that there was any serious interest in paddling it. In the spring of 1970, Ed and his late wife Marie, opened a campground next to their house on the river. They were the first to regularly shuttle whitewater boaters the 16 miles up river to the put-in. Two years later, the National Whitewater Championships were held on the Dead, and the races brought it new found fame. As Ed relates, the races didn’t occur without some drama, as two of the participants had long swims and had to be treated for hypothermia.
Although his wife Marie died several years ago, Ed is still running the shuttle business and has many fond memories of some of the early trips when the logging roads were in particularly rough condition. He recalls that on one occasion a trailer loaded with canoes and kayaks flipped and the shuttle riders had get out and lift it upright in order to continue. Another time, a beaver dam had flooded the road, and he and his passengers were forced to breach the dam to make the road passable.
Given his roots, it’s not surprising that Ed’s son Andy has become involved in the whitewater business. Five years ago, he and his wife Karen started a rafting company named Riverdrivers. They continue to run the campground and also operate a small restaurant next to it called Appleton’s.
The Dead River is anything but dead.
Beginning at the outlet of Spencer stream, about 16 miles upriver from the Forks, it is almost continuous whitewater. It’s uncertain how it acquired its name. Many believe that it was named by the men who marched to Quebec with Benedict Arnold early in the Revolutionary War. They followed the traditional Native American route, which was a long portage from the Kennebec River south of the Forks, across an area known as Carry Ponds, to what is now Flagstaff Lake. The carry avoided the whitewater and they encountered primarily calm, or dead, water.
Each year, on the first two Saturdays in May, the operators of the dam at the outlet of Flagstaff Lake release water at a rate of 7000 cubic feet per second (cfs). This, coupled with the runoff from streams below, creates near flood-like conditions, and turns the Lower Dead into a primarily Class IV big-volume whitewater run. It also attracts some of the largest crowds of the whitewater year.
On May 14th, Riverdrivers had a scheduled trip on the Dead.
This particular trip had a strong connection with the Lewiston/Auburn area, as there was a large contingent from Bates College. Organized by Keith Tannenbaum of Auburn, the group consisted of 26 students and three adults. Keith, who is reportedly referred to by some as the “Dean of Fun,” is an Assistant Dean at Bates. He has arranged several similar trips in recent years.
The rafting day began at about 8:30 a.m. when the paddlers arrived at the base camp, which is located on the left in West Forks about a quarter mile after Route 201 crosses over the Kennebec River. First, the rafters checked in, signed waivers and were outfitted with wetsuits. They were also issued life jackets, helmets and paddles. Andy, who is also a raft guide, then conducted a detailed safety orientation. This included paddle techniques and rescue procedures, should the raft flip or someone fall out.
The rafters and their guides were then transported by bus to the put-in, where their assigned rafts awaited them. The shuttle ride took over an hour. A hint of anxiety could also be observed on the faces of those who were on their first rafting adventure.
The put-in could only be described as a zoo of buses, rafters, kayakers and boats, particularly rafts. Despite the apparent chaos, the guides quickly organized the group into six separate raft teams, and topped off their vessels with air. They checked all of the participants to ensure that their gear fit properly, issued last minute instructions, and then the excitement began.
The water volume was estimated to be about 8500 cfs, which provided a beefy and exciting rafting level.
The action began almost immediately with the large waves of Spencer Rips, which careened against a rock wall on river right, and continued with a series of shorter rapids, each containing some large breaking waves that provided a roller coaster ride effect. After about a half an hour of paddling, the nearly mile long Class IV rapid called Mine Field began. Its waves were bigger than the previous rapids, and the holes created by water pouring over rocks were so large that the rafts had to work vigorously to avoid them. About a half mile below Mine Field, we reached a rapid known as Hayden’s. This is one of the more difficult and complex rapids on the river and gets the attention of all boaters. It started with eight-to 10-foot breaking waves and was pock-marked with nasty holes that were waiting to re-circulate unintended swimmers. All six of the Riverdrivers’ rafts made it successfully through. However, a raft from another company was stopped suddenly by one of the more powerful holes and several of its occupants were summarily ejected. They were all safely recovered, but not before they had experienced cold and extended swims.
A little less than midway down the river, we reached an access point called “The Gravel Pit.” This is the last opportunity to get off the river until the Forks. No one in our group chose this option. Below, the intensity of the rapids increased and most were Class IV in difficulty. Right after Enchanted Stream entered on the left, Elephant Rock Rapid began. It is a long rapid that ends with very large breaking waves just to the left of a monster hole created by Elephant Rock. No one wanted any part of that behemoth and everyone paddled hard left. The rapids kept coming at a fast and furious pace, and Andy directed his group to the shore on river left for a welcome break; which included hot chocolate and pastries. It was a much needed respite, as the rapids below were the most difficult and challenging of the day.
Three of the remaining rapids were particularly noteworthy. They were Mile Long, Upper Poplar and Poplar Falls. Mile Long was just that; one mile of continuous waves, pour-overs and hydraulics with a giant hole at the bottom that was about half the width of the river. Several of the rafts in our group punched the hole at the bottom and all were stopped momentarily, but none flipped. Upper Poplar was a shorter, more technical rapid, that culminated with a gigantic wave that probably exceeded a height of twelve feet.
Just downstream was Poplar Falls or Big Pop. This is a long Class IV rapid at virtually any water level and the most difficult on the river. It began with a lengthy, pushy wave train and then plunged precipitously through several big and sticky holes. These holes were so wide and numerous that it was impossible to run the rapid without plowing through many of them. Below, it widened and continued for nearly a half mile with scores of large waves and numerous smaller holes that had to be skirted or punched. All of the rafts in our group had successful runs.
After changing into dry clothes, the day ended with a hearty barbecue at the base camp. Little has changed with the Dead River whitewater experience since it was first regularly paddled 35 years ago. It’s still big, cold, long, challenging and very exciting.
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