Section 10: Day 1   Trip day 33  Wednesday July 16 2014

8 miles /  13  km   Confluence Dead River and Spencer Stream - Spencer Lake

RAIN, Rain and Rain

 

It rained all night. This morning there was a short lull in the rain but as we finished packing in, the rain started again. It felt that all the rain for Maine this summer is falling at that moment.

We put in by the bridge at Spencer Stream at 8 and 2 hours later we made it to the confluence with Little Spencer stream.

Ready to go

 

 

   

The boat kept filling up with water and this was just as much due to water falling from above as to continuously jumping in and out of the boat.

Geoff would not believe me when I told him we were at Little Spencer Stream. It seemed much too small. I got the GPS out and convinced him that the tiny stream coming in was indeed Little Spencer Stream.

Junction with Little Spencer Stream. Time for some M and M's.

 

The trip up Little Spencer Stream was a drag. The boulder garden up to Lower Deadwater seemed like the rapid as shown on the map and we were disappointed when we found that there were still another two to go.

   

 

   

We arrived at the dam at 3 pm and then began puzzling how we were going to get over it. We finally choose to get out in the gully starting just under the dam and then hauled all our gear up to a flat rock. Scouting revealed an anglers path along a cabin to his boat launch. As the cabin was deserted we used this option to get onto Spencer Lake.

   

 

   

 

   

LSS is a beautiful river in the rain. It would be much more rewarding to paddle downstream.

   

 

   

Camping on Spencer Lake requires reservations but we have not had any reception on our Dutch phone since before Groveton. We were deliberating whether to go and camp there anyway when a “ranger” boatman Chris from Poland passed by and we could officially register. We are the only campers tonight at this great beach site. In the cove behind the site a bald eagle is flying back and forth.

   

 

   

We are glad LSS is done!

On reflection LSS is not so difficult, just long and tedious. It took us 7 hours to get from  the Dead river to the Lake whereas a few weeks earlier it took us 8 hours to line up the Clyde from Clyde Pond to Salem Lake. The Clyde was technically more challenging.

Sunset at Spencer Lake

 

 

 
 

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