Looking forward to

[Mike P.]

My 4th Allagash Trip. Anyone with info on what gauges to watch for river flow?

 

[hitthePeak]

I found this article that might be helpful How do I interpret gage height and streamflow values? — USGS Water Data for the Nation Help System.

 

[peakbagger]

A friend of mine was helping another friend who has thru paddled the Northern Forest Canoe Trail Northern Forest Canoe Trail in both directions (whose name I cannot remember) and I went to a presentation he did on his second trip where he went east to west, predominantly against the flow of spring runoff. I had researched the Saint John river trip years ago and ran into the same issue that unlike Western Maine and NH through a quirk in geography, rivers flow north to northern Maine and then takes a U turn up in Fort Kent before heading south to the Atlantic. This watershed map shows this quirky area Maine's Watershed Regions - Maine Rivers Therefore the only gauges USGS WaterWatch -- Streamflow conditions that apply are the ones in on the Saint John as the headwaters thaw before the downstream leading to frequent floods down river in Fort Kent. If you look at the Penobscot river gauges, they reflect the normal flow heading south and are not a great indication of what is going on north that far north of there. Talk to anyone who frequents the Allagash over the long term and its crapshot between ice out and the crowds hitting the river. The best source may be the NFCT folks or locals in Maine. This link may be of interest. When is the best time to start a thru-paddle? Several paddlers offer advice They do have a facebook group for their thru paddlers Northern Forest Canoe Trail Paddlers | Facebook

 

[TEO]

Allagash River Near Allagash, Maine

Monitoring location 01011000 is associated with a Stream in Aroostook County, Maine. Current conditions of Discharge, Gage height, and Temperature are available. Water data back to 1910 are available online.

waterdata.usgs.gov