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Canoeing and other outdoor adventures in New BrunswickMay 21 Gounamitz River(May 16 & 17, 2009)After having no luck in finding a shuttle driver for the Nepisiguit, we decided on the Gounamitz River. Alica, Tyson, Scooby and I left Fredericton around 6 PM Friday night and arrived at Andre Arpins at 9:30 PM. The campground was closed for the night so we found a nice campsite on the Restigouche River. We were the only tents in the campground. There were lots of blow downs which gave us plenty of dry firewood for the night. We set up our tents and had a few drinks. Morning came early as the temperatures were at or below zero. I was first to get up and started a fire and warmed myself as the others awakened. We boiled some water for coffee and had a quick breakfast of oatmeal. The sun rose slowly over the Restigouche as we packed up our tents and readied ourselves for the trip ahead. Alicia was nervous the river might have too many difficult rapids. We did know there were 3 sets of falls that might have to be portaged. Andre had also warned us that there may be many sweepers on the upper stretch as we were most likely the first Gounamitz paddlers of the year. His shuttle driver arrived shortly after 8 am to pick us up. The shuttle was around 45 minutes of woods road travel. There were many blow downs across the wide lumber roads that we could barely get around. Our driver had a chainsaw though in case we needed it. Alicia was not long figuring out that if blow downs like these were across the wide roads, the narrow Gounamitz would be most likely be blocked by many sweepers. Around 4 kms from our put in, a large washout about 5 feet wide by 3 feet deep spanned the road. Tyson and I were quickly and silently thinking of ways we could get around this unforeseen obstacle when the shuttle driver told us we would go no further. I'm sure the looks on our faces mimicked that of a child who has just dropped their candy down the sink.  Meanwhile, Alicia was ecstatic and glowing from ear to ear. Unbenounced to us she was praying the whole drive that we would not be able to reach the put in. Our only option was to put in at the second falls, about 12 kms downriver from our initial plans. The secondary road was steep and we had to cut and remove a few blow downs along the way. Alicia's chin was very high as she expressed her exuberance to the shuttle driver about our new starting point, at which time I asked him if he could perhaps shuttle Alicia back with him.  After a little sulking from Tyson and I, we reached our destination. None of us were interested in running the falls this early in the morning. The river ran very clear like many of the northern NB rivers. We thanked our shuttle driver and began packing our canoes for the journey. Shortly after launching, we came to the third falls. The only passable route was on river right but a sweeper hung over the only runnable line. We ferried across to river left and lifted the canoes over the rocky ledge. The river ran quickly at a fairly steep elevation drop. We stopped and scouted some rapids along the way that we ran successfully before stopping at an island for lunch. The sun was shining and the temperatures reached the high teens. Shortly after lunch, we reached the confluence with the Little Main Restigouche. The river deepened here but remained swift. We began searching for a suitable campsite for the night. Our driver told us there were a few shelters along the river. We came to our first around 3PM, but that did not interest us as there was much noise coming from the many vehicles and ATVs parked there. We continued about an hour downstream and came across the second shelter completely empty. The road to the shelter was washed out and had a few blow downs across it. We happily set up camp here. After a few refreshments and a nice supper of marinated venison, chicken, potatoes and vegetables, we retired for the night. Rain pelted out tents all night but we remained dry and comfortable. We took our time and cooked up a nice breakfast of fried potatoes and eggs under our shelter. We only had about 1.5 hours to the take out but enjoyed ourselves in spite of the rainfall. We packed our gear in our awaiting vehicle and headed for home. It was a very nice trip even though we did not get to run the full length of the Gounamitz. Pics are below. South Branch Oromocto River(April 25, 2009)Kyle and I were in the hunt for a river that neither of us has paddled. We didn't have to go far to find the South Oromocto. We both knew little about it other than having some nice rapids and a falls about half way down. We parked my vehicle at the take out at the Smyth covered bridge and Kyle's friend drove us to the put in off the South Oromocto Lake rd. Water looked promising as it flowed over the dam on the South Oromocto lake, under a bridge and around a quick corner. We launched a little before 9am. We paddled cautiously in the fast moving current with only a width of 15-20 feet. Some nice rapids and no sweepers put us into the first quiet section. Nothing much to worry about in the upper stretches other than sweepers, although we had no issues on this day. Many quick rapids with quiet pools below for the first couple hours. We entered a couple large deadwaters, each ending in some nice rapids with big waves. We spent most of the morning scouting any rapid that disapeared around a corner. Neither of us were quite sure where exactly the falls were or how big they were, nevertheless we did not want to take a chance. It was around noon when we passed under the only bridge before the falls. It is only a couple kms downriver from here to the falls. There is a fairly long rapid before another quiet section and then one short rapid and a quick turn which signals the beginning of the gorge. We first eddied out on river left but could see no signs of a portage trail so we ferried across to river right. There was no immediate signs of a portage here either. After looking around for a couple minutes we decided to start making our way through the trees. Most of this area had just been pre-commercially thinned, making for enough room between the trees but a mess of brush and small stumps all over the forest floor. We decided that we would both take one canoe at a time and man handle through the woods. Shortly into the portage, our path ended at a steep vertical drop to the gorge. We were forced to go straight up the hill. After about a 100 feet or so we stumbled onto an old road. From here we followed the road away from the river until it met with another that headed back towards the falls. He hauled the canoes by rope over the snow down to a lookout spot. From here we had to make our own trail down the steep hill to the river. I'm glad we decided to do this portage in one trip instead of two. It was certainly not an easy portage and porbably the reason why not many people canoe this river. Now I am going to be really pissed if someone tells me there was a perfectly good trail on river left. Well good exercise if nothing else. The river below the falls is all quick water with no rapids right up to the Smyth covered bridge. It is an enjoyable trip and the most scenic from the falls down. Steep hillsides and large trees make up most of the scenery. Definetly worth doing again but it sure would be nice to have a proper portage trail. April 28 New Paddling Club in the Fredericton AreaA new paddling club called the Tumblehome Padllers has now been formed in the Fredericton area. The club is open to all ages who already paddle or who are looking to get into canoeing or kayaking. For more information on memberships or to attend an upcoming meeting, please email me at amosm@nbnet.nb.ca.
Mitchell AMos March 06 My New BusinessI have just started a new business in canoe and kayak sales and rentals. Check out my webpage at http://www.amosoutfitters.ca for information on pricing. January 07 Winter camping at MactaquacOff to the woods Alicia and I went this weekend carrying my new winter tent on my new pulk. We decided to give mactaquac a try as they have nice trails and its all free...including firewood. We carryed all our gear in on two pulks, each weighing about 80 lbs. The ski to the campground was mostly downhill and only a couple kms away. We picked a site around noon on saturday and starting digging an area big enough for the 12x12 tent. After a few hours of setting up, I skiied a short distance to load up some firewood for the night. We cooked up some supper on the wood stove and relaxed next to the warm fire for the rest of the evening. We both had a pretty good sleep. I was able to keep the inside of the tent warm by getting up every couple hours and stogging the stove full. The temperature outside the next morning was -5C. We decided to carry everything out the next day in 3 loads instead of 2 as it was all up hill back to the truck. The tent is definately overkill for just 2 people. I think it would be perfect for 4 people, each carrying about 40 lbs. We are looking forward to trying Fundy next.
Mitchell Amos |
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