Kennebec River, Augusta ME: Wildlife and Current

Beach beside the launch.  That tiny white dot by the bridge piling; a sturgeon jumping or an osprey diving?

  If you're in Augusta, even if you're without boats, you should stop by the boat launch under the Memorial Bridge.  There's a small park there, trees for shade, a playground, picnic tables and benches looking over the river.  And a great variety of wildlife;  we saw osprey, eagles blue heron, herring gulls, mink, and ducklings.  But we were there primarily to look for sturgeon.  Large 3-4 foot long sturgeon, which for unknown reasons jump straight up out of the river, primarily in late June and July.  And, while you can just sit on the shore and look for sturgeon, if you have a boat available, it's also fun to play on the Kennebec River.

     Augusta has about a five foot tidal range, we were there about an hour before low, with a swift moving down river current, and a moderate south wind acting against it.  Noting the eddylines, we choose to ride the current down to buoy 82, cross there and wend our way back using old boom islands to assist us.

  Just above buoy 82 are some great stone buildings, the old Kennebec Arsenal, built between 1828 and 1838.  These structures were annexed by the nearby Maine State Hospital in 1905, and abandoned in 2004.   Note the wonderful broad ship landing, and the elegant copper structures capping the ventilation shafts.  It's a beautiful property, awaiting redevelopment.   

Picking my way back upstream behind boom islands, the launch is just beyond the bridge

    Having made it back to the launch in a reasonable time and with a reasonable effort, we headed north, past Old Fort Western.   Fort Western was built in 1754, and is New England's oldest  remaining  wooden Fort.  A bateau associated with the fort was docked at the landing.

    We made it up to the railroad bridge before reaching a point of no further progress, then crossed the Kennebec and rode down to the buoy again.

Gliding by the Old Augusta Post Office and Courthouse, the mink was hiding along this shore

  Along the way we probably saw ten or twelve sturgeon jump, including a few really big ones.  We didn't get any pictures, but Linwood Riggs, a patient photographer, has captured several jumping sturgeon.  Our wildlife photography was limited to some gangly ducks hoping for a handout.

  It was a delightful evening, temps in the 70's, low humidity, incredible architecture, amazing animals and just a great time to play on the water.

Summary:  Launch:  Augusta Boat Launch, off Howard Lane.  Concrete ramp, kayak condos, several parking spaces shared with a picnic and playground area, porta-potties.  The Augusta Tide Chart is here, it's far enough up river to have a very different tide from most places.  The loop with the extra section was 2.5 miles.

Links:  Kennebec Arsenal  http://www.fortwiki.com/Kennebec_Arsenal
           Wikipedia Kennebec Arsenal:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennebec_Arsenal

Moosehorn to Hot Hole Pond, a Nalu Test

 Having gone to the effort of dragging the Nalu's back up our hill, we figured we may as well take them out in their ideal test environment, a shallow stream with lots of obstacles. 

   The route we picked was a short one, on the Bucksport/Orland line.  Our trip would take us down Moosehorn Stream until it met up with Hole Hole Stream, then up Hole Hole Stream to tiny Hot Hole Pond.  The backdrop to our journey was Great Pond Mountain, whose land held by Great Pond Land Trust

  Moosehorn Streams builds up a little speed as it passes under the bridge by the launch, but for the most part it is relatively slow and shallow.  The bridge is fairly scenic, new cement over what looks to be old granite supports. 

    

Moosehorn Stream runs through a mature forest.  

At the confluence with Hot Hole Stream, there was a beaver dam, which the Nalu crossed easily.  At that point the two streams flow into Alamoosic Lake.

But rather than head into the lake, we turned upstream on Hot Hole Stream, heading out into a marshy landscape.

  It was June in Maine and we were paddling on clean water.  I expected hoards of black flies.  I don't know if it was the temperature ( mid 50's) the gray sky, or the gentle breeze, but few bugs were spotted.  Instead we enjoyed other marsh denizens; red winged black birds, swallows, and grackles.  A pair of geese and their goslings kept a careful eye on us, and a solitary deer wandered along the stream edge.  Unfortunately, none of those pictures came out well, so I will spare you the blurry renditions.

Circumnavigating Hot Hole Pond

    Hot Hole Pond is a smallish pond, it's a place where you can spend the entire day; fishing, hiking, paddling and more.  A group of six canoes had claimed the beach area, and seemed ready to spend a day there.

Picking a route downstream

   The Nalu's did very well on the journey.  Mostly the trip was done standing on the boards, though some tricky areas required kneeling, and I sat for awhile while circumnavigating the pond, just to rest my knees.

A short carry to finish

Summary:  Launch 9:30AM, finish 11:30AM.  Launch where Bald Mountain Rd cross Moosehorn Stream.  Side of the road parking, no facilities.  3.4 miles to and around Hot Hole Pond and back.   Map of the area and trust land