ALLAGASH CANOE TRIPS

FOUNDED IN 1953 by Warren Cochrane and his father Herb, Allagash Canoe Trips is the oldest continuously-running guided canoe trip service in Maine. We preserve the best of traditional backwoods canoe-tripping methods combined with modern techniques and equipment that we've found to be effective.

OUR EQUIPMENT is selected for the conditions we expect to encounter in the north woods. We provide all major canoe/camping gear: durable Old Town and Dagger canoes, quality paddles, life jackets, waterproof duffels, tents, cooking and eating utensils, dining fly, first aid kit, and more. If you prefer to use a suitable canoe, tent, PFD, or paddle you're fond of, you're welcome to bring it along.

YOU PROVIDE only your own sleeping bag, pad, clothing, and personal items. When you sign up, we'll send a detailed list of clothing and gear we recommend you bring.

OUR MEALS are a highlight of our trips. Years of experience have taught us how to select the best fresh, frozen, canned, and dried foods, including meats, salads, fresh fruits, natural cereals and whole-grain flours. When in season, vegetables from our own organic garden are on the menu. We serve jumbo pancakes with homemade maple syrup, and bake rolls, biscuits, and delicious nourishing desserts in a reflector oven before the open fire. Every effort is made to provide generous, tasty, and nutritious meals. On a canoe trip you can indulge your healthy appetite and still lose inches around the waist!

YOU WILL RECEIVE EXCELLENT INSTRUCTION in the most efficient handling of your canoe in varied water conditions. We'll teach the beginner fundamentals as well as help more experienced paddlers polish their skills. We take plenty of time preparing you to paddle the river. You will learn to read moving water, a must for successful rapid-running. On our advanced trips, we spend a lot of time scouting and evaluating difficult sections. Whether novice or practiced paddler, you will enjoy yourself while learning on our trips!

Poling is the most ancient way to move boats on water, and the poling tradition in the north woods dates back to the earliest natives. Canoe poling remains to this day the finest way to experience the dynamics of a river, both up and downstream. Once in danger of becoming a lost art, poling is gaining popularity as a sport and recreational activity. Our guides, with decades of traditional wilderness poling experience as well as national championships in sport poling, are uniquely qualified to teach this skill to interested trippers.

WE TAKE PRIDE in our methods of cooperative, respectful existence in the natural world. Although we take little of modern civilization with us, our journey is free from needless hardship. We do not paddle from dawn to dusk, and often our campsite is reached early in the day. If we get wet and cold, we know the comforts of a roaring fire and hearty meal will be ours to enjoy reasonably soon. Sometimes there are unexpected challenges, courtesy of the wind, weather, and water level. In meeting those challenges, you will find you are far more capable than you knew.