kdaanen-nfct: 08/01/2015

Year Four: Repaddling the NFCT in Sections

Part 4: The Nulhegan

Map 6, Day 23: Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Island Pond to Wenlock/Hwy 105 Bridge

Miles: 9
Portages: 3*
Paddling Partners: Kevin Mack and Sam Vainisi
Boat: Wenonah Minnesota II
Wildlife: Loons, Canadian Geese (one on a riverside nest), Ducks
Weather: Threat of rain in morning, gusting winds changing to sunny skies. Temps in the 60s.
Overnight: Clyde River House

Cumulative trip miles: 75

*Portages: 2 (or 3)

This section technically has two portages (Island Pond to Spectacle Pond and Spectacle Pond to Nulhegan Pond), but we had to take out to get around a low snow machine bridge about halfway on the Nulhegan. A few days later another group paddled the same section and the water had dropped several feet allowing them to paddle under the same bridge.

Portage trail through Lakeside Campground

Looking out from Lakeside Campground
take-out (and culvert) toward Island Pond

Spectacle Pond take-out

Portaging along Route 105 to the
Nulhegan Pond put-in

Bill Manning of the Clyde River House shuttled our car to the Wenlock 105 bridge just after Wenlock Crossing and brought us back to the Island Pond city park near the NFCT Kiosk. We had pre-arranged to meet Kevin Mack of the NFCT there for a short paddle while he was in the area. Paddled with a tail wind to the Lakeside Campground. Kevin had to deal with a headwind paddling back to his car while we carried through the marked portage route through the campground and across the street to toward the put in on Spectacle Pond. The official put-in is at the boat launch, but there was an earlier access at the feeder stream into the pond roadside. Tailwind again carried us across the Spectacle Pond to the well-marked take-out that is part of the state parks hiking trails.

We had great weather and little traffic walking along Hwy 105 to the put-in on Nulhegan Pond. Bill Manning told us we could put in earlier after passing the airport where he will sometimes shuttle people. The road looked sandy and not easily wheelable so we just walked a bit further to the official put-in.

The water was running high for us. Best wildlife sighting was of a Canadian goose sitting on a riverside nest.

We encountered two low bridges after putting in on Nulhegan Pond and Hwy 105. The first one is a part of a snow machine trail and the aforementioned bridge we unexpectedly needed to carry around. Second is by the one riverside industry and we could still paddle under it.

We only encountered a few beaver dams within the first section before an additional stream enters river left under a railroad bridge. When the water levels drop and beavers become more active, paddlers are reporting the need to cross 30 or more dams. We only crossed around a half dozen.

The force of the water and the length of our 18'6" Minnesota II canoe made pivoting around all the "S" turns very challenging. This stern paddler felt like she was in a game of "crack the whip" and wasn't faring very well.

We paddled the Nulhegan in under four hours and picked up our awaiting car returning to the Clyde River House for the evening. HIGHLY recommending staying at the quiet fen-side house, if possible.

< End of Sectional Paddle Trip #4 >