Canoe Camping the Saco River from NH to Maine

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REGISTRATION & PAYMENT REQUIRED: Once you've reviewed the event details, and decided you'd like to join us, you MUST sign up at the bottom of this page. This is a paid event with payment managed through the AOC. Please read the event description carefully for details; you will be given payment instructions after you sign up. Late payments are NOT accepted for this event, in any circumstance.

Canoe Camping the Saco River from NH to Maine

The Basics:

Event Type:

Overnight

Event Location:

Center Conway, NH to Hiram, Maine

Date(s) & Time:

Thu, May 27 2010 9:00 am >> N/A

Registration Opens:

Mon, Feb 8 2010 9:00 pm

Registration Cut Off:

Fri, Mar 12 2010 5:00 pm

Event Duration:

5 days

Difficulty Rating:

D3: Moderate

Trip Leader(s):

Brian Clark
Jessica

Email Trip Leader(s)
You must be logged in to get the Trip Leader contact information.

Member Cost:

$81.00/Person (See Detailed Cost Info Below)

Participant Info:

Who's Invited:

Members Only, 21 And Older Only

Maximum Group Size:

Minimum Group Size:

Number Registered So Far:

14 / 0 (To see who's signed up, log in to the Member Area)

Are Dogs Permitted:

Itinerary:

The Saco River is truly a jewel of New England and one of nature’s most majestic creations. The River was named by Native Americans. Saco means flowing out. The Saco flows mostly south east for about 125 miles. The river originates at the top of New England, elevation 6,288’, the highest peak in the north east, Mount Washington. As run off comes down Mount Washington it fills Saco Lake, a small body of water in Crawford Notch, NH. The river continues and eventually empties into the Atlantic Ocean below Biddeford and Saco Maine.

The Saco is famous for canoe camping. Miles of white sandy beaches make for natural campsites, a privilege found on no other river. For our journey we will paddle a total of 43 miles starting in Center Conway, NH to Hiram, Maine over 3 days and 2 nights. The Saco is a gentle flowing river - no paddling experience necessary - but given that we are paddling 43 miles over 3 days that's an average of over 14 miles a day - your arms and shoulders will be tired.

We are responsible for our own food and cooking gear, pack like you would for a backpacking trip EXCEPT no stove fuel is allowed on planes, so we will visit EMS (Eastern Mountain Sports) to purchase our stove fuel for the trip once we arrive in Conway, NH.

This is not an intimidating river, it is a gentle-flowing river, if you are new to paddling or backpacking don't hesitate to sign up, we will cover more of the specifics needed in the pre-meetings, but you will at least need to own or borrow the basic items in the required items list below.

Thursday May 27, Day 1:
Flight from Atlanta, GA to Boston, MA (arrive in Boston no later than 3pm so you can catch the last bus to Conway, NH). Proceed to the ground transportation area and find the Concord Trailways bus line. You will take the bus to South Station in Boston, here you will need to get off the bus to purchase your round trip ticket to Conway, NH. Once we arrive in Conway we will go food shopping for our trip and pack our food. Then we will proceed to the outfitter and camp there overnight.

Friday May 28, Day 2:
Have breakfast at our campsite at the outfitters, go over trip details, load our canoes, and plan to be on the water by 11am, then it's paddle paddle paddle to our river campsite for the evening.

Saturday May 29, Day 3:
Row, row, row your boat, gently down the Saco to our next river camping site.

Sunday May 30, Day 4:
Continue to paddle our butts off then meet outfitter at take out, we will camp back at the outfitters this night before heading home the next day.

Monday May 31, Day 5: Concord Trailways bus back to Boston/Logan airport, flight from Boston to Atlanta.

Required Items to Bring:
Tent
Sleeping Bag/Pad
Cooking and eating gear
Waterproof Bags/Garbage Bags
Bathing Suit
Water Shoes
Warm/Dry clothes for night time

Cash for grocery/food unless you bring your own
Cash for rental vehicles

Recommended Items to Bring:
Use our Event Checklists to make sure you have everything you need.

Backpacking style camping chair
Water Filter if you have one

How to Get There:

Event Directions:

Boston/Logan Airport has the cheapest flights from Atlanta. From Logan airport Concord Coach Lines has a bus that runs twice a day to Conway, NH, one at 9:25am arriving in Conway at 1:20pm and one at 4:40pm arriving in Conway at 8:25pm. On the return trip to Logan Airport there are also two trips leaving Conway, one at 8:30am arriving in Logan at 12:35pm and one at 2:50pm arriving in Logan at 6:35pm. The round trip cost is $64 per person, it's cheaper and easier than renting a car, I've done the math! You can purchase your bus ticket at the terminal, reservations are not accepted, and I've never seen a full bus to Conway before.

I will get one rental mini-van in Conway so we can go food shopping, travel to and from bus terminal to outfitter, etc. The lowest cost I found is $400 for a week, or $20 per person plus gas. A mini-van will only hold 7 of us, so we will have to make a couple trips to and from the bus terminal and store, but it's better than paying $60 per person for 3 rental vans just so we can all go at once, unless the group doesn't care either way. It's only a 10 minute drive from the bus station to the outfitter, and the grocery store is on the way.

Notes:

We will have a couple pre-trip planning meetings to discuss food and travel logistics while in NH, find our paddling partner, etc.

Important information for paid events in which payment is managed through the AOC:

- Payment must be received by the payment due date and prior to participation in the event.

- Some paid events require a minimum number of registered participants. If that number is not met, the event will be canceled and refunds will be issued to those who have already paid.

- Third-party vendors often require damage deposits. Each registrant agrees to be liable for and required to reimburse the Atlanta Outdoor Club for any withheld deposits due to the actions of or damages caused by that registrant.

- No partial payments. All registrants must pay the posted Member Cost regardless of any agreement you may have with any party involved in the event.

- Read the event description carefully for additional information, and contact the trip leader(s) with any questions.

* We encourage all members to follow our Etiquette Guidelines while participating in AOC events.

Cost & Payment:

Member Cost:

$81.00/Person

Non-Member Cost:

$91.00/Person

Cost Includes:

COST INCLUDES:

1. Canoe rental (2 people per canoe)
2. Shuttle
3. Private parking for our rental vehicle(s)
4. River map and briefing
5. Two nights camping on outfitter grounds (1 before trip, 1 after trip)

NOT INCLUDED BUT COSTS TO BE INCURRED:
1. Airfare from Atlanta to Boston (Airtran and Delta are as low as $160 round trip with enough advance purchase)

2. One (1) 7 passenger mini-van rental is additional $400 for a week, or $20 per person to be paid in cash at arrival. We can rent more than 1 mini-van, but it ups the cost $20 per person for each van we rent.

3. Food/beverages - because we will be shopping once we arrive bring $50 - $100 or your favorite credit/debit card.

Payment Cut Off:

Payment must be received by the AOC on Fri, Mar 12 2010.

Make a Payment:

Click here for the details. PLEASE PAY AFTER YOU HAVE SIGNED UP BELOW.

Cancellation/Partial Attendance: Please review the AOC cancellation policy.
*Note:

Payment due by 5pm March 12th, 2010, deposit not required.

It is your responsibility to get the payment in on time.
Please allow two days for processing a PayPal transaction and one week for a check.

If you cancel between March 13th and May 7th, 50% is refundable less a $10 handling fee. If someone else pays and takes your spot, you will receive a full refund less $10.

No refunds available after May 7th unless someone from the wait list replaces you and pays in full, then you'll receive full payment less a $10 handling fee.