Pierce Pond Stream
Pierce Pond to Kennebec River
| Difficulty | V+ |
| Length | 3.2 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 183 fpm |
| Reach Info Last Updated | May 9, 2012 |
River Description
Tom McKee shared, in Boater Talk,
'Sweet Run
Only a few people have paddled this creek but it could very well be one of Maine's hardest and most fun runs. I only got to do about the top 2 miles and had to hike out due to low water. Check out the 'Falling Down' video (I think) (Chris Gorman: 'The video is called 'Over the Edge''), there is some nice footage of BJ and co. doing some of the big drops. If you do get on it, watch out for serious undercuts and very sharp rock. This run is not a typical Maine creek for this reason. Also, if you hike up to do the very top, make sure you either go up the AT side (river left) or, if you go up river right, check in at the lodge and ask permission.' The initial descent was in the 1993 by Bill and Joan Hildreth and Glenn Belongie.
Approx. gradient, mile-by-mile: 160, 230, 140, and 110 in the last 0.5 . Fun!, but there are some spots where the countour lines fall right on top of one another...like, 100 feet in less than 0.2 miles.
River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportThis is a great run. I was a little intimidated by the above comments, but I would call this a very manageable class V run. There were three drops we portaged that are definitely big time class V rapids. The first one looked the most runnable, but had a tree at the bottom. This one fell perhaps seventy feet in three distinct steps. It would be quite sick without the tree. We had to rope boats around a vertical 30 footer landing on rocks (makable line on river right, but no takers in our group). Towards the end is a sliding drop of around fifty feet total that also lands on rocks. We were able to seal launch in for the last thirty on river right. I believe all of these drops have been run in their entirety.
The rock is sharp, the run is committing, and it shouldn't be taken lightly, but this is well within the abilities of most competent Class V boaters. Enjoy!