Fordin' Rivers

[dirtyjerz]

So my biggest concern with my thru-hike next year is having to ford streams/rivers... It's something I've never had to do before and I was hoping to get an idea from any past thru-hikers what to expect in terms of of fording i.e. how big do the rivers get, do they tend to be deep? I heard there is a fair amount of water to cross in Maine? I'm just looking for any info, tips or suggestions anyone has to offer.

Dirty Jerz

[Tin Man]

no problem on the AT

[now close thread quick before the trouble starts]

[dirtyjerz]

thanks, i read the river crossing post in the thru-hiker info but its vague for info about the AT. i appreciate your quick response.

[Tin Man]

some bring sandals or crocks to keep their boots dry. most of the wading, not really fording, is in maine. no issue really.

[Tin Man]

some bring sandals or crocks to keep their boots dry. most of the wading, not really fording, is in maine. no issue really.

of course, after storms or in a wet year, there can be considerable wading in just about every state

[Tinker]

I had no trouble in all the miles in New England. The rivers were low on all of my section hikes, though. If necessary, when someone's doing a thru, they have the luxury of waiting a day or two for a flood to subside.

[KG4FAM]

It depends on when you are there. I have done it in July and the rivers don't usually come above the knee. The Piscataquis has been the more difficult (not that difficult really) in my opinion. Earlier in the season its supposed to get bad sometimes. This year when we reached the Carrabasset River it got too high to cross after some good rain and the plank was washed sideways. The map shows how to bail out without backtracking over Crocker. Some rivers are nice though. I spent a couple of hours playing in the West Branch of the Pleasent River.

[Tin Man]

I had no trouble in all the miles in New England. The rivers were low on all of my section hikes, though. If necessary, when someone's doing a thru, they have the luxury of waiting a day or two for a flood to subside.

When I hiked thru southern VT in September following a big storm a couple of years ago, the footpath was under water for a couple of miles. And, believe it or not, the footpath on the Moosilauke/South Peak? ridge line, again in may, two years ago was under water. Beaver Brook Trail in the snow, ice, runoff was fun!

The best advice is to not stress out about what might happen and just go. Feet and boots do dry out easy enough... eventually. The AT is very passable during the regular summer season.

[Slo-go'en]

I broke a toe, years ago, crossing the West Branch of the Pleasent river barefoot. Slipped off a slimy rock one step from the opposite bank. This was in early October and didn't know it was broken for a couple of days because it was so cold out it kept the swelling down.

The only serious stream fords are in Maine and usually in the fall the water is only ankle deep. Except this year which was an unusually wet summer and fall. For much of the fall, the water was 2-3 feet deep.

I don't know about using Crocks to ford streams with. I can't keep those things on my feet on dry land! Stop, take your boots and socks off, put the boots back on, cross, dump water out of boots, dry feet, put socks and boots back on. If you have treking poles, extend the length of the poles before crossing.

[woodsy]

dirty jerz: I'm just looking for any info, tips or suggestions anyone has to offer.If the water is running high and fast and you're good with a lasso, theres usually a long legged swamp donkey (moose) hangin round most water up this away.
Just reign the beast in, point him in the direction you wanna go, hop on and dig you heels into him a lil, its the dry way across. Good luck!

[Idealist]

Hopefully, you’ll experience the mild rivers that the other posters are referencing. I think those are the norm. But, last summer, we were hiking in record rainfalls and the rivers were swollen, even dangerous at times. We crossed one at chest level and many above the knee.
In case the rivers are too high/rapid, my advice:
(1) carry a map (and compass) in case you need to find an alternate route (bridge crossing)
(2) be prepared to camp out a day or two while the water recedes
(3) if the AT crosses at a particularly gnarly point, easier/shallower crossings may be found up/downstream.

There are river crossing techniques/tips; you could look into if you are really nervous. (I don’t know what they are.) Otherwise, just cross with a buddy and keep your pack unfastened incase you need to jettison it.

[warraghiyagey]

Fording in Maine is part of the fun, shoes off, shoes on, keep on hikin'!:sun:sun

[Lone Wolf]

Fording in Maine is part of the fun, shoes off, shoes on, keep on hikin'!:sun:sun

especially the kennebec

[Alligator]

especially the kennebecThat was unnecessary.

There's a canoe service available for the Kennebec. The OP can check out the umpteen threads on that subject if specific information is needed. Or else a new thread can be started.

[Cabin Fever]

I am excellent at fording. I got all the experience I need playing Oregon Trail on old Apple machines.

[Blissful]

There were two interesting crossings in southern VA - took me a little time to figure out (but it was also raining like mad), and too rushing to change into crocs. The ones in Maine, you ford with crocs, maybe a stick to steady your gait as Little Wilson Stream I think ran deep - no problem.

[Blue Jay]

If the water is running high and fast and you're good with a lasso, theres usually a long legged swamp donkey (moose) hangin round most water up this away.
Just reign the beast in, point him in the direction you wanna go, hop on and dig you heels into him a lil, its the dry way across. Good luck!

You were supposed to keep that secret. Damn, now all the swamp donkeys along the Kennebec will be taken.

[TrippinBTM]

I didn't have any fords till Maine, myself. There were logs or rocks everywhere else, and water levels were such that I never got my feet wet ('cept that one time I slipped and dunked both feet in a CT stream, but we won't talk about that...)

Anyways, it's fun. Makes it feel like real wilderness hiking, instead of having fancy bridges everywhere. Enjoy it, I say.

As far as difficulty, well, supposedly this summer was a really wet one, but I never had anything deeper than mid-thigh, and that was DURING a rain. The rest were no more than knee deep.