St . John River Red Pine Airstrip to Priestly Bridge
This is a leg of the famous St . John River that is a good day trip . The trip takes you through some of the wildest country left east of the Mississippi River .
The St . John is only canoeable during the spring highwater . It can be run with kayaks all summer . This is a full day trip and is about 22 miles in length . The river will vary from deadwater to easily runnable rips .
Put in at Red Pine Airstrip , MAG 60 E5 , off the American Realty Rd . This is a good campsite to stay overnight and be able to start your trip early the next morning . About 10 miles down river , you will come to Nine Mile Bridge . The bridge is gone . The USGS has a hand cable car that crosses the river . It is locked so that it can not be used except by employees of the USGS .
Nine Mile Bridge was once a logging depot and had a full-time population of loggers , store keepers and even a school teacher . On the left hand shore , you will see some private camps . Walk the road beyond these camps and you will find the remains of an old steam shovel .
Along the river you may notice pins driven into rocks and ledges . These are left over from the log driving days . The pins held booms in place to catch the logs floating down the river or to tie up supply barges used to traverse the river .
Another 10 miles below this is Seven Islands . This was a full fledged town back in the lumbering days . On the left bank at the head of the Islands , you will see a campsite . Here , there are old farm implements on display . Watching the eroding banks through this section will often yield artifacts such as horse or oxen shoes and small hand tools .
In the woods behind this campsite , several old buildings are still standing . They are difficult to locate and make sure you take a compass reading before heading into the woods to try and find them . Please do not remove any of the contents of the buildings or disturb them .
About 2 miles below this is Priestly Bridge , MAG 61 C3 . The landing is on the right hand side just upstream of the bridge .
Maine Guide Linda Engelhardt shows off her catch .
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