Mushamush
| Class: I - II+ | Length: 14km |
| Location: Mahone Bay | Character: River run |
| Gauge: Weather forecast | Contributor: Karl Vollmer, Gaia |
General Description
The mushamush is a low volume class I/II river which runs into Mahone bay. The final part of the river is tidal, and there are numerous man made hazards on the river that are easily avoided. This is an easy, but continious river which is well suited for Canoe’s SUP’s and River Runners.
Hazards
Starting from the Lake you’ll encounter a few bridges going down the river. They should all be scouted. They are as follows
First Bridge
This is a must portage, it’s very low to the river and is a metal truck bed frame, there is a path on river left.
Second Bridge
This is a passable road bridge. It’s Old headline Rd, and is a secondary put-in if the winds on the lake aren’t favorable.
Third Bridge
This is a driveway bridge, and is runnable at all levels, at lower levels it turns more into a small safe hole, but can still be run. The homeowner may wave and shake his head from the balcony, please respect his property and space and wave back :)
Fourth Bridge
Directly below the third bridge is another must-portage bridge made of an old transport truck with lots of jagged metal hanging down. Take out river right and then cross over the bridge to river left to put back in. Beware of barbed wire jagged metal and glass on the ground, as there is a significant amount of debris at this bridge
Fifth Bridge
This is an old fallen bridge, it is passable on river left at lower waters, but should be scouted as it can collect wood/branches, and at higher levels there might not be room between the water and the bridge.
Mahone bay dam
Past the HW103 bridge there is an old damn that is mostly intact, There are numerous logs and other debris in it, and it should not be run. It can easily be portaged around on river right.
Named Rapids
Good pitch
Right under the third bridge, good pitch is a driveway bridge which constricts the water causing a nice little wave train at larger levels, and at lower levels it’s a safe/non-retentive hole.
Access
Little Mushamush Lake Boat launch
Put-in If you have favorable wind conditions you can launch from the public boat launch on the Little Mushamush Lake, this adds about 1.5Km to the total length, all flatwater.
Old headline Rd.
Put-In This is a road bridge, you can put in here, and it only misses a few rapids at the very top. This is a good choice when the winds on the lake aren’t favorable.
Mahone Bay
Take-out The river ends just in front of the church viewpoint parking lot. Depending on the tide when you finish there may or may not be rapids at the very end of the run.
Gauge
There is no gauge for the Mushamush, it does hold water longer than some other rivers given to it’s small size and low volume, At low tide the bridge in Mahone Bay will let you see the water level.