Moose in the Gravel Pit off the Pit Road in T9 R8 WELS (2015)

Roads

Pinkham Road is the main artery in this township from northeast to southwest.  Craigville Road joins Pinkham from the east, just south of Chandler Lake. Pelletier Road originates (traveling west) off Pinkham, then enters adjoining T9 R9 WELS.  Also originating (traveling northwest) off the Pinkham Road is Chase Brook Road.  It runs east of Mooseleuk Stream up to T10 R9 WELS where it terminates at Jack Mountain Road. All these are well-maintained dirt roads.

Water Bodies

Chandler Lake

According to a lake survey report, updated in 2001, 400-acre Chandler Lake is shallow at an average depth of 14 feet and a maximum of 19 feet. Nearly equal water temperatures exist at all depths. With only a few small tributaries, springs within the lake are the only cold water refuge areas for salmon and trout. Competition from several species severely limits trout and salmon production.  The outlet stream may be blocked by beaver dams, inhibiting passage between the lake and spawning areas in the outlet.

              Chandler Lake from the Pinkham Road at the base of Chandler Mountain in T9 R8 WELS (2015)

Access can be obtained by floating a canoe or small boat up the outlet stream that crosses the Craigville Road or by following an unimproved road north, then west, from Craigville Road in western T9 R7 WELS to a vehicle barrier about a mile from the shore. Landlocked salmon and brook trout are the principal fisheries. [click photos to enlarge and clarify]

Chandler Stream and Chandler Deadwater

Flowing from Chandler Lake, the stream passes through Chandler Deadwater, a boggy area with a thin shallow pond.  The Deadwater outlet, now called Malcolm Branch Stream, makes its way to Mooseleuk Stream a mile south of the Pinkham Road bridge entering at N46°25′ 26″ W68° 44′  4″.*

Mooseleuk Stream

Beginning about five miles downstream from Mooseleuk Dam in T10 R9 WELS, the stream in this township passes under Pinkham Road bridge and offers the modest Boars Head Falls before joining the Aroostook River in T8 R8 WELS. While some sources show a “primitive campsite” at the bridge, in 2015 no North Maine Woods authorized campsite was there and no trace of a another campsite.  A canoe or small boat can be launched at the southwest side of the bridge.

Campsites

Malcolm Branch Campsite

Two individual campsites, with camper trailer access, are easily visible from the Pinkham road.  Each site has a picnic table shelter, a picnic table and a fireplace.  One privy serves both sites, which are 300 feet from Malcolm Branch Stream. This site is authorized by North Maine Woods, Inc.

 

Boars Head Area

Two informal picnic/campsite locations are at Boars Head Fall.  Neither is authorized by North Maine Woods, Inc.  A small spot occupies the headland on the left bank at the falls (see left bank photo above).  A somewhat larger site, with a makeshift fireplace is on the right bank.

 

Surrounding Townships:

T10 R09 WELS  T10 R08 WELS  T10 R07 WELS
T09 R09 WELS  T09 R08 WELS  T09 R07 WELS
T08 R09 WELS  T08 R08 WELS  T08 R07 WELS