In September 2009, writer Karen Ingraham, her husband Pete and two friends set out on a multiday paddle on Maine's Allagash Wilderness Waterway. Officially designated as a "wild" river (defined as free flowing and "free of impoundments and generally inaccessible except by trail, with watersheds or shorelines essentially primitive and waters unpolluted"), the Allagash offers paddlers a rare escape from civilization. Over the course of 35 miles, Ingraham's group spotted moose, loons and trout — and gained a new appreciation for the silence that can still be found in our wildest places. This slideshow includes a sampling of the images Pete captured during their journey.

Read Karen Ingraham's story "The Wild Waterway" (AMC Outdoors, March/April 2010) >>