Canoeing 100 Miles
Well i finally feel recovered from IMLP, only managed a few easy runs and one 20' bike. I really wanted to do more but needed to spend free time getting ready for the canoe trip. Lots of sorting, packing and tinkering late into the evenings. Also spent a day doing some field training for a few foresters on how to do check plot cruising following pre-commercial thinning of young softwood stands.
So today is the first day of vacation. Need to drive a few hours to drop off a vehicle at our journey's end point today. We leave tomorrow early and hope to be on the water by 9 AM (it's a 3 hour ride to the put-in).
The trip starts in Jackman ME on the Moose River heading downstream through Long Pond to Brassua Lake. We will have to portage around the dam then continue on the Moose River to Moosehead Lake near Rockwood. Moosehead Lake is Maine's largest lake and we will paddle about 2/3 it's length to Northeast Carry.
Northeast Carry is a 2 mile portage that gets us to the West Branch of the Penobscot River. We will visit Lobster Lake then continue down the Penobscot to Chesuncook Lake - Maine's 3rd largest lake and camp on Gero Island. Our last day will be a 18 mile paddle down the length of Chesuncook to Chesuncook Dam and our take-out where my Honda will be waiting.
It is a great trip. One we have done before back in 2010. This will also be our 6th long canoe trip. We call them 100 mile journeys but they range from 92 miles to 108. Typically we plan to take 8 days with 1 day a rest day or foul weather day. So far foul weather has not caused us to stay put and wait it out. But we have paddled more than a few times in 15-20+ mph winds, sometimes as headwinds into 2'-3' whitecaps! Pretty gnarly in a 15' 6" canoe.
The attached KML file is from our 2010 trip if you are interested in the route.
Comments
Have fun with your fitness, Steve! May the dragonflies eat all the mosquitos before they find you...