West Branch Penobscot River: Canoe Trip

Welcome again to Half 5 of this multi-part piece I’m writing on my current canoe journey down the West Department Penobscot River. You probably have not already, I’d extremely suggest studying Components 1-4 earlier than diving into this one under.

This journey was not sponsored by anybody, however I want to thank Old Town Canoe for getting me a Discovery 158 I used for this journey and Jetboil for hooking me up with Flash 1.0 Fast boil system to cook dinner quite a lot of my meals and make my espresso.

Canoe Protection on AllOutdoor

Going Down the River

When paddling the West Department, you’re rapidly enveloped by a pristine, forested hall whereas being flanked by towering pines and hardwoods, with the river’s clear waters reflecting the rugged great thing about the encompassing North Maine Woods. The absence of improvement creates a profound sense of solitude, interrupted solely by the rhythmic dip of your paddle or the occasional roar of rapids. I discover that it’s really easy to chill out out right here and unwind with these environment and unplug from every day emails and conferences. The truth that all the space West of Millinoket is a cellular phone useless zone definitely helps to. Whereas some could take a look at this being a detrimental, I’ve all the time discovered that the dearth of exterior communication in rugged and distant locations usually enhances my expertise and connection to it.

Birds on the River

There was definitely no lack of wildlife on the river as we handed quite a few Nice Blue Herons within the early hours of our journey. In Northern Maine, Nice Blue Herons are a standard sight alongside the West Department Penobscot River, Lobster Lake, and Chesuncook Lake, the place shallow waters and ample fish like brook trout and salmon help their weight loss plan. These giant wading birds can stand between 3–4.5 ft tall with a wingspan as much as 6.6 ft, and are identified for his or her slate-blue plumage, lengthy, pointed invoice, and sleek S-shaped neck.

One other frequent chicken to see alongside the river was the Kingfisher. This medium-sized chicken could be about 11–14 inches lengthy, with a shaggy crest, giant head, and stout, pointed invoice, identified for its rattling name and vibrant blue-gray plumage with a white collar. They love rivers like this that present preferrred looking grounds for species like small brook trout and minnows. Their Rattling calls echoed throughout distant waterways as we paddled down them. One other quite common chicken to see was the Bald Eagle; we most likely noticed a dozen of those guys throughout the day, however I by no means acquired a superb image of them. At one level, we have been fortunate sufficient to look at one dive bomb what I’m assuming was a small fish within the river, however the Eagle sadly got here up empty-handed.

Thoreau’s Island

The River is dotted with campsites, and the primary one we got here throughout was Thoreau’s Island. Are you able to guess why? However, it’s cool to see him getting his title on a singular campsite alongside the river he famously wrote about. This campsite supplied a shocking quantity of amenities for being out in the course of nowhere and solely being accessible by river. Sporting each an outhouse and a coverable picnic desk, the positioning was a lot nicer than I had anticipated. There was additionally a fireplace pit and some good locations to arrange a tent.

After our fast break at Thoreau’s Island, we have been again on the river, and Ridge determined to whip out his fly fishing pole after recognizing a number of fish soar out of the water. With the West Department Penobscot being a chilly, well-oxygenated river, it’s preferrred for supporting Salmon, Brook Trout, and Smallmouth Bass, amongst many different freshwater fish.

After half-hour of fishing whereas additionally slowly floating down the river, we determined it was time for some lunch as midday was swiftly approaching. We pulled our canoes to the facet of the river and tied them off for a fast chunk to eat after which set off for what could be an extended afternoon of paddling. Because the miles added up, so did the outdated tales the Ridge and I recounted to one another about our previous shenanigans. We regularly talked of the School days and the way we by no means knew how good we had it again then.

After near 17 miles of Canoeing and with solely 3 extra miles to go to the tip of our route, we have been each fairly exhausted. Many of the day, the river had been good to make use of with quick currents and small rips to push us alongside our journey. Sadly, we hit a 1-mile stretch the place the river opened up and the winds had shifted towards us, making paddling very troublesome. At this level, I keep in mind Ridge calling over to me, saying it was “time for a steak and a few whiskey,” and I couldn’t agree extra. So there, after 17 miles, we determined to name it at Pine Stream campground.

Whereas consuming dinner, Ridge and I believed we observed what regarded like a moose throughout the river from our campground. We stared at it for a couple of minutes and determined it was nothing. In a while, we thought we observed one thing once more, and certain sufficient, there was a Cow within the river getting a drink of water. Bear in mind the river had widened out considerably at this level, so we have been most likely near 700 meters away from this moose. After dinner, I made a decision to seize my digital camera and hop within the canoe and really quietly paddle close to this moose to get a number of pictures.

After returning to our campsite, Ridge and I shared some beers and a few whiskey whereas fishing with a beautiful sundown. This can conclude half 5 of the West Department Penobscot River journey sequence. When you loved this, please be looking out for half 6, the place we battle the weather on our ultimate push down the river.

Patrik Orcutt

Patrik is a contract photographer who has been fortunate sufficient to see quite a lot of the world and doc his travels together with his digital camera. He has labored for the U.S. authorities as a Public Affairs Officer documenting Multi-Nationwide Particular Forces Coaching across the World. He’s at present engaged on changing into a Blackhawk Pilot for the Military whereas being an avid gear junky and out of doors fanatic.