West Branch Penobscot River: Canoe Trip

Welcome again to Half 6 of this multi-part piece I’m writing on my current journey down the West Department Penobscot River. When you have not already, I’d extremely advocate studying Components 1-5 earlier than diving into this one beneath.

This journey was not sponsored by anybody, however I wish 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 prepare dinner plenty of my meals and make my espresso.

Canoe Protection on AllOutdoor

Waking up the Subsequent Morning

After sleeping soundly via the evening, I woke as much as the sound of rain hitting the highest of my tent. We did know that there was going to be rain on the second day of our journey on the river, however we have been unsure when it will happen. I sluggishly acquired dressed inside my tent and placed on some boots to then go scout the campsite and see if we would have a break within the climate. As I walked by Ridge in his DIY lean-to, he let loose a growl that permit me know he was awake after which murmured that it had been raining since 2 am, remember the present time was 6 am. I walked all the way down to the river and brushed my tooth, and the rain appeared to cease for a time. I then took this chance to start bailing my canoe and prepping it for the day’s brief journey.

I had simply completed packing up most of my gear and tent when the rain got here again, however at this level, we have been dedicated to getting again on the water and attending to Graveyard Level. After a fast breakfast and a few sub-par espresso, we loaded all our gear up and set off, and the rain started to actually choose up once more. Fortunately, it stopped after about 10 minutes of paddling. Even with the less-than-ideal climate, it was nonetheless exhausting to not respect the place I used to be and what I used to be doing and the pure fantastic thing about this a part of the world.

Whereas the air was cool, the water was calm in comparison with the earlier night, and Ridge and I glided throughout the water with solely the sound of rain protecting our paddle strokes. With solely a few miles to paddle to get to Graveyard Level, the river started to open up into Chesunkook Lake, we naturally started to paddle extra slowly. After solely 4o minutes or so on the water, we might see Graveyard Level and the top of the Canoeing a part of this journey. Whereas on the ultimate stretch of my paddle, I acquired very near a Loon swimming in the other way and snapped just a few photos.

The Widespread Loon (Gavia immer), a beloved image of Maine’s wilderness, is a big, sturdy waterbird recognized for its putting black-and-white plumage, crimson eyes, and haunting, yodel-like calls that echo throughout the state’s lakes and ponds through the summer time breeding season. Maine hosts the biggest inhabitants of Widespread Loons within the japanese U.S., with an estimated 3,146 adults and 420 chicks within the southern half of the state as of the 2024 Maine Audubon Annual Loon Rely, a citizen-science effort carried out each third Saturday in July since 1983. These birds nest on shorelines, making them weak to disturbances like boat wakes, lead poisoning from fishing sort out, and habitat loss, however conservation efforts, such because the Maine Loon Restoration Venture, have bolstered their numbers via initiatives like synthetic nesting rafts, lead-free fishing applications, and public training to scale back human impression.

After we made Land at Graveyard Level, we unloaded all our gear into my SUV and loaded my Canoe on prime, and commenced driving again to choose up Ridges’ Truck. Naturally, we acquired sidetracked within the Village of Chesuncook and commenced trying out the native church within the former logging city.

The Chesuncook Village Church is a historic construction that has served a number of roles since its institution within the late nineteenth century. Initially constructed by the Nice Northern Paper Firm, seemingly within the late 1800s, the constructing functioned as a mixed church and schoolhouse, reflecting the village’s small, self-sufficient group, which grew from a logging settlement within the 1840s and peaked with about 247 residents by 1920 through the building of the Ripogenus Dam. By the early twentieth century, because the village’s inhabitants declined as a result of modifications within the logging trade, the constructing transitioned right into a seasonal assembly home utilized by all denominations through the summer time months, a task it continues to meet at present. It additionally serves as a group middle and homes a small library.

After our little sightseeing tour of the Village, we headed down the highway to choose up Ridges Truck. Sadly, we needed to drive the Pine Stream Highway 3 extra instances that day to get his truck and his Canoe. This took us shut to three hours because of the appalling situation of the highway. With every part stated and finished, we have been again on the Golden Highway, headed into Millinocket to gas up on fuel after which head our personal methods residence that Sunday afternoon. After Months of ready for schedules to line up and planning, we lastly accomplished this brief however very fulfilling Canoe journey. I wish to thank Ridge for serving to make this journey occur, and I wish to thank anybody who has really learn this far alongside on this 6-part sequence I’ve written for AllOutdoor. Experience and I are already planning a visit for subsequent spring that can hopefully be greater than 3 days, and I can’t wait to place our subsequent journey to textual content and share it with you all.

Patrik Orcutt

Patrik is a contract photographer who has been fortunate sufficient to see plenty of the world and doc his travels along 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.