West Branch Penobscot River: Canoe ...

Summer time in Maine is all the time a tough time of the yr. On one hand, it’s arguably probably the most lovely season with probably the most number of actions. There may be all the time a mountain to climb, a river to fish, and a few stars to stare upon within the night. Summer time is really Maine at its peak. Alternatively, with Maine being positioned to date north, our Summer time is so brief in comparison with our lengthy and brutal winters. This brings up the purpose of time administration and planning your weekends right here within the Pine Tree State. Whereas summer time is the very best time to go to or be a neighborhood Maine’er, it’s the busiest time of the yr. This spring/summer time, it has been notably difficult to search out free time to do all of the issues I got down to do. One factor I used to be not keen to compromise on was a multi-day canoe journey. After spending the vast majority of the final 5 years exterior my dwelling state, a canoe journey up North on the West Department Penobscot River was precisely what I wanted to reconnect with my Maine roots.

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 numerous my meals and make my espresso.

Canoe Protection on AllOutdoor

The Plan

With time slipping away and summer time in full swing, the very best choices for a multi-day canoe journey have been slim on account of an absence of flowing water on lots of the fashionable rivers this summer time. We opted to go as much as the northern a part of the state and sort out the West Branch Penobscot River route. This fashionable and well-traveled route can be an awesome place to begin for my buddy and I as we had little or no expertise on multi-day canoe journeys usually, and didn’t wish to begin out with something too loopy. Coming in at nearly precisely 2o miles from the place we deliberate to place our canoes in at Lobster Stream and journey the river all the best way to Graveyard Point on the Village of Chesununcook.

With quite a few campsites alongside the river (camp websites are denoted with the triangle/tent icon) this is able to permit us to paddle nevertheless far we wished to on the primary day after which end up the journey the subsequent day. Whereas we might have appreciated to get a superb 3 – 5 day journey within the books this season, busy schedules and life occasions stored getting in the best way. We’d finally land on the thought to take two autos on the journey and depart one on the finish of the route at Graveyard Level for use to shuttle us again to Lobster Stream, the place we may get the opposite car. We additionally wished to camp at Roll Damn for the primary evening, and whereas most individuals wish to put in at this level for his or her canoe journeys, we have been uncertain of the situation of the river and didn’t wish to threat something. Touring all the best way from Bangor, Maine, we estimated it could take solely 3 – 4 hours to get to the campsite at Roll Rattling (boy, have been we improper).

The Crew

Accompanying me on this journey can be one among my oldest and finest pals, Ridge Osgood. Ridge and I’ve identified one another for over a decade and met in school, and immediately turned nice pals. Ridge spent numerous years within the Air Pressure in Safety Forces earlier than getting out to give attention to a profession in fisheries ecology and conservation. I actually couldn’t consider a greater dude to be on this journey with, as Ridge is probably the most outdoorsy individual I do know. His day job nowadays is working as a habitat restoration undertaking supervisor for Project SHARE, a  small non-profit that works to preserve and improve Atlantic salmon and wild brook trout habitat and populations within the Downeast rivers area (primarily Washington County) of Maine. Lengthy story brief, Ridge spends day by day within the woods and on the water, and I contemplate him to be one thing of an professional in the case of being exterior within the Pine Tree State.

Whereas we wished to convey one other one among our pals on this journey, scheduling made that subsequent to inconceivable, so sadly, it could solely be the 2 of us. I really feel as if I don’t want a lot of an introduction for anybody who has been studying AllOutdoor for some time now, however I’ll give somewhat little bit of a background on myself right here. I’m a broadcast photographer and journalist specializing in out of doors gear opinions, landscapes, and out of doors occasions. Based mostly in the US, I’m a a contributor to AllOutdoor.com and TheFirearmblog.com, the place I consider merchandise like backpacks, knives, and tenting gear by means of visible means. I’m additionally a member of the Maine Military Nationwide Guard, serving as a UH-60 Blackhawk Pilot and a Warrant Officer with the 126th Aviation Regiment, the place I additionally doc MEDEVAC coaching and search-and-rescue operations.

That may do it for Half One in every of this multi-part story. Make sure to take a look at Half Two, the place I speak about our trials and tribulations entering into camp, and a few extra historical past of the Penobscot River to incorporate a well-known poet.

Patrik Orcutt

Patrik is a contract photographer who has been fortunate sufficient to see numerous the world and doc his travels along with his digicam. 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 the moment engaged on changing into a Blackhawk Pilot for the Military whereas being an avid gear junky and out of doors fanatic.