Trip to Umbagog Lake

[Gene Hunt]

Hello All:

I'm a new member and wanted to share my recent paddling experience. My brother Mark, an accomplished photographer (and camper) has asked me for years to join him on various Umbagog Lake camping trips. I was always too busy (and boatless), till this year. As some know I purchased a CD Gulfstream last fall and after several local trips I felt ready for a longer one - so I accepted his invitation this year. And I'm very glad I did!

As Peter B. so eloquently described it in his report from 2006, Umbagog Lake is an undiscovered gem as far as natural beauty and wildlife are concerned. Nesting eagles, playful loons, occasional moose, elusive otters, feisty ospreys, even a mink that wandered into our camp - all are there for the viewing. Best of all, on a beautiful August weekend, we saw no more than a half dozen boats on the entire lake (as Peter points out, probably in part because the lake is so shallow). In any event, I thoroughly enjoyed 3 days at R26 (aka Tyler Point) with my brother and 2 others recently.

Our put-in was a few miles from Errol NH, along the Magalloway River near the Wentworth location. It's about 4+ hours from my home in N. Andover. We had ample off-road parking and a good launch spot. Mark's canoe took the largest cargo by far (he had all the cooking gear and then some), but I was able to store what I needed for me in my Gulfstream, with some food as well. I would later find the value in dry-bagging everything (which I did not do), but that's a lesson learned. It was about an hour to R29, his favorite spot (see this excellent map for the campsites I refer to: http://www.nhparks.state.nh.us/ParksPages/...emoteMap06.pdf)

Our paddle up the river took us by one eagle's nest, then at the mouth is another well-known one, atop a lone tree in a protected area (Mark says boaters do venture in to the off-limits area but we didn't see any). An eagle stood atop his perch the entire time, surveying its surroundings. We went ashore on R29 (an island) and stretched a bit. The sun was warm, light breezes and puffy clouds, the water conditions excellent. The lake streched out before us, our destination off in the distance. Could not have asked for a better day.

With a laden canoe and one other slower kayak, it took us all about 90 minutes to cross the lake. I would paddle ahead strongly then slow down and stop when I saw my companions in the distance behind me. Lots of time to take in the scenery (and take some pictures). The Gulfstream is definitely built for speed, and paddling with my new Werner Camano stick felt almost effortless. I gained some confidence on this excursion that I did not have before, which served me well on the return.

After our steady cross-lake paddle (only one powerboat sighted) we landed on R26, which is an elevated (+/- 20 feet) pine-topped campsite on a point of land with 2 landing spots, both rocky and narrow. Boats were pulled onto shore. We unloaded and set up camp. I was there 2 nights, the others stayed for 5. The pictures I posted will show the sunsets and beauty of the area, so I won't try to describe here. It felt like a touch of deep nature, a time to disconnect from work and civilization, and I welcomed it. It felt especially good to have gotten there under my own power - which is something I know many of you probably experience on a regular basis.

We had one small day trip on the middle day, without the weight of our camping equipment or coolers. We went out at lunch around the corner into Brook Cove, on a wind-swept afternoon that churned up 2-ft swells and kept a stiff wind heading eastward. The ride into the cove was enjoyable, even effortless ("enjoy it," Mark said). The return trip was anything but (for the canoe that is). While I bobbed and slashed forward against the waves and wind, my skeg doing its job and forward progress an inevitability, my brother in his canoe was standing still, trying vainly to make headway. The distance was not great, but the effort to cross it turned out to be considerable. We got back to camp and celebrated with a blazing fire and margaritas (hey, it's Saturday night, right?)

On Sunday after breakfast I was ready for my solo return, about 4 miles across lake and down river. My brother wanted to shoot some stock shots (including the one I use in my profile), so we paddled around the cove a bit, even watching an eagle high up in the pines. Then suddenly we were buzzed by one very low-flying plane, hugging the coast as it zoomed around the point. Before I could grab my camera two more flew by, and others were heard in the distance. In all, 7 planes flew by our little corner of the lake in succession, maybe on their way to a fly-in somewhere. It was more high-powered motoring than any boat traffic we had seen, and it was over in minutes and they were gone.

I made my way across the lake, steady and determined. It took half the time of the outbound trip, and in no time I was ashore and unloading. I highly recommend Umbagog Lake as a destination for camping, paddling, and beautiful scenery. The NH Parks Service maintains the campsites and allows reservations: http://www.nhparks.state.nh.us/ParksPages/...UmbagogCmp.html

Gene Hunt

[Gene Hunt]

This is the gallery I referred to:

http://www.nspn.org/forum/index.php?automo...bum&album=8

- Gene

[chetpk]

Umbagog is a special place. My brother was one of the instrumental people in creating the wildlife refuge-protection of the lake and I'm sure generations of the future will also be able to experience exactly what you and I and my son also did this summer. If you swim with a mask there you will see what looks like a lot of plankton suspended in tthe water. It is an unusual feature of that lake as this abundance of this simple cell creature was almost the demise of the lake in the late 60's 70's when a commercial company wanted to drain it dry and scrape the bottom of the lake for these critters as they can be used in filtration systems. Ironically swimming pools I believe. Thus the beginning of the push to protect the lake. Now there is some concern that the illegally stocked bass in the lake might be so effective at eating the shiners - fall fish etc. that it is impacting the Eagles who share the same food chain. The bass fishing crowd have really impacted numerous eco systems with their habit of illegaly stocking waters and now the trout are being pushed out of the Androscoggin down river from Umbagog as they have made their way through the dam.

The next phase of how the lake will be monitored and used is now being discussed and they are looking for public input at this point and time (http://www.fws.gov/northeast/lakeumbagog/). The Cody's crowd of downtown Errol are pushing hard to see more access and use of the toys they sell be the direction it goes in.

The oldest archeology site in the state is at Moll's Rock where Native American artifacts were discovered going back over 5000 years.

We headed up on a spur of the moment so were operating out of the State Park's main campground as all of the remote sites were long gone. Paddled up as far as Mettalack island and all around Big Island fishing and swimming as we went. I have paddled the entire lake and island camped on it over the years and there are no parts not worth visiting. I have some friends who have started up on Rangely Lake and paddled to Errol by way of Umbagog.

I will not forget paddling out to the Eagle's nest in homemade boats with my kids when they were grade school age and watched the chicks hopping from branch to branch in their first attempts to master flight. Catching bass with surface plugs under the moonlight Campfires on the island with stars and moon rising. As I tell my sons on occassion, you can have million dollar views for pocket change from the screen door of a tent with good stewardship of the land.