M Williams

Thanks so much David! We will watch for that nasty vine.

Thanks Walter! Your local knowledge is so helpful! All our best.

Hi David, (and others that might know) Mike Crouse and I plan on taking our new kayaking group here at school on the paddle you developed up the Rowley River this Sunday. We would like to launch from the protected launch up by Eagle Hill rather than Pavillion Beach to avoid the current. We have a van and kayak trailer for the boats. Do you know if we can park legally along the road by that launch? Scott or Liz or anyone else - do you know what's legal there? Thank you for the help!

Hi David, I might be able to repeat this trip in September if my weekend work responsibilities lighten up. Unfortunately, the winds typically are higher during the fall making it more difficult to run a level two trip during that season. If not this fall, I will probably do the trip again next summer.

Thank you Bob for taking the time to post this great report. I was struggling to find the time to do one myself. It was a great pleasure to paddle with all of the group. North Casco Bay certainly was a treat last weekend.

I have done the upper half of this trip. Reaching Allagash Lake involves launching in a small pond (I beleive the pond's name is Johnson pond) then following a small stream (about as wide as a kayak and filled with turns) down to the river. You are ejected onto the river just above a beaver dam (as of two years ago) then you head down stream over another dam or two to the lake. I suggest a plastic boat/ or one you don't mind scratching a bit for the trip. (Note: if you return this way as I did getting up river is more of a challenge and involves lining your boat back up the stream)At this time of year the water will be high (check the levels on line) and the stream will be full. Later in the summer, you will have far trouble with insects, but watch the water level. It can become hard to get down the stream when the levels are low. I liked the Ice cave camp site on the inlet end of the lake. You cross the lake then down the Allagash to Chamberlain. I'm told the river has a white water/portage section. Both lakes can build a steap chop in the wind (one day I was there Chamberlain reached 6 footers). Allagash Lake is a special place because no motors are allowed. Only the paddlers go there. The AMC Maine flat water book is a good guide but don't go by their road directions. The conditions of the roads change each year. A new Maine Gazetteer is the best bet, if you don't end up using the local shuttle. Feel free to contact me directly if I can be of further help.

Liz, I think I am a "no" given the weather here in Andover and the back roads to Ipswich - sorry. Christopher, this also means I will not be there to help with the pool session either. I believe you probably had enough spotters anyway before I offered. Hope everything goes well for you all!

There is also a book called "Fit to Paddle" (I think that's the right title) which is good on this topic as well. As an older - read loss of flexibility etc. - paddler, I find many of the exercises and stretches helpful. Sea Kayaker lists it in the book section, and it is available from other sources as well.

Hi Christopher, Depending on the date, I might be able to sign-up as well. Thanks for thinking about this!

I hope to be there as well.

Hi Kevin, A number of us have gone through this process. I found many helpful builders out there willing to share advice and their experiences. Feel free to email me at michaelewilliams@verizon.net and I will send on some site references and/or my phone number for those times when a quick call might be helpful.

Last year I went through this same process. I asked Ravenspring if they would produce a goretex type sock rather than the latex given the durability of the fabric sock. After some research and a trial, they agreed. Many club members have the latex socks, and from what I've heard they do fine, but the fabric sock will certainly last longer in normal conditions with sand etc around when you are changing. I elected at the end of my review to go with Kokatat given the quality of their fabric and found a suit on sale. The cost of the Ravenspring has been climbing over the last couple years as a result of the currency exchange rate.

I am also exactly where Bethany is on this. Her eloquent description of her goals and paddling abilities match my situation closely. I have more flexibility to get away from school during the summer than the winter months. Mike Crouse's and my kayak program at school makes the fall impossible. I am open to many areas. Perhaps we should do something fairly simple - like a longer section of the Maine Island Trail. The costs would be lower and we could train/guide to a great degree with club members. On the subject of kayak trailers, Mike and I designed a secure twelve boat trailer with a large storage compartment for our program. The school might consider renting this to NSPN if the trip was not during the fall. It needs a larger, powerful vehicle to pull it. I would be happy to explore this (no promises on the outcome) with the school officials if it ends up being helpful for this trip.

Bethany, Happy to share launch details. The general directions are in the AMC Maine flat water book for Third Lake. I can show you the detour I made to that route to avoid the beavers. I can also give you an update on camp sites. The folks in the area have added some. Feel free to e-mail at michaelewilliams@verizon.net for details and/or my home phone number.

Long shaft, high cadence, special alloy constructed of heat, oil and steel fueled by wind, fog and flies (as they Newfie's call them)

Liz, I am interested as well depending on all the specifics of course. I have traveled nearly two thirds of the Newfoundland coast by coastal freighter - it's wonderful and also demanding territory in many sectors.

Third and Fourth Machias Lakes in Downeast Maine are wonderful remote lakes with limited access and few visitors. In need of some rest and relaxation, I was able to spring myself from work for a four day solo trip to these lakes last week. Once you drive the hours to reach the area, the final route into the launch is a fifteen mile trip over fairly well maintained logging roads. The biggest problem is to find the right driving speed. You need to go fast enough so that you only hit the tops of the wash board ripples in the dirt surface, but slow enough to stop before you hit the large potholes and washouts. The only adventure on the trip came on the drive in. After descending a rough hill, I arrived at a beaver dam spanning a 100 foot plus section of the road. The clever (other words also apply) animals had used the road as the base of the dam and added their handiwork on top resulting in most of the road under 12 to18 inches of water. The road was also narrowed by the dam construction. After probing the entire submerged section for depth and measuring the results alongside the car’s engine for clearance, I gingerly drove through the section with one set of tires on the beaver dam and the other in the water. I made it, didn’t do a lot of damage, but I probably can’t say I managed to “Leave No Trace”. I’m sure the beavers made repairs after I left them in peace. The launch site marks the start of the well-known Machias River route. I paddled in the other direction out onto Third Lake. This beautiful lake is seven or eight miles long and roughly a mile wide and is filled with coves, arms, marshes all meriting exploration. I saw deer, eagles, ducks of many kinds, and the wonderful loons. Semi-official campsites dot the lake and use is on a first come basis. Three miles out, I selected a wide sand beach and protected pine grove for my stay. I was the only person camping on the lake during the weekdays. A few fisherman and cottage residents arrived for the weekend as I left on Saturday. On average, I saw one fishing power boat each day in part because the lake is remote and in part because it is filled with rocks of all sizes. A loud “thunk” marked one power boater’s inevitable interaction one of these rocks at I paddled merrily along. Camp sites have a fire ring and some form of table – otherwise they are primitive. Open fire permits are required. Campers – mostly fishermen – tend to use the sites to keep the impact on the environment to a minimum. I managed to try a number of the cooking techniques that Jonathan and Suzanne shared with club members a few weeks ago and enjoyed excellent camp meals. Black fly season was over and the mosquitoes minimal although I was careful to pick the camp site with the smallest insect population. I am told that West Nile and Lymne disease have not reached these northern reaches of New England yet, but I’m not sure I trust that rumor. Paddling each day consisted of roughly ten miles of exploration combined with beach rest and some exploration of woods trails and roads. I had hoped to reach Fourth Lake this trip by working my way upstream on the Machias River between the two lakes. I did manage to make it about three fourths of the way up the two mile stretch often lining the boat up sections of rocky rapids now bony with the lower summer water flow and over a number of beaver dams (I have begun to develop a thing about these dams). I came prepared with the old plastic boat for this abuse. Rounding a bend, a long section of hauling the boat over rocks lay before me. I decided that returning to Third Lake and my beach had more appeal, and headed back down the river. Fourth Lake will have to wait for another trip. The exposed rocks are well marked with a wide variety of red and green paints from all the canoes that venture to run down the river in the spring. I have never met anyone who has done the stretch in both directions although my Dad remembers some Maine guide friends poling a canoe upstream here many decades ago. As the weekend arrived with thunderstorms forecast for the afternoon, I gather the gear and headed out. Arriving at the launch, I found a group camped there for the weekend. They all had these four wheel ATV machines, which seem to me to be invading the deep woods. Part of me appreciates the fact these folks are getting out into these more remote areas, but part of me regrets the use of these machines in the same way I worry about jet skis and snowmobiles. I left them to their loud vehicles and found a way out which avoided a repeat visit to my favorite beaver dam.

You both did a great job. Jonathan did a wonderful presentation and we all know that Suzanne and the rest of the activities committee helped greatly to make these fun events happen. Thank you both!

I also plan to be there.

Liz, I had the same problem and came to the same conclusion during leader training in May. Thanks for posting this.

NSPN is very lucky to have such a fine group of trainers for this program. I would like to add my thanks to Paula's for the wonderful program that these dedicated folks put together for us. Hopefully, we can add to their fine work with some contributions of our own.

I would also like to add my appreciation to all the leaders, especially Scott, Rick, Linda and Dee as our teachers for this training. Your program is simply the best. My thanks to all of you!

How have these rachets held up for you in the salt water Carl? I thought these looked good, but had that worry. I did see that IR is now putting out a similar set-up with stainless hardware. Has anyone used these?

Glenn, I forgot to note that I probably am in the "lunatic purist fringe" so take my comments with that in mind. Anyone who spends the hours with wood strips and epoxy probably qualifies. You are not simply a novice if you are doing a reentry and roll - well done!

Glenn, I paddle an outer island, a wood strip low volume boat with an ocean cockpit. I had a few concerns about it when I built it, but the designer convinced me to try it. He was right - I now like it. I find two advantages and one disadvantage. It handles waves on the deck better with less likelyhood of the skirt letting go and most important, it allows for knee braces just were you like them under the deck towards the center not the sides. The disadvantage is that getting in and out is a bit different and takes a bit of practice. You sit on the rear deck, use your paddle in the water to steady the boat and then just slide in/out. For this reason, I would not get an ocean cockpit on a boat with a high stern deck. Happy boat hunting!