spider

Myself and a friend from Quebec are setting aside a couple of weeks either next July or Sept. To travel from Bar Harbor area up across the border to St Andrews, Bay of Fundy area. Right now I'm reading everything we can get our hands on (great trip report from the young lady who did the West Isles... lots of nice info there). I'm sure we will fine tune our actual launching and take out destinations and will have more questions later. but for now.... how do things look for resupplying our fresh water up through there? Ideally we are looking for streams, ponds, water seeps, things like that that might not get mentioned in our reading. other than that any friendly places where we might get water...any unfriendly places where we shouldn't go looking? Right now I'm thinking we will carry 3 maybe 4 days worth of fresh water for drinking and use salt water for cooking..any down side to cooking with the salt water?. Thanks one last question... I see the Bold Coast section has a five mile hiking trail along a portion of it, any idea where that is located and if there is water along the trail ?

Also you can look into just how the Refuge boundaries extend at low tide. Without getting into a big debate on Refuge policies I will say the it's mighty hard to paddle along the ocean side knowing you are not supposed to land, while you watch vehicles and campers driving up and down the shore.

http://www.mountainzone.com/mountains/list...s.asp?cid=89434 has a pretty good listing and a peek at the topo for the summits.. Little Kineo Mt, Eagle Mnt and Norcross Mnt seem the most likely to actually access from the lake. The summits themselves are most likely a bushwhack but there are old roads and trails near the bases. I haven' done any of them just Kineo itself which has a fire tower on it. Nice to be able to stretch your legs on an extended trip. At that time of year my vote would be to bring some orange esp if bush whacking or scouting out any old trail etc. I usually bring something even if I just tie it to the boat or a hat for example. Hope that is of some help... spdr

I have some trip reports over on "views from the top" in case they help in any way. The Richardson's are very nice, the wind tunnels down through them big time on some days. I've been on Mooselookmeguntic on choppy days and paddle over to take a look at the Richardsons and all hell would be breaking loose on them. I loved my trip on The Richardsons. There are big sections of Moosehead I haven't seen, being the largest lake you should able to make a good tour of a week or so. Mount Kineo makes a nice climb and good indigenous history, Peregrine falcon on the backside of the cliff face. Spencer Bay looks very tempting with multiple choices of campsites. Lots of motivation to see the north western part of the lake which is slated for huge development , It's right at the top of ..."see it now before it's to late" Further north are the Northwest carry and the Northeast carry... old time portaging routes for countless years. You can always check them out for reference for any future trips. I love the Northern Forest Canoe Trail Maps series as they include nice historical overviews of the areas up there as well as the mapping map 11 for Moosehead map 8 for the Richardsons ( did Mooslookmeguntic with the Richardson as the portage was so short) ...when I use my mess kit pan It makes me smile...it is still dented top and bottom from Moosehead. Bear had carried it off in the wee hrs one morning. Found it in the bushes. It was still snapped tight but you can see where he simply put it in his mouth and carried it off.

I know that I am not a vapor barrier believer, but mostly from the hiking winter camping community where some people are strong believers in it. For me I have found moisture brings cold quicker than dry does. In a way we are creating micro climates in our suits. If cold I rather be dry and cold, as opposed to wet and cold. Dry and cold you can always throw a jacket on over your suit at breaks and get some more heat. If I'm wet and cold and throw on a jacket it mostly just brings the wetness closer to my skin. I think there are all type of stats about water conducting heat 25% faster (or more) away from the body. I think for stench factor I suppose if we vacuum sealed our feet into a vapor barrier it might not stink , but since we can't quite get rid of all the air it does indeed 'stink to High Heaven" I like wicking layers but they can only wick in relation to the relative humidity around them. So the more a fabric is restricted from "breathing" the quicker it will wet out and saturate. then it just becomes another wet fabric conducting heat away from your body at an increased rate. playing safe I could put in my disclaimer now...but that is my understanding. I know some vapor barrier folks are quite passionate about it's merits.

Leon You may be onto something. Though I hardly know anyone here I will most likely run like a scared rabbit and hide in the marshes at the mere sight of approaching kayakers. I hear they travel in pods... though the rare mutant loners potentiality are to be more feared. I did see a distant Romany paddling person last time out. Fear coursed through my veins. Surely it's approach might mean a quadruple endo, triple whammy, double gulp of salted seas. With great relief it turned out to be another timid person emerging from backwaters after a day of hugging trees and watching egrets. Whew a close call...as I head for shore... in the far distance... a pod is sighted ... music starts pounding in my brain... JAWS I make a run for it...

Well.... more of a debriefing I would say ;-) Thinking of making them mandatory but afraid restraining orders would soon follow. Ahh... young lady you look terribly uncomfortable in those long pants or mister what is it you do have under those shorts your wearing.... (better stop now before being cited for humor without a permit....) on the other hand we did learn the technique at a Gerrish Island NSPN paddling trip... so it must be legit...

OK, A bit of a light weight report here... I wanted to mention that with the full moon the tides are running high and floods more into the estuaries giving access to places only occasionally reached. Realizing that today's paddle might be the best of weather for several days my wife and I headed to "the back side of Plum Island Refuge", which is kind of a generic way of saying Plum Island Sound. Wow, the weather turned out Great !! The marshes are just starting to turn a soft golden color. I read last week 3,000 Broad Wing Hawks had been counted passing over Pawtuckaway, which got me to thinking now was the time to visit the estuaries and great marshes unique to this area. Today was brought to you by Great White Egrets..not that we saw hundreds, but 20 or so in the course our time on the water. They make a beautiful sight with a golden background to highlight them. I love riding the tide into estuaries..you can say "well I was paddling at 5.5 miles an hr and didn't even break a sweat" course the water is doing all the work, but hey details details. (I think it was Farley Mowat "who said I never let details stand in the way of a good story" or something like that. We were able to paddle almost all the way to Nelson Island and had a picnic on a tiny dot of land. Soaking up the sun. Enjoying the sight and sounds of being somewhat in the middle of nowhere. Guess looking up Holy Island and Roger Island will send folks searching their charts but it nice stuff back there. (Extra nice with no bird hunting as yet. I don't know when the season is but it's always a bit of a downer for us when the season starts) Well that's about it we did 10 miles, poked around a bit . I think it's the picnik table cloth that makes it an official picnick. I suppose for the "advanced" part I would have to tell about this guy who wore a nice wet suit short with an underneath garment for a rash guard and the wife who wore long pants to the launch and realized they were much to warm and how they resolved the issue.... now, now it was far more innocent than that... it is a family web site folks... it was resolved before the launch... It's a great time of year. Happy paddling !

I suppose the gas thing is something I fixate on after a few days of carrying around containers.,that seem useless when empty. For sleeping bags I upgraded to "waterproof" down bags a few years ago, but you have to take that "waterproof" with a grain of salt, as the zippers are not waterproof just the material. Mine are Mountain Hardwear. I have a +32, +20 and -40 depending on the season and sport activity. So though I don't technically need a tent or bivy bag or food that needs cooking I do prefer them on trips.I did learn years ago that though you could live on GORP (more from hiking) that a few days of that and you'll need to about double your T.P. supply...providing of course that you prefer toilet paper...yes there are those who look on it as a luxury. All a mater of preference I suppose.

Great trip report !! As I was reading I started to wonder if this was the same lady who did the Mingan trip a couple of years ago. Sure enough ! Nice to read from someone interested in the same areas. We've had our eye on doing Fundy these past couple of seasons so we will surely make use of some of the great wealth of info from your trip(s). We keep oscillating between back to the Mingans or Bay of Fundy...decisions, decisions ..both would be the ideal. Sept is a great month. Nice photos.. ( I believe small birds are plovers , there are several kinds, I think)

Sounds good I'll check them out. I've seen various tarps advertised in Mountain Gear but never took a close look at what they were all about. The silnylon looks good a little pricey, but looks like the trade off would be well worth it..esp this time of year. If traveling by myself I can get by with just a tarp and a bivy bag (sometimes referred to as a body bag). Since this has morphed into somewhat of a packing thread as well as rescue. Has any one tried different methods of carrying liquid gas for their stoves? I was going on a basis of 4oz of gas per day, which brought me to 56 oz for 2 weeks for 2 people and I brought a pinch more. but the containers are the same size empty or full...I've been mighty tempted to put the gas in dromedary style bags but haven't given it a try yet. Any body know of of a collapsible method of carrying gas ? Haven't asked on the hiking forums yet, but not that interested in canister stoves or alcohol burning stoves. ...ever notice the difference between "you have to" and you should try...?

EEL..Nice of you to weigh the stuff you brought. I just got back from 2 nights and 3 days with my wife on a fresh water trip. So it inspired me to at least weigh the tent as "real life" reference. Tent... nice and dry... 6lbs Tent... as soppy wet thing the day we came home...9 lbs This 2 night trip with my wife who waited patiently while I did the 2 week trip (fresh water) with my friend from Quebec. The thing that definitely has me lashing things to the back deck is the tarp, I make a kit of the tarp spare paddle crazy creek chair and maybe odds and ends that need drying as we paddle (2 week trip) I was slow to warm up to using a tarp but these last couple of years I carry one as I was impressed on a trip to the Mingans the importance of creating shade as much as anything else so you don't cook like a bug under an unforgiving sun. Any way I carry a heavy duty 9x 12 tarp weight unknown...I would swap to a lighter on if it where strong enough water proof and wind proof so I'm certainly up for ideas on that. I see where weight adds up on the small stuff camp soap and sanitizer when I read the 2 labels equaled 1/2 a lb... last minute extra flash light, bug repelent adds up, but takes little room. But for rescues could I climb over the tarp and things on the back deck..I think i could but need to actually do it . Cooking bannock (on a stick) weighs about the same before you make it as after, but taste great with molasses...however I brought way to much molasses. A person could probably live almost exclusively eating Oatmeal...but eck. A solo trip can be as austere as I want ..a little better when I travel with another person. a salt water trip is all about water water water. A trip with my wife ..deluxe I said bring anything you want and she did..we may have looked like the "Beverlie Hillbillies" but .... Any wise person will know and a not so wise one like myself...A happy spouse is worth any weight in gold...

Nice ideas. Folks don't need to worry about Derek Hutchinson's seal of approval, just look at his Expedition Kayaking Book he has gear all over both decks. I like listening to Derek...I think he would be the 1st to say he paddles on the water, he doesn't walk on the water. Also like "the wonderful tarp" it is that which I lash on the back of the boat with spare paddle etc....but when that is submerged it can weigh a ton as water gets trapped in the folds. Where do people put their bear canisters? I was lucky to find one that fits in my hatch... I would say it's about 1/4 the size that canoe trippers use. I supplement that with a Ursula Bag. I like the idea of doing a "Victory Roll" at the end of a trip. It has a positive connotation. and less risk of losing important gear that might get lost or damaged. I had one friend tip over on a different trip. I estimated that it cost him about $500..paddle lost, cell phone wet, camera wet , (even though they were in those special clear bags for that stuff) I may have over estimated the weight of our gear...perhaps the older I get the heavier it feels, then again who has backpacked with 2 weeks of food and gear recently... most I ever backpacked with was 10 days worth of food & gear and that was mighty heavy, though I wore a younger mans clothes back then. Plenty of good paddling days ahead...Sept is a great month to be on the water !

Actually those were the humorous responses I thought I might get when I poised the questions the "you should pack this way and that way" What people do in real life is what is of interest to me, but in the meantime I will defer to Jon Bowermaster's "Birthplace of the Winds" I like the way he writes esp when he knows they are bringing way to much. or I suppose for a short answer it was ...Because it was our trip not yours.... though it might have been the jacuzzi that put it over the top.....

Thanks for the info. As my friend is in Quebec we always seem to have our boats loaded and ready to go and it's more like "how about we tip you over and the other one says non merci how about we tip yours over". I think we will dedicate one outing for just such things...of course we will use his gear...I think...bon idea qui ?

Just got back from a two week "mini expedition". After a few days I noticed the fellow I was paddling with loaded his boat with deck bags on the front of his boat. I, on the other hand, kept the fore deck of my boat free from stuff with only my compass and SPOT rescue device on in front of me (both of us kept our maps on our spray skirts) So we each explained our logic.... he kept his back deck clearer in case he did a re-entry facing the rear and sliding into the cock pit . My thinking was I hit most anything on the front deck with my hands or paddle, barely clearing the compass (or the map on my spray skirt) and I would want the deck clear for a T rescue. Then it occurred to both of us... If either of us went over and the boat capsized there would be no way we would be able to do a classic T rescue where you haul the others boat up over your deck and empty the water out. Then we got to thinking would we even be able to over turn a capsized boat loaded with gear? as a guesstimate I would say we each carried about 120lbs of gear and food combined. Does any body actually practice their rolls with a fully loaded boat ? or their rescues? Would it be best to leave the boat upside down and tow it to shore etc etc... Just curious what some of the thinking on the subject is. ....on the plus side we were in warm water/weather so the thought of having to swim was not so bad and we could ponder such things....

Wow quite a story... yikes !

I am not real sure which style of float bag you're thinking of, but I founds the ones I had by NRS that inflate by blowing into a tube would go flat. Of the six I had for ww kayaks 4 would go flat. The bags were advertised as near indestructible and since they cost a dollar or two I was determined to find out why. It was the inflation tubes themselves that cracked over time. I would blow it up and they would go flat in minutes. When I was using them (and even perhaps when I stored them) I would have to bend the tube to fit behind the seats. Repetitive use found them always bending in the same spot till they cracked. I fixed them by wrapping electric tape around the cracks and they hold pretty good. I know there are different styles of float bags, but that is the definite Achilles heel if you use that style. Thought I would mention it just in case...

Thanks for the update. I was wondering if it would reopen.

Think it was the "dramatic area" that got me interested so I went up today to check it out . Very nice. Water a little "jittery" along the cliffs on the way over ...plenty bouncy" on the way back. Surprised to see people surfing at Ogunquit but they had some good stuff to play in. (Those tour boats are not shy of passing close, I would say about 10 ft away. I could see the dental work on the folks as they smiled). I should have asked about the launch...they run out of water at low tide, paddled in on a whisper of water a half hr before dead low. Liked the photos of your trip...made me curious to get me up there and see what it was all about ( I was on the road last week so couldn't make it.) Been some mighty fine weather to be on the water these days!

Just got back from Quebec, though I won't go into why I prefer to paddle up there. Sorry to hear of the hassle at Pavilion. I paddle there regularly throughout the winter and this is the 1st season doing some summer paddling there. I also paddle Kingston Pond regularly (but I prefer being there around 6am at either place. Perhaps my take on the situation is a bit different, but when I read your post I turned to my wife and said "some guy is harassing this woman who kayaks at Pavilion" That's how I would present it to the police. I think people are on the right track with the cameras, I have no problem photographing the guy, no need for discretion in taking his picture it is not against the law. My wife and I last put in there July 18th , she says she just remembers some guy with his dog...hell I'd photo the dog as well if that's the guy. Pavilion is about as far into Mass as I go to paddle, though we are pleasantly surprised that it is open to the public it is... and harassment is harassment. I'll be bringing a camera next time I put in down there...or drop a note if you would like.

Though I haven't done as much surfing as some I have had a number of times "sideways surfing". That's when you brace for all your worth into the breaking wave foam etc. Those are the bouncy-est rides I've ever gotten, you go like hell but it's like riding on a washboard road, and of course if you hang in there to the bitter end it will spit you up onto the beach. For bracing in general in surf I remember one video had the catch phrase "cheeks to the beach" It brings a smile and is easy to remember....

I'm thinking there is more than one Pavillion Beach or you folks did a heck of a long paddle? (We left from Pavillion Beach, Sunday then along Cranes & Coffins down to Wingaersheek & the mouth of the Annisquam) Either way nice pictures and nice days to be on the water.

Sounds like a lot of fun !