Weather: Sunny, hot
Portages: 0
Wildlife: Loons, herons, two roadside moose seen at a distance when we went out for dinner.
If its going to rain, its really great when it happens at night and you wake up to blue skies. Although Linda and I both were awake counting the seconds (3-4) between the lightning and thunder, neither of us knew the other was awake until we talked about it in the morning. Spent two hours first thing in the morning in the Errol library while Linda, Paul and Jake went out moose hunting again. Took our time leaving Errol as it was Errol Heritage Day and there was food, a quilt show and keystone cops, among other events. Got a canoe rented for the boys and we set off down the Andro around 1 pm.
The Androscoggin has large areas of flat water that would have been fine to paddle upstream, but there were also many sections of Class 1-2 rapids that require tracking or portaging. Let's say I'm a happy camper paddling Class 1, especially when there aren't rocky obstacles (e.g. Saranac River) or scratchy bottoms (e.g. Ammonoosac). The Andro had much more water so the ride was pretty fun. However, there was at least one Class 2 that the outfitter said included a boulder called the "Canoe Eater." So naturally, I had visions of a Volkswagen-sized boulder with water shooting around it and no place to go. (In addition to hearing noises in the dark that I assume are bears, I also envision every rapid as a canoe killer. Of course, having recently punctured the canoe I've been very leary of almost every rock in my path, but I digress...)
We really had no problem paddling the Androscoggin, even with my Kevlar canoe which the guys at Northern Waters had assured me shouldn't be a problem. But I swear at every turn, where I saw even the smallest sign of white water, my palms instantly got sweaty. I kept thinking its just like downhill skiing, I need only relax, but honestly, just like my preference to ski those nice, long, green circle vs. steep black diamond runs, give me a lake anytime. (And I write this after just completing several clear, big, beautiful Maine lakes.) Paul and Jake haven't been canoeing all that much either and so worried about them too. We all made it. Now that I know what the Andro was like, I probably would have had more fun. But Linda and I had seriously tipped over in the canoe and pinned it under a strainer tree back in May in Wisconsin and some of those waves seemed very similar, even though the temperature was in the 80s not 40s, the river was five times as wide and three times as shallow. The gunwale dent I've been seeing on the whole trip is a reminder of that early May "practice paddle" we took on the Manitowoc River.
Paul and Jake paddled 8.5 miles and got picked up by the outfitter and returned to their car back at the campground. Linda and I paddled another 6 or 7 miles that afternoon and the boys met us further downstream. We met them close to the Great Northern Moose Lodge where we had booked two rooms, were warmly welcomed and awaited Leg 4, Joyce's arrival.
Joyce arrived around 6:30 p.m. Flight was on time in Burlington where she was to pick up the car. I had forgotten her flight itinerary which was still in my car, so we weren't sure exactly when to expect her. Good thing. She arrived in Vermont at noon and had we known, we would have started paddling earlier expecting to see here by mid-afternoon. Except my car battery had died. She spent several hours with AAA obtaining a new one for me. When she finally got on the road, she was famished and found her way to the Rainbow Sweets Bakery in Marshfield, VT which not only satisfied her hunger, but also was a source of some excellent treats she brought back for us.
Richard, at the Great Northern Moose Lodge, set Joyce and I up in the Moose Room and the Stolz family in the Wolf's Den (no relation to a similar, but notorious establishment in Green Bay) and suggested the Northland Restaurant and Dairy Bar in Berlin, NH for dinner. On the way, we saw cars pulled over along the side of the road near Pontook Reservoir and sure enough, saw our first moose family.
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| The sun shone after a night of big t-storms |
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| Jake and Paul join Linda and I for a day trip (NFCT's 740-mile challenge on July 30) |
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| Paddling the Androscoggin...downstream... |
