Weather: Sunny, warm
Portages: 0 (Our shuttle service dropped us off at the put-in) Would have been wheelable, but not loving walking along the highways with little or no shoulders (Hwys 16 and/or 26 in Maine) and a dirt road.
Wildlife: Loons, eagles and the biggest (think cow pie size) bullfrog I have even seen
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| Linda hands off the baton to Joyce for Leg 4 |
Repacked Joyce's clothes, loaded this week's food and said goodbye to Linda and the boys (THANKS Linda, for being my leg 3 paddling partner.) From here on, the trip should be more through-paddling and less of this shuttling to paddle downstream. But first, one final shuttle service with the Stratton Motel/Maine Roadhouse. Dropped off the canoe and gear at the Lake Umbagog put-it (where we ultimately left if for several hours) and drove the car to Rangeley to which Joyce and I will now be paddling. Stopped for a lobster roll at a roadside stand and then Susan, from the Stratton Motel, gave us a ride back to Errol and our gear. Didn't get on the water until 3 pm and paddled on very calm Lake Umbagog water to Cedar Stump campsite #1. Lake Umbagog is shallow and can have waves. The only problem we had was finding the east side of Pine Point. It seemed bigger than the map suggested and I underestimated if we were rounding the right spot. I like to depend on topographic features like points and islands, but not all of the islands are represented on the NFCT maps (vs. BWCA Fisher maps). We weren't that confused and found the outlet to the rapid river and our campsite without needing to retrace anything.
We outlasted the mosquitos sitting on the newly reconstructed Cedar Stump campsite #1 stairway and watched the stars come out. Our headlamps caught two eyes reflecting along the river bank below and that's when the monster bullfrog was discovered. Maybe that IS the average size of a bullfrog and I've just never have seen one or else everything, like the lakes and open spaces, is just bigger here in Maine.
Dinner: Lentil curry with rice, dried apricots and Vermont bakery goods
