Weather: Morning showers, clearing to sunny skies and pleasant temperatures
Wildlife: Loons, bald eagle
Dinner: Sunflower seed patties with mushroom gravy, hot apple cobbler
I had read that a group had been held up by wind on Flagstaff for three days one year, so I purposely didn't plan to paddle the entire lake in one day. As it turned out, it wouldn't have been difficult to go a lot farther. We did have a late start AND I had made reservations at the Maine Huts and Trails Flagstaff Lake Hut for the next night, so the plan was to stop midway. Plus it was Kacia's first day on the trail.
Forecast was for rain, but it looked like the clouds were breaking up when we left the Maine Roadhouse and headed a few miles east to Stratton where we are launching from the Stratton Motel parking lot. Susan, from the Stratton Motel/Maine Roadhouse is providing a pick-up for Kay at the end of the week and taking her to my car, which she also is holding at the motel. We left the hostel just after Susan did with a truckload of AT hikers.
As we were driving, it started raining again, so I took Kacia up to see the Cathedral Pines and then we stopped by the NFCT Flagstaff Lake kiosk to take pictures. Still raining. Updated Facebook status. The rain slowed down, so we unloaded the canoe. Susan arrived to pick up her next group of hikers and took pictures of Kacia and I leaving. It was great meeting up with the through-hikers and peak-baggers who also stayed at the hostel.
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| In front of the Flagstaff Lake Kiosk |
With college, and now a job, Kacia and I hadn't been in a canoe together for many years, but we fell right back into a familiar pattern. As we paddled onto Flagstaff Lake, there were breaks in the clouds and our direction was heading toward the patches of blue. Like Lake Mooselookmeguntic, we saw showers approaching and then passing as we outpaddled them. The climb to Cranberry Peak two days ago was completely obscured by clouds.
Took two breaks--the first for some snackage by the Savage Farm campsite. A beautiful, well-used site. Didn't see an appropriate outhouse for such a well-loved site. Sun came out as we were sitting on the large rock. Headed back out toward the direction of the old Flagstaff Village and school to look for signs of the submerged foundations in the depths, but the water had a slight chop to it. Stopped for lunch on a nice sandy beach near Jim Eaton Hill. It now was very sunny and we only had a short paddle to the Hurricane Island campsite. We passed a few, secluded newer looking cabins along the north shore.
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| Savage Farm Campsite |
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| Somewhere on Flagstaff Lake |
Hurricane Island campsite IS beautiful. BUT... the outhouse is totally unusable. (Got an outhouse theme going in today's entries.) The lack of a roof is one of the more minor issues. But I digress...
What was really cool was to discover a campsite journal, not only the stories people had recorded, but also personal notes to me from fellow through-paddlers Team Moxie AND Paddle-For-Hope's Laurie Chandler, both of whom I had been emailing prior to the trip. That was totally unexpected. I got major goosebumps.
We took a swim, made dinner, watched the sunset paddling in the twilight. Only half a moon, but still brilliantly reflected.
