Weather: Partly sunny, cooler--started off in shorts, but zipped the legs back on as the day wore on.
Wildlife: Great horned owls (heard last night), 1 moose, eagles, loons, including a possible first flight sighting for a juvenile
Portages: 1, short carry around Long Lake Dam
Had a leisurely breakfast watching what we think may have been a loon's first flight. Two loons were racing around and around the lake while a third one watched. After about 10 or 15 minutes of this, one of the racers finally takes off. The time of year is right for this year's chicks to be flying. It was either that or just a chase going on before one loon had enough and took off. Was nice morning entertainment regardless. Only a short distance later we came upon another family of loons, these with very small, month-old or younger chicks. Presumably a second try. We don't think these loons are going to make it in time to migrate.
Packed up and headed toward Long Lake Dam. We couldn't immediately see access on the right side where the portage is reported to be, but we could see the horizon line drop. The left seemed to have a obvious trail so we headed over there first to take a look. It didn't lead anywhere, but we now could see the right portage clearly. It's near the dam, but safe enough to paddle and goes through the campsites. After all these days, I still am skeptical about where the portages are where dams are concerned.
The family we saw yesterday continues to be a source of conversation for us. I reflected that these are probably the kind of people who would feed marshmallows to bears. Kay said that maybe some people NEED to be encouraged to feed marshmallows to bears. Touché.
Whipped along to Round Pond, appreciating the elm trees that are scattered from the Blanchet-Maibec bridge to the pond's inlet. I had been looking forward to paddling through "The Shire." Took a break for lunch at the very nice Inlet campsite and were joined by a six paddlers working their way through the Allagash, including the author of the NFCT's Map 13 descriptions. How cool was that?
We heard there was a spring just north of the ranger station on Round Pond. We had missed the one marked with blue ribbons on Umkaka (Umsaskis) Lake yesterday and looked forward to filling up our water bottles without pumping. However, the water coming out of the pipe looked pretty sediment-rich. The water was clearly brown. We moved on.
We are surprised to be noticing all the mowed lawns on the campsites and so many bridges within a "wilderness" area. I don't mind the convenience of the picnic tables, tarp poles and beautiful firepits, but the putting greens seem out of place. We later learned that the mowing is done to help keep the bugs down -- and because people have come to expect this. If nothing else, spotting the manicured campsites is relatively easy. Took another stop at the Croque Brook campsite to pump water and use the outhouse (not at the same time) and it was really buggy. (The site, not the facilities.) Guess the mowing didn't help that site very much.
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| The elms near Round Pond |
The high water is making the rips easy, fun and less tense for the boat and I. Or else I'm continuing to be more comfortable in faster water. There were continuous rips all the way from Round Pond to the Musquacook Deadwater and then again by the Five Finger Brook campsites. Kay sits in front in the "princess" seat and paddles when I tell her. It's a good arrangement.
Stopped at Bass Brook and a small campsite that had room for only one tent. Tonight is the first time Kay and I made a campfire and only the fifth one or so of my trip. I think I've been working my paddling partners too hard?
Tonight is also the coldest one so far.
Dinner: Oat scones and spinach bisque with an added pouch of salmon ladled over black beans and rice. This was one of the best dinners we had. Perhaps we've been living outside for too long now.
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| Heading toward Long Lake Dam from Harvey Pond |
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| Bass Brook Campsite |
