October 2015 - Four of us paddled the St Croix River. We enjoyed snow, rain, fun whitewater, and below freezing temperatures on this trip. Read the full report.
June 2015 - The gang and I paddled the East Branch of the Penobscot River in Maine. This waterway runs north to south, parallel and east of Baxter State Park -- a 200,000 acre park well known to me. We paddled about 30 miles, portage a few sections, run some fun whitewater, and canoe the same trip done by Henry David Thoreau. I've thoroughly explored a remote mountain tributary feeding this river.
February through March 2015 - We received over 10 feet of snow in Maine this winter. It was awesome, and more than normal winters. I went cross country skiing or snowshoeing 5 days a week for nearly 8 weeks. I found a small coastal mountain, and my puppy and I hit this mountain after work and on weekends. Sometimes, we skied the trails after dark, aided by a headlamp. The small mountain had some fun drops which were challenging to ski down. But I chose routes that ran through powder and at a descent that I could safely navigate between the trees.
January 2015 - My grandfather and I hiked several small canyons and mesas in Arizona. One day, we drove up a narrow mountain road with huge cliff drops below and above. On top, we explored cliff dwellings bordering a plateau. Later that day, we drove narrow and rough ranch roads which made me wonder if we would ever get out. We explored pueblo ruins which were set into cliffs along a small creek. Our driver explained other scary adventures when he gave his wife multiple nightmares about driving dangerous mountain roads.
October 2014 - I canoed the St Croix River with six friends. This river had some fun whitewater early on, and eventually petered out into mostly flatwater. Eastern Maine and Canada are separated by this river. We camped in Canada one night and the US the second night. We originally paddled this river in 2003, and it was a complete nightmare. This trip, however, was quite a bit of fun. I tumbled out of the boat, for some unknown reason, and was happy to be wearing a wetsuit. We also found an 1800's piano in an old outpost. We imagined Canadians manning this spot and gunning down intruders.
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May 2014 - Essentially the same group of friends and I paddled the Narraguagus River in eastern Maine. I was always curious about the rapids and what this river was like. The trip started with lake paddling followed by some interesting rapids. One drawback was a long portage past a series of falls. This was one of our standard 3-day, 2-night white-water canoe trips. A friend encouraged people to bring axes -- for zombies or clearing camping areas.
October 2013 - The usual canoe gang and I paddled the Moose River in western Maine. A few years ago, we had problems padding across the first lake. Huge waves and stiff winds fought us constantly. This time, the first lake was fine, the mile portage was still tough, but we enjoyed camping that night. The next day, we paddled the river and camped at some old cabins. On our last day, we met huge ocean-like waves. The waves rolled heavily towards from west to east. We followed the shoreline. I saw 2 black bears on shore while we fought some severe winds. We made it back to the start and vowed never to paddle this river again.
St John River - I've paddled this 100-mile river twice in ten years. This river uncommonly runs from south to north, running through remote Maine. Many small brooks and streams make this river grow with every mile paddled. I enjoyed waking up, paddling all day, camping, eating, and doing it again. Every day is a great and simple day on the river.
May 2013 - The Big Machias River was incredibly fun. Located in northern Maine, we confidently paddled exciting class II-III whitewater over two nights and three days. The water was choppy and deep enough that rocks were not a problem, a normal hazard for us paddlers. The rapids were thrilling and fun, often reminding me of a roller coaster. This river is best run when the water is quite cold in early May.
