U-2016-9-11
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Start:
Mollidgewock St. Park, Osprey remote site.
End:
Cedar Stump Campground, Campsite #5, right at the start of the Carry Road.
On the
Way: Androscoggin River, Errol, Umbagog Lake
Miles:
16. Milestone 398.5. Hooboy!
Map: 7, 8
Weather: Thunderstorms in AM on Androscoggin, Windy
but clear—mostly—through Errol to Umbagog Lake.
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| Map 8: Errol to Rangely, ME |
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| Trail Overview |
OUT OF NH! New
State, new map, and GOODBYE UPSTREAM nonsense!
I’m now on map 8/13, and state 5/5, and well into the 2nd
half of the mileage! WHOO!
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| Last NFCT Kiosk of NH! |
Today’s been full of little struggles. I’m fine and happy and (mostly) warm for now,
but tomorrow I’ll probably be feeling the cold and the muscle ache.
Started out right before a long segment of rapid-tracking
on the Androscoggin. Was jamming along
on it just fine when a morning downpour started. After hoping for rain for a week (what am I
saying, I’ve been making horrible promises to fearsome pluvial deities this
whole trip…), I’d be loath to sit and pout because of a little precipitation,
but when I saw thunder and lightning, I begrudgingly parked under a hemlock and
consoled myself with a Clif Bar and waiting.
It lasted about half an hour, then I departed again, rain still coming
down, up the rapid. Got to wave to a
fleet of Boyscouts huddled under tarps at the next group campsite up the river,
and line past a couple be-wadered fishermen who were similarly sitting out the
rain.
Next to the State Park proper, the river flattened out—the
true “hallelujah” moment—all the way to Errol, our first town in Maine. Picked up some groceries in Errol, including
a local zucchini for $1 that was a steamy addition to my ramen soup this
evening. There’s an odd little set of
rapid right below the dam next to Errol, and an even weirder
campground/outfitter/guide service right along the shore. Hand-painted signs, wooden tent platforms
propped on cinderblocks, and a broken canoe with “Respect the waters” painted
on the side welcoming you in. It’s a
homey place, and with sites right alongside the rapid stretch of the river, you
could theoretically run your little playboat up the access road and down the
rapids all day, go to sleep, wake up, and do it again. They also have a generous policy of offering
free camping to Through-paddlers, and when I got in at 1300 and told them it
was too early for me to stop today, they graciously offered me a site on the
other side of the lake at Cedar Stump, a handful of sites they owned. The two proprietors were Eric and Maggie,
with a very friendly dog. I must
remember to send Northern Waters/Saco Bound a thank-you.
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| Camping at Cedar Stump when it's NOT as windy as the gates of a Frozen-over Hell. Looks quite nice. Image via Northern Water's site: http://beoutside.com/ |
It was a long, windy battle across Lake Umbagog, even more
taxing than Champlain/Bitabawgok, although a fraction of the mileage. I was ready for that site by the end. Lots more lakes to come—Dieter das Sea Boot
is in his element.
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| The peatlands and river out of Errol lead straight into Umbagog Lake. The Trail then goes out the Northeast corner, up to the mouth of the Rapid River. Via the NH Division of Forests and Lands. |
Things
Learned:
+ My deckbag (a cheap PVC thing I picked up in Long Lake,
NY) is kind of toast. I’m trying to
downsize its contents.
+ Picked up some dray navy beans in Errol, and going to
give bean-soaking a try in a plastic water bottle. Fiber and protein yesplease.
+ Getting real good at upstream rapid-tracking. Here’s hoping that stops being useful real
soon.
+ Camping in the wind = COLD! I’m wearing all the clothes I have tonight
and pitched as far back in the woods as I could venture without having dreams
of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. The wind is still sucking my heat away… In the future, if you come across a windy
site, keep on lookin.
Trail
Magic:
+ Lots of incredulous faces as I travelled upriver past the
Molliwodge camp sites…
+ Errol General Store man (where I bought a strange
assortment of groceries) asked if I was camping and threw in a free pear.
+ Managed to surf on some of Lake Umbagog’s whitecaps! It was surreal: this tiny, deep little lake
had the biggest waves of the trip yet.
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