Day 31 – Little Brassua Lake, ME, to Northeast Carry, ME

T-2016-9-20

Start: Little Brassua Lake

End: “Stealth” camp next to sign for Raymond’s General Store near end of Northeast Carry.  (I say “stealth” in quotes because I’m quite in the open, and 2 pickups, including one with a decal from that selfsame store, have driven by and seen me.  Very stealthy.)

On the Way:  Little Brassua Lake, Brassua Lake, Moosehead Lake, Mt. Kineo, Northeast Carry

Miles: A whopping 29!  Plus a site hiking trip up Mt. Kineo.  Milepost: ~571

Weather:  Cloudy, but very warm.

Map: 10, 11

Map 11

Trail Overview

Tonight’s all about the critters.  First, the small.  It feels like I have tinnitus, what with the constant whine of little bastard mosquitos flying around my head and looking for a gap in my DEET force field.  They started up the moment I stepped out of the boat on the Northern shore of Moosehead Lake.  I had just a moment to think, “Damn, these bugs are the flying aces of their species” before I was swarmed upon with the insect equivalent of a squadron of Red Barons.  Despite becoming something of a mosquito assassin lately, I couldn’t keep up, and I had to douse on the DEET while I walked.  They haven’t let up.  It’s going to be one of those nights where I have to fall asleep swatting, then wake up to reapply as the DEET wears off over time.

Then there were the big critters.  I saw my first moose!  And I wish it had been in situation where I could have stopped to admire them.  While I was racing the sun to reach the end of the famous Northeast Carry (in vain, it turns out), a mating pair strolled out onto the road in front of me.  At first they were facing me, so that I nearly thought the cow was someone in dark clothes walking towards me.  But then I saw the bull and his rack, and I knew what was coming towards me.  These two were on a date, and woe betide those who cockblock a bull moose.

Then I did something that, admittedly, was a little stupid, and that I’m very, very glad did not end badly.  I banged on the side of the boat and hollered to get them to move off the road—I had to use that road, dammit!  The cow was easy enough to scare away with a little hollering and stamping, but the bull was more pernicious, and probably cheesed that I was interrupting his Twilight-Stroll-And-Chill.  There was a scary moment where he was trotting down the road towards me (with a very “Bro…WTF?” look on his face), but it turns out he was just backtracking to catch up with his lady love.  He was still frighteningly nonchalant in that moment when I thought he was coming my way.

All in all, a lovely pair to encounter, although in less than ideal circumstances.

Today’s paddle was long, featuring several of those hours where you look at a far-off landmark on the distant horizon, think “There’s no way I’ll be able to paddle there in a day!” then let your mind wander to something else, then boom, you’re there.  One of my mind-wanderings today was a freestyle rhyme/beat poem that variated on the theme of “I Want a Guy Who…”  It was fun, and cathartic, and past experiences led to the inclusion of lots of “Doesn’ts,” which can be just as useful qualifiers for the sake of a working definition.  It kept a very free-form meter, but generally stuck to the beat of “Short Skirt and a Long Jacket” by Cake.

“I want a guy who knows how to plan ad-ventures, a guy who likes it when I feel hard-core.

I want a guy who will never say I’m cute when I’m angry; a guy prone to think in DIY terms…”

You get the picture.  I came up with rhyming couplets that weren’t so slanty, as well, promise.

Things Learned: 

+ River-bath-clean lasted for less than a day, since I lost the trail on my lunchtime sidetrip up Mt. Kineo and crashed through some deadstanding hemlocks.  I’m finding little needles in all sorts of exciting places now…

Moosehead Lake looking north from the top of the Mt. Kineo firetower, at ~1300.  By the end of the day, I was on the other side of the lake!

Mt. Kineo Fire tower

Trail Magic:

+ Moose!

+ Ripe and perfect portage apples on the shore of Moosehead!

+ A spruce grouse on the way up Mt. Kineo, and a spectacular view from the fire tower at the top!

+ Raymond’s General Store!  I think in the morning I’ll pack up the boat, backtrack in my camp shoes, and say hi, just to be friendly.  Maybe they’ll even sell me a spot of breakfast.