For our final day, we journeyed up the west side of the lake. Though The Birches Resort was our final destination, we made multiple pit-stops to explore the shoreline on the way there and back. First stop: Rockwood’s public boat launch facing Mount Kineo. In the summertime, this area on the water is alive with Read More
Quest for Protection: The Headwaters of Maine’s North Woods
Erika Zambello, a former NRCM intern, spent part of each season in 2016 in Maine’s North Woods, traveling the headwaters of five major rivers. Her posts share her explorations of the Penobscot River’s East Branch, on and near the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, as well as the Allagash, St. John, Aroostook, and Kennebec Rivers, as well as Moosehead Lake and a variety of other lakes and ponds. Erika’s photos and stories transport you to vast lakes and small, hidden bogs, and even a boat full of bear-tooth holes!
Winter: Moosehead Lake, Day 2
When I think of Day 2 of my winter expedition, one word comes to mind: snow. The flakes were large and falling fast and furious when we woke up, continuing throughout the day. This was a real Maine winter storm, and it was beautiful. We travelled to the eastern side of Moosehead Lake to trace Read More
Winter: Moosehead Lake and the Kennebec River, Day 1 Part 2
You would think the cold created a woods devoid of life, frozen, if you will, until the spring thaw brings warmth and energy back to Little Moose Mountain. You would be wrong! Throughout most of our hike, the calls and chatter of Golden-crowned Kinglets, Black-capped Chickadees, and Red Squirrels rained down on us from the Read More
Winter: Moosehead Lake and the Kennebec River, Day 1 Part 1
It had been almost exactly a year since I had last seen snow. As we drove to Moosehead Lake in the North Woods of Maine, we definitely didn’t have that problem. Despite an unseasonably warm December in the state, we were driving the day after the winter’s first blizzard, and anywhere between five and eight Read More
Fall: East Branch of the Penobscot River, Day 4, Lake Matagamon
Brian and I were up and on the water at Lake Matagamon just after sunrise. We had rented a motorboat from the Wilderness Campground, giving us the freedom to move longer distances. Like Third Lake the morning before, mist was rising from the water and shrouding the lake’s islands with a mysterious fog. Lake Matagamon Read More
Fall: East Branch of the Penobscot River, Day 3, Baxter State Park
Going to sleep early means waking up early, and we stirred just after the sun had begun its ascent. A layer of frost had developed on the outside of our sleeping bags and tent, but I was actually quite warm in my long underwear pants, jeans, fleece button-down, fleece vest, jacket, winter jacket, knitted hat, Read More
Fall: East Branch of the Penobscot River, Day 2, Part 2, Third Lake
Third Lake was breathtakingly beautiful. We pushed off into the inlet, and after only a minute or two of paddling turned the corner to see the lake view unfold in front of us. Unlike Fourth Lake, I couldn’t see the bottom of Third Lake. Much of its banks were rocky, or rose as huge boulders. Read More
Fall: East Branch of the Penobscot River, Day 2, Part 1
The second day of the four-day excursion dawned bright, if a little cloudy. Still, the forecast didn’t call for any rain, and the temperature remained in the sixties and seventies all day. Perfect. Morning gave Brian and me a few hours to explore the East Branch of the Penobscot at the Matagamon Wilderness Campground, situated Read More
Fall: East Branch of the Penobscot River, Day 1, Part 1
Day 1 – Part 1 After a late night flight in to Portland and a five-hour drive, I was finally in the Maine woods. Less than 24 hours earlier I had been on the west coast of Florida, and the contrast between the white sand beaches and the dark, pine-covered mountains was stark, but beautiful. Read More
