Since moving to Maine a year ago, I have made 5 trips to northern Maine exploring different lakes and streams. The two trips I made this spring have turned out to be the best lakes for me, Grand Lake Seboeis and now Millimagassett Lake, both northeast of Baxter State Park. These two lakes offer some “primitive” camping vs. the more popular developed sites with picnic tables, truck rim fire pits and privies that are popular in northern Maine.
Millimagassett requires a 1/3 of a mile hike in but it’s somewhat cart friendly, although it was about as hard as I can manage these days. I brought my new little 14’ Chestnut Fox.
One thing about Maine, always plan on wind and consider yourself lucky if it’s calm. I lucked out and paddled the 4 or so miles to a small island campsite (one of two campsite s on the lake) on a calm lake.
I really liked this small lake as I made my way down the shoreline, it reminded me a lot of a Canadian lake, it has two camps on it but otherwise it was very quite and wild. I set up my camp on the island shortly before dinner and as I as sat out on a rock admiring the two loons that seemed pretty interested in me, I realized they must have a nest nearby. Sure enough, I found it right near my canoe on the shore, so I packed up as quickly as I could and left. It was too late and too far to make the other island campsite so I managed to make do on the shoreline a short paddle away.
I managed to make do and all went well, a small rock was my cooking area the next day, I had to use the canoe as a wind block.
So it went for the rest of the trip, some rain, some wind, some sheltered cooking areas. A good time, I was happy with the Fox, it handled the wind well with the packs in it, something I was a little concerned about previously.
exploring a small stream,
Out in the wind and waves,
Millimagassett requires a 1/3 of a mile hike in but it’s somewhat cart friendly, although it was about as hard as I can manage these days. I brought my new little 14’ Chestnut Fox.
One thing about Maine, always plan on wind and consider yourself lucky if it’s calm. I lucked out and paddled the 4 or so miles to a small island campsite (one of two campsite s on the lake) on a calm lake.
I really liked this small lake as I made my way down the shoreline, it reminded me a lot of a Canadian lake, it has two camps on it but otherwise it was very quite and wild. I set up my camp on the island shortly before dinner and as I as sat out on a rock admiring the two loons that seemed pretty interested in me, I realized they must have a nest nearby. Sure enough, I found it right near my canoe on the shore, so I packed up as quickly as I could and left. It was too late and too far to make the other island campsite so I managed to make do on the shoreline a short paddle away.
I managed to make do and all went well, a small rock was my cooking area the next day, I had to use the canoe as a wind block.
So it went for the rest of the trip, some rain, some wind, some sheltered cooking areas. A good time, I was happy with the Fox, it handled the wind well with the packs in it, something I was a little concerned about previously.
exploring a small stream,
Out in the wind and waves,
