NFCT: Days 28-32

Day 28
We left Jackman late in the day after showering, lounging, and doing our last load of laundry. We were nervous about the strong winds, but hit the water anyhow. We started in Big Wood Pond and were quickly on the Moose River. There was little current on the river, so we enjoyed a floating lunch and tailwind for the majority of our float. After the Moose River, we headed out to Long Pond. There was an extreme SW wind as soon as we rounded the corner onto Long Pond. We were shooting to camp at the Lower Narrows campsite on Long Pond and debated how to best battle the wind and waves. We headed towards the north shore of the pond and rode a tailwind to the shore. Here we again debated what to do. The wind was still whipping and dark clouds were forming. We saw the same Outward Bound group we had met a few days earlier slowly working their way around the pond. This gave us the confidence to try again. So, we headed back out on the pond and decided to take a gamble: rather than fight against the wind near the shore, we put on our PFDs and rode the tailwind in the middle of the pond. The waves were large and it was scary watching the waves crest and fall underneath the canoe. We focused on keeping the boat straight and eventually made it to camp. We hunkered down under the tarp and tent and prepared for a large storm. The wind picked up even more and the rain came, but the storm moved fast and by bedtime, it had passed.
11 miles

Day 29
We woke up and left camp by 7:15 in anticipation of a long portage on Demo Rd. Long Pond was calm this morning, but we were still anxious to get back on the Moose River. The rapids on the Moose were fun and we pulled out at the well marked portage just above the Demo Rd. bridge. The class III rapid that ran under the bridge looked too large for us and we decided the rapids below looked too boney. So, we put on the wheels and started walking. The portage was extremely well marked and we didn't even need the trail updates we wrote down from the NFCT website. We carried the last short bit through the woods and made our way to Brassua Lake. It was cloudy and calm on Brassua Lake. Once on the Moose River again, we resupplied right before Moosehead at a general store. Thankfully there were adequate supplies, as we were counting on this to be our last resupply. We enjoyed a break on the store's dock and then made our way to Moosehead. As our guidebook and map warned, the weather changed quickly. As we made our way to the campsites on Mt. Kineo, the wind and waves picked up. We fought against the chop and landed as soon as we could. Even though it was a Saturday night, we had no trouble finding a campsite on Mt. Kineo. We had an early dinner, washed the boat, and hoped the winds would drop off before morning.
20 miles

A beautiful night on Mt. Kineo

Day 30
Woke up early and tried to beat the winds on Moosehead. The calm morning we were accustomed to earlier in the trip seemed to have disappeared! The wind was strong and the air was cool and crisp. We made a quick first crossing and decided to reassess the wind situation when we were closer to Big Duck Cove. Here we could wait at a campsite until the winds died down if necessary.
After fighting the wind for 2 hours, we decided to break. We stopped at the first campsite in Big Duck Cove, hoping it would only be for an hour or two. The wind never died down and we were faced with a decision: if we go now and stay close to shore, we could still make it to the Penobscot and stay on schedule to finish the 27th and meet Keith and Leslie on the 24th. If not, we wait for the night and hope the wind is better tomorrow. The most recent weather report we had looked at called for strong winds the next day as well, so we went for it. By late afternoon, we had safely arrived at the Northeast Carry. We briefly stopped to have a cup of coffee and talk with Ed and Shirley Raymond, the sole residents of Northeast Carry, ME and owners of Raymonds Country Store. We then continued on our way, putting in at a buggy spot on the Penobscot. We felt so relaxed on this wide, slow river and stopped for the night at Thoreau's Island (a great site, awesome for large groups)
19.5 miles

A chilly (and lazy) layover at Big Duck Cove

View of Moosehead from the start of the Northeast Carry

Best 99 cent purchase ever

Northeast Carry, town of 2!

Photoshoot on Thoreau Island

Day 31
We were reluctant to leave our great campsite, but were excited about finally going to Chesuncook Lake. We had heard from our friend, Nate, that a stop to meet John at The Store for his homemade rootbeer, fudge, and stories about Chesuncook was a must. So after an easy float down the Penobscot, we headed onto Chesuncook Lake. It was a little windy, but we landed safely at Graveyard Point. From here we enjoyed a short walk through the historic town on our way to meet John. We enjoyed a visit with him and loved hearing about life in the little community. Oh, and the root beer and fudge were great!
After our stop, we continued our paddle on Chesuncook. We were hoping to stop at one of the two campsites on Umbazooksus Stream for the night. We stopped at the first site, but it appeared that campers had set up there for the summer. Preferring a more private site, we decided to investigate the second. When we arrived, we met Dave. We enjoyed chatting with Dave, a longtime Maine resident and guide in the area.
21 miles

Penobscot River

Enjoying the sun

And the Moose count grows!

Canoe on Graveyard Point, Chesuncook Lake

The Store, Chesuncook Lake

Breathtaking views of Mt. Katahdin

Day 32
From Umbazooksus Stream, the NFCT route takes you through Mud Pond. Even though this portage is a famous one, we decided to forgo the muck and bugs. Guy Allen Road left from our campsite and would take us right to Chamberlain Lake. We reasoned that the 2 mile Mud Pond carry would actually be 6 miles once we went back for our second load of gear. A 6 mile, wheelable road portage would be the same length, but much easier and more enjoyable. The portage was easy and we only saw one logging truck the entire 3 hours. The rain was steady by this point. We signed in at the Chamberlain ranger station and hit the lake. Although we've had many rainy days, this was the first day it rained consistently and was cold. We only stopped briefly to eat lunch, trying to stay warm by jumping around while eating. We chose the short Lock Dam carry to Eagle Lake. After a few hours of paddling, we decided to stop at Pillsbury Island for the night. We were chilled and needed to warm up. We set up camp, enjoyed some afternoon coffee, and lazed around. By dinner, the rain had stopped. As we were beginning dinner, a ranger stopped by. He said we could pay for our nights on the Allagash Waterway at the dam. He also warned us that there were many groups, some as large as 40, who would be running Chase Rapids in the morning. He advised us to get there as early as possible and he'd help expedite the process for us. We were still far from the dam, so this meant an early start in the morning.
19 miles

Found the Miller Time campsite on our portage