chomp
New member
Shortcut to the photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/chompat99/KayakingAtLakeUmbagog#
Full Report:
For Labor Day weekend, I decided to do something completely different. Darren had reserved a remote campsite at Lake Umbagog and I jumped on the opportunity, having heard from just about all the paddlers on this site about what a fantastic place this was. (Especially you, SherpaK.)
So Friday night, I met Darren, Carmel, Darren's nephew Mike and Swamp up at Cherry Mountain Road. We spend the evening cooking meat, drinking beverages and enjoying the pleasant if not clear weather. It was a great night and we were all excited about heading up to the lake on the next day.
Saturday we woke up and heading into Gorham for breakfast and then Berlin for food shopping. All the while, rain threatened and occasionally a few drops fell, but for the most part it looked to be an OK day. We got to the campground about noon and checked in and spent the best $100 you can - we got the boat shuttle to bring all of our gear over to our site. This meant we had plenty of food, camp chairs, music, an EZ-UP in case of rain, etc.. While we all packed quite a bit of stuff, I'm still amazed at the pile of stuff that Carmel dragged out.
Mike was generous enough to not only load but unload all of the gear for us, while the rest of us hopped in our kayaks and paddled about 4 miles over to the campsite. The clouds were out, but there was no wind and paddling on the calm lake was pleasant. Having known absolutely nothing about the our site, we were excited to see that right next to the camping area was a rocky point with no trees and a fantastic view facing mostly west. After an evening paddle and more meat, we sat out on the point for a really nice sunset. I would go back out on the boat that night to see the stars, which were amazing, only to see my headlamp fall into the lake. Rookie.
The next day was beautiful by hiking standards, but it was windy and there were small white caps on the lake. Our plan for Sunday was to head up to the northern part of the lake. But Mike had never kayaked before so he wasn't thrilled at the idea, and Swamp tested the water and thought it was a little too rough. Darren also thought that going that far in the wind would be very difficult. Fortunately Carmel and I are not complete wimps and we gave it a shot.
At first, it was brutal. A stiff headwind made progress slow, and small waves kept crashing into my small $200 Dick's Sporting Goods rec boat. Still, I found my little boat very agile on the waves, and very maneuverable. About half way up the lake, however, I needed to make an emergency landing to empty all the water out. I guess I need a pump. Carmel and I took lunch and agreed that despite how hard the paddling was, it was a great day, the water was warm and that we would continue up to the Androscoggin River. It was hard paddling again to get up there, but once we were at the mouth of the river, the water calmed down and things turned very peaceful.
And that's when we saw the bald eagle. We sat there for a while and watched him fly across the river a couple of times. We even watched him swoop down, grab a fish and then start tearing it apart. We were less than 20 feet away when he was eating, and you could see the feathers in his neck move as he swallowed. As Carmel said, "That was a 10!" It was a very cool moment and my only regret is that I didn't have a better camera to capture it.
The rest of the afternoon we spent paddling back to the campsite. Going with the wind was obviously much easier and surfing the waves was a ton of fun. By the time we got back to camp, over 5 hours had gone by! This was my longest paddle by far, and my best one. Being out on the lake on a day like that was just incredible. While we were gone, Darren and Swamp had taken Mike out for a kayak as well. That evening, more great food, another great sunset, and a big fire with great friends.
Monday, I took a short solo trip out to Black Island Cove which was very cool. That had to be the quietest place on the lake, and while the lake was again covered with small whitecaps, this cove was completely quiet. I followed a loon for a little while and watch him swim and dive for food. Then it was back to the campsite to pack up, load all of our gear on the boat and then paddle for shore.
I can't say enough good thinks about Lake Umbagog. The campsite was amazing and secluded. The views were incredible and you could even see Mt. Washington from a few spots. The lake is also very quiet, and while there are some motor boats that go cruising by, most of the people on the water are in human powered crafts. Even the other campers are extremely friendly! So thanks to Darren for pulling this trip together - I'll be back up here for sure.
http://picasaweb.google.com/chompat99/KayakingAtLakeUmbagog#
Full Report:
For Labor Day weekend, I decided to do something completely different. Darren had reserved a remote campsite at Lake Umbagog and I jumped on the opportunity, having heard from just about all the paddlers on this site about what a fantastic place this was. (Especially you, SherpaK.)
So Friday night, I met Darren, Carmel, Darren's nephew Mike and Swamp up at Cherry Mountain Road. We spend the evening cooking meat, drinking beverages and enjoying the pleasant if not clear weather. It was a great night and we were all excited about heading up to the lake on the next day.
Saturday we woke up and heading into Gorham for breakfast and then Berlin for food shopping. All the while, rain threatened and occasionally a few drops fell, but for the most part it looked to be an OK day. We got to the campground about noon and checked in and spent the best $100 you can - we got the boat shuttle to bring all of our gear over to our site. This meant we had plenty of food, camp chairs, music, an EZ-UP in case of rain, etc.. While we all packed quite a bit of stuff, I'm still amazed at the pile of stuff that Carmel dragged out.
Mike was generous enough to not only load but unload all of the gear for us, while the rest of us hopped in our kayaks and paddled about 4 miles over to the campsite. The clouds were out, but there was no wind and paddling on the calm lake was pleasant. Having known absolutely nothing about the our site, we were excited to see that right next to the camping area was a rocky point with no trees and a fantastic view facing mostly west. After an evening paddle and more meat, we sat out on the point for a really nice sunset. I would go back out on the boat that night to see the stars, which were amazing, only to see my headlamp fall into the lake. Rookie.
The next day was beautiful by hiking standards, but it was windy and there were small white caps on the lake. Our plan for Sunday was to head up to the northern part of the lake. But Mike had never kayaked before so he wasn't thrilled at the idea, and Swamp tested the water and thought it was a little too rough. Darren also thought that going that far in the wind would be very difficult. Fortunately Carmel and I are not complete wimps and we gave it a shot.
At first, it was brutal. A stiff headwind made progress slow, and small waves kept crashing into my small $200 Dick's Sporting Goods rec boat. Still, I found my little boat very agile on the waves, and very maneuverable. About half way up the lake, however, I needed to make an emergency landing to empty all the water out. I guess I need a pump. Carmel and I took lunch and agreed that despite how hard the paddling was, it was a great day, the water was warm and that we would continue up to the Androscoggin River. It was hard paddling again to get up there, but once we were at the mouth of the river, the water calmed down and things turned very peaceful.
And that's when we saw the bald eagle. We sat there for a while and watched him fly across the river a couple of times. We even watched him swoop down, grab a fish and then start tearing it apart. We were less than 20 feet away when he was eating, and you could see the feathers in his neck move as he swallowed. As Carmel said, "That was a 10!" It was a very cool moment and my only regret is that I didn't have a better camera to capture it.
The rest of the afternoon we spent paddling back to the campsite. Going with the wind was obviously much easier and surfing the waves was a ton of fun. By the time we got back to camp, over 5 hours had gone by! This was my longest paddle by far, and my best one. Being out on the lake on a day like that was just incredible. While we were gone, Darren and Swamp had taken Mike out for a kayak as well. That evening, more great food, another great sunset, and a big fire with great friends.
Monday, I took a short solo trip out to Black Island Cove which was very cool. That had to be the quietest place on the lake, and while the lake was again covered with small whitecaps, this cove was completely quiet. I followed a loon for a little while and watch him swim and dive for food. Then it was back to the campsite to pack up, load all of our gear on the boat and then paddle for shore.
I can't say enough good thinks about Lake Umbagog. The campsite was amazing and secluded. The views were incredible and you could even see Mt. Washington from a few spots. The lake is also very quiet, and while there are some motor boats that go cruising by, most of the people on the water are in human powered crafts. Even the other campers are extremely friendly! So thanks to Darren for pulling this trip together - I'll be back up here for sure.
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