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paulthenurse

Fecal Transplant Super Donor
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Down by the rivah, Down by the banks of the Rivah
Sorry for the bad James Earle Jones thing, it was a joke I kept saying to SWMBO as I built her a kayak. Some of you guys followed the progress of my building a kayak for my wife in this thread. Well, I finally finished it, or at least it was finished enough for us to use. So we loaded it and a rental for me on the truck and headed up to Maine to the Allagash Waterway Wilderness. Litteraly, the very first time Alice sat in the boat and it was in water was at the put in site.

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And Holy Crap, it floats!

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OK, C'mon back to the dock, we gotta pack 'em up. Oh, and I need to glue your seat in place.

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PTN
 
So we headed out, I'm in a Necky Chatham 17. (Edited to add, "Just about the tenderest boat God ever created. You could fart in this thing and end up looking up at the sun thu water. Rotational cooling will happen! The question is, are you ready for it?)

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Down a passageway to Chamberlain Lake.

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It was almost 3 pm by the time we got there (We left home at 5:30 am) and so we didn't travel far that day. We went a few miles down the lake and stopped at a nice spot for the night.

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PTN
 
Alice laughs at me because I alway take pictures of my food. I'll admit, it's weird. Here is a dinner fit for a king after a long day of driving and paddling. Burgers and toasted English muffins in the fire.
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Sunset from our first campsite.
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The next morning things weren't quite so nice. The fog was so thick you couldn't see across the campsite in the morning but it had lifted a bit by the time we ate and got packed up.
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We paddled across the lake and started up the far shore. We put in a good 10 miles by 1 pm when we got to an old dam. We took out at the dam and carried over to a little river on the far side. We ran into a couple of Rangers at the dam doing some maintenence work on teh campsites there. They were nice enough to take our picture. They were also the last people we would see for the next two days.

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PTN
 
The creek we were in ended at Eagle Lake. A few hours of paddling and we came to Pillsbury Island, the furthest north that Thoreau made it on his paddle up here back in teh 1880's. A little beyond that we diverted to a place that was a Twilight Zone Moment. We were in the middle of no-where. It was so quiet you could here airplanes flying overhead that were so high they were leaving vapor trails. And in teh middle of all this wildness we come across the remains of a railroad. Back in the day they built a railroad up there to haul pulpwood from one lake to the next. It ran for about 15 years and then was just abandoned.

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Then it was time to get back in the boats, paddle past the beaver dam and go find another campsite.

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PTN
 
A woods version of a two car garage.

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We had a few showers that afternoon but they had a sliver lining. But they were just the advance scouts of what was to come.

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By morning it was ugly and it stayed ugly.

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Just before Noah boarded up the ark.

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PTN
 
Very nice pics Paul. I look forward to the day that SWMBO and I can travel by ourselves, and yet I don't want my kids to leave the house.
 
Nice! Makes me miss home.

When did you move out to the left coast? I never told you but I spent many a day in your hometown. We owned oneof the original Rosebrook Townhouses at Bretton Woods. We used to go to Christmas Eave mass st that little church just up the street from the 302 intersection. Sorta cool going to church on Christmas Eve in Bethlehem, even for an atheist.
 
Some more. OK I've finishe the bottle of wine and have moved on to Edworts Appflewine. All bets are off from here on.


Long as I remember, the rain been pouring down."

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We got to Churchill Dam and we decided that we'd had enough. It had rained 8 inches since we left and we were waterlogged. I should have brought a bigger tarp, one that could cover the table/fire place area dn still get our tent under, but the one I had was only 10 x 10 and just wasn't big enough for the job. So we got the rangers to call the shuttle service, who drove into the woods to get us and took us out to Allagash Village where we loaded everyting back on my truck


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and took off for the teeming Metropolis known as Fort Kent, Maine. I know that last bit sounded a mite sarcastic but as the shuttle driver told us, "Ehya, we've got two traffic lights in town now, it's getting pretty busy." Fort Kent is the northern termionus of US Route One, that starts in Key West Florida. Having spent time in both, I have to honestly say I like them both equally but for very different reasons.
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A hot shower, a cold beer, a soft bed and 'Sacre Suere,' a Laundromat so we could get some dry clothes, and it was off to Eastport, Me. Who knew that Maine had the Northernmost point in the continental US and the Easternmost also? I didn't. You would think that it wouldn't take very long, right. I mean Maine is big as far as New England goes but c'mon. Ya, right! Six hours to drive down Rt One to Eastport. Of course we stopped many times along the way, Arrostook County is one of the biggest potato areas around and every tiem I got on a good stretch of road there was another tractor hauling potatoes. Beautiful country though. And where else can you buy 15- 20 acres of land for $20,000. Of course there is no electricity, sewage or water and there won't be in your lifetime but WTH.

Eventually we find a lovely little cabin right on the water in Eastport.
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Kinda hokey, right? Ya, maybe but this is the view out the front door.

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And Eastport is in the Bay of Fundy, notable for 20 foot tidal shifts.

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That is the same tidal pool, the first pic is high tide, the second is mid ebb tide.

PTN
 
The next morning the kayak got it's first taste of salt water.

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I even got to take it for a spin.

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Notice how the dazzling glow from the varnished brightwork reflects up from the deck to the top of my head. If you didn't know that it was an optical illusion you would think I had a big bald spot.
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PTN
 
We stayed there for a few days and eventually headed down to Bar harbor. We were planning on paddling there but prudence dictated otherwise.

"Don't you think the put in is too rough?"

I don't know, what do you think?"

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"Uh, ya. Lets not even mention the fog. Wanna go get a beer?" (Do you think she knows my weak spot?)

"Uhh Huhh."

We had a great time on the road, however. Stopped on the side of the road, picking blueberries, which are now merrily fermenting with some wildflower honey.


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And residents of New England, rejoice! There are wineries in Maine. I think this is Bartlett Wines. (I'm not sure, we stopped at at least a half dozen on the way home from Bar Harbor.

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PTN
 
Tough to do on a SOT, where do you put your dry stuff? Do you take it into surf? I was out in surf today in a friends fiberglass boat. Ebb tide thu Hull Gut. It don't get much uglier. Three combat exits within 50 yards of the landing zone. Ugly, Ugly, Ugly!!! The Stooges in Boats!
 
Simply ....Awesome.

I could feel like I was there in the peace and quiet and didn't even get wet or sore muscles. Please share more of these trips.
 
Tough to do on a SOT, where do you put your dry stuff? Do you take it into surf?

Actually there is tons of storage space. There are multiple hatches, so you can stuff the hull pretty full. The hatches have built-in dry bags for stuff that can't tolerate ANY moisture. There are also many places to strap down bulkier items on the deck. Mine is an older model, but similar to this one.

It's pedal-propelled, and REALLY moves. I can also hoist up the sail for even more speed, although it's not the most stable sailboat.

Mine is rigged for fishing (anchor, depthfinder/GPS, Scotty rod holders, etc.) but most of it could be removed for camping trips. I gotta plan something!

[youtube]TXEE150Zdho[/youtube]

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Actually there is tons of storage space. There are multiple hatches, so you can stuff the hull pretty full. The hatches have built-in dry bags for stuff that can't tolerate ANY moisture. There are also many places to strap down bulkier items on the deck. Mine is an older model, but similar to this one.

It's pedal-propelled, and REALLY moves. I can also hoist up the sail for even more speed, although it's not the most stable sailboat.

Mine is rigged for fishing (anchor, depthfinder/GPS, Scotty rod holders, etc.) but most of it could be removed for camping trips. I gotta plan something!

[youtube]TXEE150Zdho[/youtube]

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That's a cool boat. I have a few friends that use something similar as a diving platform. Looks like that would work fine for that application. Made by Hobie, eh? I might look them up

PTN
 
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