Adventure Through Maine's Allagash Wilderness
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2180miles
Endurance Adventuring
Day 4: Running Moose & Pineapple Floats
Our entire group slept in Sunday morning, a result of the late evening before and chilly air that lingered over our campsite in the shade of tall surrounding pines. By the time I got down from the tent Bob was situated with the boys around a small morning campfire quickly re-ignited from yesterday’s remaining embers. Dani made us a quick breakfast of egg and cheese sandwiches while I broke down our camp gear and began packing us up, noticing footprints in the dirt as I moved about. It was to be our last morning with Shaun and Jenny, with their work schedules needing them back in Boston for Monday morning. We gathered for a group photo before parting ways, turning opposite directions down Baker Lake Road that we’d come in on the night before.
Bob & The Boys by 2180miles
St. Francis Campsite by 2180miles
WK2 Trailhawk Camp Set by 2180miles
2018 Adventure Crew Photo by 2180miles
The itinerary for the day was pre-arranged to be the longest of the trip, designed that way to get us down towards the southwest of North Maine Woods and therefore closer to the 20-Mile Road Checkpoint where we’d depart and head back to civilization the next morning. There was nothing formally arranged as far as activities throughout the day, and instead we simply drove with the windows down and warming air of the vast forest blowing through the vehicles while the sun shone down overhead. As we continued down the winding Baker Lake Road I once again saw a full size moose darting into the woods – thankfully this time the vehicles behind us were able to spot him as well which made for some great radio chatter and excitement from Bob’s kids.
Stopping for a brief break down at Baker Lake, I took some time to fly the drone overhead and capture the vast landscape that stretched out well beyond our sightlines. Brendan and I got some footage of our Jeeps crossing over the hundred foot long wooden beamed bridge that spanned Baker Lake’s runoff river, and we chatted with a gentlemen in the parking lot who owns one of the logging camps in North Maine Woods. He travels up from his home in New York each year to spend the warmer months up at a secluded cabin in the Allagash. Personally, I think it sounds like a fantastic way to spend summer in New England. Leaving the Baker Lake shoreline Brendan led the way by following the breadcrumb GPS waypoints that we had tirelessly programmed in the weeks prior to the trip departure.
Baker Lake Road by 2180miles
Escape of the Moose by 2180miles
NMW-180819-1120 by 2180miles
Crossing Baker Lake Bridge by 2180miles
Crossing Baker Lake Bridge by 2180miles
At Baker Lake by 2180miles
Originally in our planning we had chosen Penobscot Lake Dam Campsite as our destination for the day, but due to some trail closures and reroutes we were challenged to reference our print maps and choose an alternative place to stop for the evening. I have to admit that my favorite parts of these trips are those moments where paper maps come out and we have to work with what we’re given; there’s a sense of adventure in those moment’s that’s hard to describe, a tingling on the back of your neck from not knowing what’s next. After a few minutes of radio chatter and map checking we chose Long Pond Campsite located about fifteen miles west of our location at the time.
Arriving in the mid-afternoon we were lucky to catch nearly 4 more hours of sunlight, plenty of time for a few people to hop in the lake and swim. Dani convinced me to blow up her gigantic inflatable pineapple so she could float around on the water, thankfully an easy task with the on board air compressors most of us carry. The pups ran up and down the lakeshore as Brendan and I hung out drinking some hard ciders, talking about the trip and potential future adventures we might take through the North Maine Woods. I snuck off for a late nap at some point, with all the windows of the roof top tent unzipped and a warm breeze blowing through. Dinner was cooked both at Brendan’s trailer, lit perfectly by my clamp-on GoPod Black Oak LED flood fixture, as well as on a picnic table down parked in front of our line of Jeeps. When the meal was over we all made smore’s around the campfire that Bob built, and watched a sunset that was softly colored but gorgeous nonetheless. A few of us stayed up late again under the starry sky, and Brendan and I took some photos of the Jeeps before bed, though the moon’s early rising washed the images out more than I’d have liked.
Long Pond Campfire by 2180miles
My Co-pilot at Sunset by 2180miles
Brendan's Camp Set by 2180miles
Under Starry Skies by 2180miles
Our entire group slept in Sunday morning, a result of the late evening before and chilly air that lingered over our campsite in the shade of tall surrounding pines. By the time I got down from the tent Bob was situated with the boys around a small morning campfire quickly re-ignited from yesterday’s remaining embers. Dani made us a quick breakfast of egg and cheese sandwiches while I broke down our camp gear and began packing us up, noticing footprints in the dirt as I moved about. It was to be our last morning with Shaun and Jenny, with their work schedules needing them back in Boston for Monday morning. We gathered for a group photo before parting ways, turning opposite directions down Baker Lake Road that we’d come in on the night before.
Bob & The Boys by 2180miles
St. Francis Campsite by 2180miles
WK2 Trailhawk Camp Set by 2180miles
2018 Adventure Crew Photo by 2180miles
The itinerary for the day was pre-arranged to be the longest of the trip, designed that way to get us down towards the southwest of North Maine Woods and therefore closer to the 20-Mile Road Checkpoint where we’d depart and head back to civilization the next morning. There was nothing formally arranged as far as activities throughout the day, and instead we simply drove with the windows down and warming air of the vast forest blowing through the vehicles while the sun shone down overhead. As we continued down the winding Baker Lake Road I once again saw a full size moose darting into the woods – thankfully this time the vehicles behind us were able to spot him as well which made for some great radio chatter and excitement from Bob’s kids.
Stopping for a brief break down at Baker Lake, I took some time to fly the drone overhead and capture the vast landscape that stretched out well beyond our sightlines. Brendan and I got some footage of our Jeeps crossing over the hundred foot long wooden beamed bridge that spanned Baker Lake’s runoff river, and we chatted with a gentlemen in the parking lot who owns one of the logging camps in North Maine Woods. He travels up from his home in New York each year to spend the warmer months up at a secluded cabin in the Allagash. Personally, I think it sounds like a fantastic way to spend summer in New England. Leaving the Baker Lake shoreline Brendan led the way by following the breadcrumb GPS waypoints that we had tirelessly programmed in the weeks prior to the trip departure.
Baker Lake Road by 2180miles
Escape of the Moose by 2180miles
NMW-180819-1120 by 2180miles
Crossing Baker Lake Bridge by 2180miles
Crossing Baker Lake Bridge by 2180miles
At Baker Lake by 2180miles
Originally in our planning we had chosen Penobscot Lake Dam Campsite as our destination for the day, but due to some trail closures and reroutes we were challenged to reference our print maps and choose an alternative place to stop for the evening. I have to admit that my favorite parts of these trips are those moments where paper maps come out and we have to work with what we’re given; there’s a sense of adventure in those moment’s that’s hard to describe, a tingling on the back of your neck from not knowing what’s next. After a few minutes of radio chatter and map checking we chose Long Pond Campsite located about fifteen miles west of our location at the time.
Arriving in the mid-afternoon we were lucky to catch nearly 4 more hours of sunlight, plenty of time for a few people to hop in the lake and swim. Dani convinced me to blow up her gigantic inflatable pineapple so she could float around on the water, thankfully an easy task with the on board air compressors most of us carry. The pups ran up and down the lakeshore as Brendan and I hung out drinking some hard ciders, talking about the trip and potential future adventures we might take through the North Maine Woods. I snuck off for a late nap at some point, with all the windows of the roof top tent unzipped and a warm breeze blowing through. Dinner was cooked both at Brendan’s trailer, lit perfectly by my clamp-on GoPod Black Oak LED flood fixture, as well as on a picnic table down parked in front of our line of Jeeps. When the meal was over we all made smore’s around the campfire that Bob built, and watched a sunset that was softly colored but gorgeous nonetheless. A few of us stayed up late again under the starry sky, and Brendan and I took some photos of the Jeeps before bed, though the moon’s early rising washed the images out more than I’d have liked.
Long Pond Campfire by 2180miles
My Co-pilot at Sunset by 2180miles
Brendan's Camp Set by 2180miles
Under Starry Skies by 2180miles