Penobscot River to Umbazooksus Stream

Sunday, September 23rd, 2007. Penobscot River, Maine. First day of autumn. Darrin broke camp and continued down the Penobscot River, where he noted landscape changes indicative of the more northern landscape he had gradually transitioned to. The forests were increasingly boreal in composition, with very few hardwoods. On the Penobscot, Darrin paddled through some nice class one rapids, and saw lots of fly fishermen and moose hunters. Soon he paddled onto Chesuncook Lake, where the wind was so strong that he could see dust devils on exposed beaches where the Lake was drawn down.

On Chesuncook, Darrin pulled over to the lakeshore, beached his canoe, and hiked about a mile inland to Chesuncook Village. There he discovered two of establishments that composed this village: a small church, and a general store. The general store had just closed for the season, but the friendly storekeeper was on the front porch when Darrin approached. Darrin chatted with him for several minutes, and helped clear out the store inventory - he bought a chunk of fudge, and nibbled on his way back to the Lake.

The wind had picked up when Darrin returned to Chesuncook Lake, and it blew steadily as he made his way onto Umbazooksus Stream. From the Stream, Darrin could see Mount Katadhin in the distance. The northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, Katahdin’s summit was where Darrin had completed his first major wilderness expedition nine years earlier. Seeing it was bittersweet. It conjured triumphant memories, but the peak was in the distance and would not be accessible on this trip. More notably, it was a reminder of a once-in-a-lifetime moment that would never be lived again in quite the same way, under quite the same circumstances.

Darrin fought the wind all the way to Umbazooksus West campsite, where he would spend the night. Moose hunting season was to open the next morning, and campsites were at a premium, so Darrin ended up sharing a campsite with several moose hunters.

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