In this summer of wet and windy weather it has been a trick to find that weekend or evening of perfect summer weather to get outside and enjoy the warm sun. We have had to just grab them when they showed themselves. And remember that wet misty weather can be enjoyable too. Chris and I had to travel to the Ellsworth area on the weekend of August 16th to deliver some lumber. We piled the kayaks on top of the lumber and headed out, hoping for the best. We dropped off the lumber and had a few hours to spend before our dinner date and decided to find an easy access kayak point and paddle for a few hours. Out came the DeLorme Gazetteer, and we picked Toddy Pond just east of Bucksport right off Route One.
No one was there! Into the water we went, past the old camps and the new ones, paddling along the east shore watching a lone loon dive and come up, dive and come up again. We paddled on down the lake quietly soaking up the passing clouds, the spots of warm sun, and the lap of the water against the boats. Perfectly zen.
Just one more point, just one more point until the lake narrowed so that we were fairly close to both sides and there on the shore…..high bush blueberries hanging over the water! The water in the lake had to be unusually high for August and the benefit was easy access to plump juicy berries. I ate plenty of them while Chris explored around the next corner.
Then we beelined it back to the launch ramp and the promise of dinner with friends. Now that was a perfect summer day!
I would be interested to hear about your favorite kayaking spots around the state!
Leslie Burhoe
I should have mentioned when I wrote this blog that the kayaks we paddle are 2 that Chris built out of wood about 17 years ago. They are sea kayaks about 17 feet long.
Posted by: Leslie | August 26, 2008 at 11:15 AM