home sweet home

OHMYGAWDTHATBRITNEYSHAMELESS.


sunset on lobster lake

the west branch of the penobscot

monkey children at ogden north

beautiful odgen north campsite - a type of gauguin-does-maine landscape


lil'claw of lobster lake - with katahdin in the background, maine's highest mountain and a terminus for the appalachian trail

the view from lobster mountain, a short 2 mile hike

beeches and birches on the way down from lobster mt.

goodnight lobster lake! if it's 8:30, it must be time for bed . . .


what a five days. dismayed at first and then daily by the mosquitoes [hordes. swarms. the children looked like lepers from their bugbites at the end], unpredictable high winds on lobster lake and the surprise! thunderstorm at the beginning, we managed to have a pretty good time.

on the second day, things turned around and after a full day of 5 hours paddling, we reached lobster lake, scudding across whitecaps from a tailwind.

ogden north was one of the most beautiful campsites i've ever seen. white sand, wind-sculpted pines and cedars, stony beaches for swimming. the children wore their hair down, forsworn clothing and frolicked around the beaches like south sea natives.

third day out, we canoed [literally] a 1/2 hour to jackson cove, where (5) kids and (2) counselors summited the very prestigious and challenging (2) mile hike of lobster mountain.

shallow bay was our [unnecessary] rest day - a full 14 hours of sleeping in the sun and reading out loud stardust by neil gaiman, editing out the more racy sections. too bad there were 6 inch leeches, lurking in the water . . .

AND we saw a bear! in all the time i've spent outdoors in maine, that was my first. it was on the road though, not while at night, which would have less exciting and more terrifying. still.


there is something so languorous about canoeing trips that i don't believe are found on any other sort of wilderness expeditions. unhindered by backpacking's strict weight limits and by kayaking's need for tetris-packing, we were in camp and set up by 2 pm everyday, leaving the afternoon for gentle exploring, lizard-bathing on rocks and reading.

but, then i come home and remember the luxuries of wearing inventive outfits and daily showers with razors and ice-cold white wine . . .