The humidity refused to break and the rain showers were intermittent with moments of sunshine and wind. This would be my second “zero mileage” day. It was about time the rain made an appearance.ħ/12 – It rained last night and this morning. Allie messaged me on the GPS to warn of impending thunderstorms. The sky, like the day before, was matte and dark. Many falls, hours of wet feet and 6 miles later I reached the dam. My ego was somewhat culled by my experience on the Clyde River and I headed the book’s suggestion. The guide books pegged this as an all-day ascent toward Spencer Lake. I didn’t notice for several days and was confused as to why the stern hatch was filled with an inch of water at the end of some days. I don’t know if this is where I put a small hole in the stern or if it was later. The remainder of the Dead River was slow and steady aside from a few areas of quick water and a rapid below the gorge.Īt the stream I began 6.25 miles of upstream travel in shallow water that rarely fully supported the boat. Hurriedly I climbed down the remaining slope to the water and grabbed ahold before the recirculating current pulled the boat from the eddy and sent it downstream without me. Ducking under the yoke in one movement I sent the boat over my head on a trajectory where it rotated 180 degrees in the air and came splashing down in the eddy I was standing high above. Fully loaded on my shoulders the boat was about ten feet from the water when I launched it. The bank of the river rose steeply and I was still about six feet off the water when I could not longer safely climb the rocks under the load of the boat. I carefully portaged my boat alongside the gorge moving as close to the water as I could. The dam before the Dead River was situated in steep rocky terrain that housed an appealing whitewater feature below the falls with apparent minimal risk. The loons and I chatted back and forth and the few motorboats on the lake could be heard across the stillness but never seen. I was prepared for the worst in a raincoat that retained rather than repelled moisture in the 90% humidity. The folks at Ecopeligicon told me the dead river was dead and impassible and I steeled myself for an 18 mile walk to Stratton over a burger and beer overlooking the lake.ħ/10 – There was very much a “calm before the storm” sensation that filled me as I paddle across an impossibly flat Flagstaff Lake under darkening skies. By the time we said goodbye I was more learned in how lumber has evolved and had permission to use the facilities at the museum. I learned about log jams and demolition which is what he did when he worked the log drive as a teenager. He drove me to the local grocery store and gave me a tour of Rangeley. From there he called his wife to tell her that he’d be a minute since we were going on a tour. I loaded his car with logs and he offered to let me in to the museum to look around the ancient chain saws and artwork depicting logging and forestry in the North Maine Woods. He also did the lettering and trail maintenance around the leanto. This man who’s name I have so unfortunately forgotten to write down is 81 years old and one of the museums curator’s. This would set off a set of very fortuitous events. I offered to give him a hand in the lifting. I saw an elderly fellow hauling logs to his car from a tree he had just cut up. The museum was disappointedly closed so I began to trek toward town. It was early afternoon when I reached the Maine Forestry Museum with the “Half-way Hilton” a beautiful leanto set back in the woods on the museum’s property which would be my resting place that night. On Rangeley Lake I enjoyed a stiff tailwind and drifted most of the way across while I placed my feet up in front of the cockpit until I started to pitch from being turned sideways in the swell. I had rationed to resupply in Rangeley so I continued on my way. The signs of other people were increasing with haste as I entered Oquossoc which was portrayed as a hamlet on my map but presented a market, marina and brewery/tap room. Take the example of the person sitting in a train moving east.I paddled for perhaps a mile before portaging into Rangeley Lake. We introduce relative motion in one dimension first, because the velocity vectors simplify to having only two possible directions.
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