[3/4 time]

The warm weather last week and the promised stretch of spring weather predicted for later this week, got me thinking of summer.
Last summer I honestly believed would be the last summer my son and I would get away to the North Maine Woods. Now it seems we may have yet one more opportunity.
Last August was our fourth trip and unlike the previous three it wasn’t strictly a canoe trip. In 2009 we spent 16 days tramping around the North Maine Woods. We did some canoeing, but mostly just camping, fishing and some hiking. With 3.5 million acres at our disposal, we were never at a loss for a place to go. We just bounced around, enjoying the lakes, rivers, mountains and our time together.
He’s 16 and with summer jobs, girl friends and now a drivers license I thought he’d be going in a different direction. But, he wants to go. He plans to umpire Little League and Babe Ruth baseball and caddy this summer. The umpiring will be done by the end of July, and the caddying; well he just might have to take August off.
If it works out we plan to canoe the West Branch of the Penobscot River from Lobster Lake up to Chesuncook Lake and down to Ripogenous Dam. We’ll give ourselves five days, which should be more than enough. If we can scrape together the funds we’d like to spend a night at the Chesuncook House.
Next we plan to head up to the Allagash and spent four nights canoeing the waterway. We spent eight days canoeing the Allagash in 2007 and hope to repeat the section from Round Pond back to Allagash Village.
Last year, just playing with the Google Earth satellite imagery I found an abandoned airstrip in the woods 11 miles from the Canadian border. The paper companies walked away from it back in the early 70’s. We camped next to it and my son got to drive the 3200 foot runway for two days.
This year, again playing with the satellite imagery I found another one. This one looks shorter and is not paved. The interesting thing about these spots is that there is no infrastructure, just the runway, and no people for miles and miles and miles. They exist today in the middle of no where. In the case of the airstrip this summer, we may have to hike in.
Once off the Allagash, we plan three days along the St. John fishing for muskie and then it’s probably down to the AMC’s Little Lyford camp for three days. We’ve stayed there at the end of our trips for the last two years. It’s a great spot to end a trip eating someone else’s cooking and enjoying hot showers. We also hope to hike about a mile of Gulf Hagas we missed last year and if time allows possibly climb Little Kineo.
All that will put us in Greenville on August 27th with three days to spare.

[NEPilgrim]

Sounds like a great time, 3/4! Enjoy the time w/ your son. I'm sure times like this will stick w/ him for the rest of his life. Have fun & be safe!

~Steve.

[Majer:Danjer]

I just can't wait to sit out by the fire pit, sucking back a few cold ones.

Looks like there will some yak time on the Saco as usual, and some more trail stomping around MWV. Besides that, I am really looking forward to a planned overnighter at Sawyer Pond Hut.

[dudley]

I gotta paint my house... two sides at least.
On the fun side there's a week fishing at the Cape, plus hopefully another one on the 'holy water' of the Catskills. Before the snow flies anyways.
Then there's the issue of the water supply at the camp.
We either have to clean out and reline the existing well, dig a spring in the seep, or have someone come in and drill a new well. Plus I want to build some tent platforms and hopefully a frame for apavilion. Lotta work to do there.

[3/4 time]

I too have some house painting to do. I have to paint the trim. It's a small house, but a big job. Fortunately, my job slows down quite a bit in the summer. I'll get the painting done in June and July so I can play in August.

[fishmonger]

I too will be keeping with the home improvement theme. We live in a two family, and will be moving from the 2nd floor to the first for a new tenant in June. So May will be spent cleaning, sheetrocking, painting, etc. So my early season hiking will be brief, but I do hope to get up to the Whites at least once, and will do plenty of local hikes around Salem. Also kicking around the idea of a canoe trip to the Adirondacks in July, which would be sweet...

[dudley]

3/4 time, on 15 Mar 2010 - 10:46 PM, said:

I too have some house painting to do. I have to paint the trim. It's a small house, but a big job. Fortunately, my job slows down quite a bit in the summer. I'll get the painting done in June and July so I can play in August.

Remember the movie The Money Pit ?
They could have made that about my house
Built around 1790. 14 rooms, acres of gardens....It's practically a full time job.
I don't know what I was thinking

[3/4 time]

That does sound like a full time job. Fortunately for me I have a 16-year old, who for some strange reason enjoys to push the lawn mower around. He likes to climb the ladder as well. Last fall he cleaned the gutters. I hope he can find the same pleasure in painting this summer.