Day 30: Little Brassua Inlet to Northeast Carry landing

Today was one of our longest days, and it sure felt like it. We made it across the Brassua Lakes with ease and just a breeze to contend with; where the Moose River empties into Moosehead was another story. ​

Clouds of bugs at dawn means breakfast in the boat

Mt. Kineo at our backs as we paddle across Moosehead Lake

We decided to head down to Rockwood to wait for the wind to die down, and good thing we did: the kind stranger from yesterday, Ralph, spotted us from his backyard and shouted down to us to ask if we needed anything. We ended up pulling up to his dock, using his bathroom, and taking a snack break in his yard. 

We chatted with him for a while and he gave us Gatorade before we parted ways, feeling much more prepared for the open water miles ahead and grateful for another moment of trail magic. We decided that the lake looked calm enough to cross over and between Mt. Kineo and Farm Island (rather than through the Frog Pond channel), making our way around to the north side of Kineo and across to the eastern shore of the lake. 

With Kineo at our backs and sparkling blue-green water below us, we continued north and stopped for lunch at Kelly Point. There, we took an icy dip and talked to a friendly family that was camping there for a few days – what a spot! Everyone we encounter seems impressed, on some level, by our endeavors. 

The afternoon was long and hot, but the lack of wind was such an unexpected gift. We also had the added incentive of making it to Raymond’s Country Store, ~0.25 miles into the Northeast Carry, before he closed “between 5 and 6pm.” As the shoreline with our take-out came into view, our bodies were running on the adrenaline and anticipation of ice cream (in literally any form). We also managed to catch a few glimpses of the Katahdin Range looming in the distance. 

Moosehead sprawls like an ocean behind us from the Northeast Carry

Phoebe (trail name "Bluebird") among the lupine

We managed to make it to the NE Carry around 4:30pm, gazing behind us at the vast stretch of lake that we had just paddled. Mt. Kineo looked so distant in the late afternoon haze. We booked it down the road with high hopes for the general store being open – and it was! We devoured cold soda and Klondike bars while the owner, Mr. Raymond, regaled us with details about the logging industry and tales of life in the north Maine woods. We thanked him and continued on to the end of the NE Carry, where we decided to camp at the river’s edge amidst clouds of insects. Another tent dinner, but grateful to have made it all the way across Moosehead today. ​

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