Day 31: Northeast Carry landing to Boom House campsite

We woke up to a cloud of bugs that had settled down between our tent and fly, then ate our cold-soaked oatmeal and headed down the W. Branch of the Penobscot – a new river with some current, at least. We stopped for a snack at Thoreau’s Island, and I took the stern for ~5 miles after that, my first time doing so since Forked Lake. 

As we made our way toward the mouth of Chesuncook Lake, we were washed ashore to the Boom House campsite by 3-4’ waves at our backs. Scary stuff, but counting our blessings that we weren’t on Moosehead in these conditions. 

After setting up camp, Ben and I walked to Chesuncook Village via the trail and road behind our campsite. We visited the church, which had a neat book of stories written by a former school teacher and village resident), then made our way down to Graveyard Point to shudder at the ungodly swells of whitecaps churning across the lake. 

A friendly toad encounter en route to the village

Stopping by to check out the Chesuncook Village church

Given the waves on the W. Branch of the Penobscot where we took out, we were shocked but not surprised by the conditions on the lake. On our way back to camp, we stopped at the cemetery tucked away in the woods on a hill behind the village. From what we’d read, the graves had been relocated from Graveyard Point to the new location when the lake was dammed and flooded in the early 1900s. ​

With ~10 days of paddling to go, we are approaching the end of the trail with a mix of feelings. The bugs,  wind, and long walks are forces to be reckoned with, but there have been so many moments of bliss, and most of them shared, which is a special feeling. 

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