9/23, Millinocket, ME
Seboeis Lake is south of Millinocket, a few miles off of route 11. Most of the lake is contained within Maine Reserved Land, hence most of the shore line is undeveloped. The skies are grey today, and winds are a bit strong due to the storm off shore. Our kayaks are launched at a public access boat ramp where we can paddle the narrow inlet of this 7 mile lake to avoid most of the winds. The lake side vegetation shows signs of fall, much of it is turning brown, even though the water level is near the normal level. The paddle is quiet, our kayaks are the only boats in sight for the duration, the only sound is the wind. It could be a good time to view wildlife, but no luck today. Animal paths to the waters edge are plentiful on the quiet side. A couple of diving birds were seen, they were not loons or cormorants.
After the paddle, we stopped at the Katahdin General store, browsed the local beer, and bought a new copy of DeLorme’s Maine Atlas and Gazeteer. My working copy is dated 1993, it is good to have updated information of the status of backroads. In this part of Maine, it is a luxury to drive a paved road. Dirt roads are the access to remote destinations. The roads are narrow, dusty, and “washboarded”, such that your vehicle rattles severely. Some of the dirt roads are private and can be gated. Many of these back country roads were owned and maintained by the paper companies which owned the land and harvested the trees to support Maine’s vast paper industry. Logging trucks always have the right of way, and they remind you of this. The paper industry was a large part of the economy of so many small northern towns. The Maine paper business is a small faction of what it once was. The large paper mill in Millinocket is closed and crumbling, as are many of the mills in the state.
Retired and Loving It 