“Biscuits, bacon, eggs, butter and jelly!” An excellent start for a day of kayaking. We hit the portage after about a mile of paddling around 11:30. Kiki took the oars and Paka took the two Kayaks and we sloshed up the small creek connecting the two ponds which are only separated by five feet of elevation difference.
A few minutes later we were paddling around the upper pond. There were people stopped on a large outcrop of the faintly columnar jointed Black Member of the Traveler Rhyolite reading, sunbathing, and jumping into the lake.
We passed silently by on the other side towards the upper end of the lake about 0.7 mile away. There we found a little used “day use” area with a neglected picnic table in the mature stand of forest trees where we ate our lunch.
A beaver slaps its tail at us across the cove and was the only sound we heard. Returning to our kayaks we faced a stiff wind and we had a long hard paddle to the portage.
On the lower lake it was easier going and we made our way slowly along until we heard a helicopter approaching the Traveler peaks to our east. There was a rescue underway. We watched as it hovered, circled and flew up and down the pond towards the campground. Shortly after our return the rescue boat launched with two rangers onboard. About a half hour later it returned with one spent looking passenger in the middle. A reminder to us all of the Baxter State Park mission statement, “Forever wild”. The park and its environs are not like a national or state park with its manicured trails and easy going hiking. With only approximately twenty four rangers and a total of sixty four full time employees to cover 200,000 acres (312 mi2) one must be aware of the necessity of a self sufficient attitude when entering the park.
One Response
A wild and picturesque place. Y’all’ve really had a fun and relaxing adventure there kayaking the ponds and exploring the trails of this unique wilderness area.