The Beauty of the North Maine Woods
Photo courtesy of John "Fitzy" Fitzgerald
Wooden canoe nut and photographer.
Photo courtesy of John "Fitzy" Fitzgerald
Wooden canoe nut and photographer.
I can't quite be wordless today. To me, that photo is what canoeing is about. A canoe is kind of like your own private time machine - not only does it take you places, but it might as well be taking you back in time before the world became such a crowded place.
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2 comments:
Great picture. And this captures canoeing to me too. I also like your comment on acanoe being a personal time machine that can take you back to a time when the the worls was far less crowded.
I have had the opportunity to take solo canoe trips….to get away from the crowds….or to escape from the daily grind that I might have found myself trapped into….to re-energize my batteries so to speak….but more than anything just to be on my own….to be quiet and listen to all the natural world around me has to offer.
I must admit though that lying alone in my sleeping bag and hearing for the first time the wail of a wolf howling through the otherwise still night did send shivers up and down my spine….and caused me to pull the sleeping bag up tighter around myself….until I realized that I was not only fairly safe where I was….but that I was also the “intruder” in this wild place. I ended up getting up and sitting next to a low campfire….partly I guess because it further added to my own personal sense of “safety”….but also so I could hope to better hear the chorus of the wolves calling. After a while I found myself throwing back by own head to “howl” in my own best attempt at immitating a wolf….and was more than pleased that I was eventually able to elicit a response from the nearby wolf pack. Of course I was never really sure what they were actually saying at the time….perhaps the wolves were wondering what stupid human being could be trying to mimic their calls.
Yep. The escape pod.
There is a pond that I paddle out from to get to a well-traveled river in Maine. I've been there on mornings that look very much like Fitz's picture. I've also been there on glorious sunny mornings. It's wonderful to know that there are still spaces like this to go to.
One thing that I wish people would remember is to apply no-trace camping when they are out in the woods. It should always feel like you are the first person to go anywhere, even though you have to know that you are not.
While I've been backpacking on my own - and not recently - I always hesitate to be totally alone on the water. This is particularly true now that I have the responsibilities of family.
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