Patrik Orcutt 10.24.25
Welcome back to Part 6 of this multi-part piece I’m writing on my recent trip down the West Branch Penobscot River. If you have not already, I would highly recommend reading Parts 1-5 before diving into this one below.
This trip was not sponsored by anyone, but I would like to thank Old Town Canoe for getting me a Discovery 158 I used for this trip and Jetboil for hooking me up with Flash 1.0 Fast boil system to cook a lot of my meals and make my coffee.
Canoe Coverage on AllOutdoor
Waking up the Next Morning
After sleeping soundly through the night, I woke up to the sound of rain hitting the top of my tent. We did know that there was going to be rain on the second day of our trip on the river, but we were uncertain when it would occur. I sluggishly got dressed inside my tent and put on some boots to then go scout the campsite and see if we might have a break in the weather. As I walked by Ridge in his DIY lean-to, he let out a growl that let me know he was awake and then murmured that it had been raining since 2 am, keep in mind the current time was 6 am. I walked down to the river and brushed my teeth, and the rain seemed to stop for a time. I then took this opportunity to begin bailing my canoe and prepping it for the day’s short journey.
I had just finished packing up most of my gear and tent when the rain came back, but at this point, we were committed to getting back on the water and getting to Graveyard Point. After a quick breakfast and some sub-par coffee, we loaded all our gear up and set off, and the rain began to really pick up again. Thankfully, it stopped after about 10 minutes of paddling. Even with the less-than-ideal weather, it was still hard not to appreciate where I was and what I was doing and the natural beauty of this part of the world.
While the air was cool, the water was calm compared to the previous evening, and Ridge and I glided across the water with only the sound of rain covering our paddle strokes. With only a couple of miles to paddle to get to Graveyard Point, the river began to open up into Chesunkook Lake, we naturally began to paddle more slowly. After only 4o minutes or so on the water, we could see Graveyard Point and the end of the Canoeing part of this journey. While on the final stretch of my paddle, I got very close to a Loon swimming in the opposite direction and snapped a few pictures.
The Common Loon (Gavia immer), a beloved symbol of Maine’s wilderness, is a large, sturdy waterbird known for its striking black-and-white plumage, red eyes, and haunting, yodel-like calls that echo across the state’s lakes and ponds during the summer breeding season. Maine hosts the largest population of Common Loons in the eastern U.S., with an estimated 3,146 adults and 420 chicks in the southern half of the state as of the 2024 Maine Audubon Annual Loon Count, a citizen-science effort conducted every third Saturday in July since 1983. These birds nest on shorelines, making them vulnerable to disturbances like boat wakes, lead poisoning from fishing tackle, and habitat loss, but conservation efforts, such as the Maine Loon Restoration Project, have bolstered their numbers through initiatives like artificial nesting rafts, lead-free fishing programs, and public education to reduce human impact.
After we made Land at Graveyard Point, we unloaded all our gear into my SUV and loaded my Canoe on top, and began driving back to pick up Ridges’ Truck. Naturally, we got sidetracked in the Village of Chesuncook and began checking out the local church in the former logging town.
The Chesuncook Village Church is a historic structure that has served multiple roles since its establishment in the late 19th century. Originally built by the Great Northern Paper Company, likely in the late 1800s, the building functioned as a combined church and schoolhouse, reflecting the village’s small, self-sufficient community, which grew from a logging settlement in the 1840s and peaked with about 247 residents by 1920 during the construction of the Ripogenus Dam. By the early 20th century, as the village’s population declined due to changes in the logging industry, the building transitioned into a seasonal meeting house used by all denominations during the summer months, a role it continues to fulfill today. It also serves as a community center and houses a small library.
After our little sightseeing tour of the Village, we headed down the road to pick up Ridges Truck. Unfortunately, we had to drive the Pine Stream Road 3 more times that day to get his truck and his Canoe. This took us close to 3 hours due to the appalling condition of the road. With everything said and done, we were back on the Golden Road, headed into Millinocket to fuel up on gas and then head our own ways home that Sunday afternoon. After Months of waiting for schedules to line up and planning, we finally completed this short but very fulfilling Canoe trip. I would like to thank Ridge for helping make this trip happen, and I would like to thank anyone who has actually read this far along in this 6-part series I have written for AllOutdoor. Ride and I are already planning a trip for next spring that will hopefully be more than 3 days, and I can’t wait to put our next trip to text and share it with you all.
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