Day 3 June 4

A roller coaster day it has been!

I knew rain Was coming so I set up the tarp the night before and had everything ready and decided to have some company with a morning fire. It really felt nice to sit there on the river rocks next to the fire mulling over whether or not to stay put.

I was taken by these old river rocks. They’ve seen it all. They’ve been through it all over so many generations of life here.  From the Ice Age to this age, I was surrounded by historians and felt their wisdom.

Tarpe diem - Latin for way to go jen with the tarp. Seize the tarp! 

Suddenly while under said tarp, I got a brilliant idea to call fellow tribe member Cathy DiCocoa who runs Cafe DiCocoa in Bethel, a destination for basically the best coffee and café food around. I call the cafe and she answers. I’m like hey hi it’s JEN I’m upstream it’s raining you got a place I could stay? I could be in Bethel by tonight. She’s like yeah I got a little studio room you could have above the kitchen. I’m like SCORE I’ll be there. 17 miles later aka 5 hours and I’m in Bethel. 

Meanwhile, more about the day on the river.

It started out damp and drizzly but hey it’s gorgeous scenery, I like the sound of water on water and like my friend Said -hey you’re strong, you got this. Plus I had a thermos full of blueberry tea.

 Then it changed. I heard myself say "driving rain". And I’m like what’s driving rain anyway? Are you being dramatic Jen? it was hitting my face and when I looked sideways the rain was coming in at 45°. OK you’re strong you got this and you got tea


Side note-With this photo I just want you to see that the river is basically a series of islands that would be amazing sites for camping, AMC lean twos, our own river trail system enhanced.

I noticed my elbows were getting wet. So I tightened up my jacket cuffs. noticed my forearms were wet. And I don’t know why. Could’ve been the driving rain. rain pants weren’t keeping my legs dry anymore. I’m like jen you better pull over and eat some food and buckle down.

I kept noticing the meadow behind this amazing swamp maple who has also seen it all. Even though I was pre-hypothermic I was still taken by the beauty. (Really such a wonderful waterway.)

 Meanwhile I stuffed  2 spiced boiled eggs and a fist full of carrots down my pie hole and got back at it. This time  I paddled standing  doing mini squats in between three strokes on each side -breath of fire esque for quite a while. This warmed me up significantly.

 I high-fived myself as Maine happened.  Now I can eat the fish since you can’t eat them from Berlin to the state line- must be safe to eat here. (That’s my little joke.)


I saw a very large  bird of  prey.

It was bigger than my cat and it had a white stripe on its tail. I wondered if it was a falcon.

I also saw another bald eagle swooping towards the water. I find that amazing. And a very good sign.

I was just about out of rallies. I saw a house to my left, the first on that entire stretch of  the river-  And then another and then another and then on my right I saw Newts Landing and I got out to go P and have some tea and see where I was and I was very happy to discover I only had 5 miles to go which would take about an hour.

Final campsite for this day in the studio apartment at the Café drying out. Here is the lovely Cathy herself delivering tea and fruit after first making me a gourmet homemade bagel sandwich and Americano. I am in heaven. #AndroscogginCanoeTrailMagic

Special thanks to Mahoosuc Land Trust  for protecting land along the river and in its watershed and providing access to people like me. And you. 

To support healthy rivers please support this cause:
https://www.gofundme.com/WaterQualityFundraiser