March Newsletter – Wishing you all good health during this time
We just completed our “30th” winter in business and had a busy season here at Mahoosuc!
We just completed our “30th” winter in business and had a busy season here at Mahoosuc!
Luckily we finished most of our dogsledding trips before this pandemic hit. We only lost one week of business here in Maine. We had to reschedule our trip with the Inuit in Nunavik in northern Quebec until April 2021. Luckily most everyone on the trip were able to accommodate this change.
This summer will be our “30th” year guiding canoe trips. We hope that everything will settle down so we can all get out and enjoy nature and time on the water together. Click here to view our summer calendar.
One of the nice things about having our dogs are they are always happy and ready to give love and be loved and our daily lives involve caring for these beautiful animals who are not affected by this virus. They are so refreshing to be around and for those of you lucky enough to have animals know what we are talking about.
Joe has been apprenticing here all winter and has been a big help to us. He has learned so much about dogsledding and a tradition style of winter camping and some good bush skills. Thank you Joe!
We are welcoming the Kroka winter semester course students here for 2 weeks in April. They will be coming from the Uapishka mountains of Quebec and have been out of touch with society and all the news for months so will be in for a shock when they come to us. Kevin will help them make paddles for their continued journey in large canoes on the coast of Maine.
Sadly we had to say good bye to Vixen in February. She was such a nice dog and led Polly’s second team for many years. Vixen went on so many canoe trips and loved driving around in vehicles and being with people. She was 9 years old. We miss Vixen…
We wish you all good health during this time and send our love from the Bear River Valley.
Polly, Kevin & all the doggies
I have been guiding on the Allagash river since 1974 and over the years I’ve seen a distinct pattern in terms of usage. Canoeists must use designated campsites on the waterway and there is no reservation system. In peak periods if paddlers don’t secure a campsite by mid-day or shortly thereafter, they may end up […]
We were able to do our canoe trips later this year as the weather has been unusually warm and beautiful! Here in the Bear River Valley our fall colors are past peak and the leaves are starting to fall. Temperatures remain very comfortable to do outside projects. There is a chill in the air at […]
Siobhan went to doggy heaven today. She was one of Kevin’s dogs and always up for anything. She loved people and children and whenever anyone came to visit the kennel she always thought they came to see her! She ran in any position in the team and was versatile sometimes going with Polly’s teams if […]
Since I was a teenager it was always on my bucket list to paddle the Allagash. In 2018 I retired from a burdensome career and signed up to paddle the river with Mahoosuc guide service (mgs). It was better than wonderful. All I had to do was show up. They provided all the gear and it was good stuff. The river was beautiful, the sights, smells, scenery, distant mountain views were gorgeous. Polly and associate guides were wonderful and fun to be with. They were attentive, careful, observant and caring and brought campfire cooking to an epicurean level. In March 2019 I went on a dog sled winter camping trip with Kevin and Polly and several other guides. It also was great. Safety was paramount. The dogs were eager, energetic, focused and affectionate. The camp was something out of a Jack London novel. Each tent had a small wood stove and was roasty toasty warm. Food was great and plentiful. Kevin and Polly are so much fun to be with. They always made sure I was warm, well fed and happy;
Then in May 2019 I went on a two night canoe trip with my wife and another couple and they are not campers. We had a great time. The four of us, two lady guides (Polly and Jean) and we saw loons and moose and beaver and sunsets.
And then in August I went with MGS to paddle 170 miles on the Yukon river in Alaska. I am getting older, if I don’t do this stuff now, when will I?? It was better than wonderful. I reminisce about all these trips every day. Time is short, life is short, I need to pack it in. Once this pandemic is over, Polly and Kevin will not be able to get rid of me. Polly and Kevin are the models of Maine Master Guides against whom all others should be compared.