Today is the longest day of the year
As I write this newsletter the birds are singing all around me, there is warmth in the sun, a gentle breeze and it is a gorgeous blue sky day!!! Today is the summer solstice!
As I write this newsletter the birds are singing all around me, there is warmth in the sun, a gentle breeze and it is a gorgeous blue sky day!!! Today is the summer solstice!
We have been busy here at Mahoosuc, as usual, and the summer promises to stay busy throughout with many canoe trips. In between trips Kevin is busy in his wood shop constructing a couple of wood canvas canoes. Polly is enjoying having a vegetable garden again!
There is still room on some of our canoe trips while others are full. Here are a couple videos for you to watch to “wet your whistle” for an adventure with Mahoosuc!
This video has James Francis, Penobscot historian, talking about Kevin as his guide on a Thoreau/Wabanaki trip a few years ago and is from the West Branch of the Penobscot river area.
Click here to see our canoeing schedule and click here to see our dogsledding 2021/2022 schedule.
The dogs are enjoying running in the pastures during the day and a few lucky ones get to go on canoe trips with us. In May Oonaugh went down the St John with Kevin and Olga went down the Allagash with Polly. They love getting the extra attention and our clients become “their pack” for the duration of the trip.
Hope to see some of you on a canoe trip this summer or fall!
Polly, Kevin and 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.