Canoe camping / Floating over ghost towns / 8 days of awesome!

Reason number 823 why hammocks are cooler than tents. Because they fit into places like that. Howdy homies. Yesterday we made the, I made a four and a half hour drive up here to Maine. Craig and I stayed at a public campsite called Trout Brook Campground. How you doing? It's a free campground out here in the Bigelow Preserve. We're all packed up and we're going to head to the boat launch. Get our adventure on. Flagstaff. Here we come. Nice save. Did you get that? Yep. On camera? Yep. Wow. That would have sucked bad. Oh ----. What a way to start your trip. Pay attention. Oh my god that's never happened before. That was one hell of a save. I had to. I had one shot. I was going down fast. You got any clues or anything? Of course I do. That would disappoint. But it's all mine. Good morning ladies and gentlemen. We are on Flagstaff Lake up in Maine. Our plan is to be out here for seven days. But other than that, that's it. That's our plan. We don't know where we're camping. We're just going to paddle around and figure it out. And that's the fun of it. That is the adventure. Flagstaff is a huge lake. It's humongous. And it's man-made. And much of its shoreline is just completely undeveloped. There is some development, but not much. And a lot of the shoreline is actually encompassed in the Bigelow Preserve public lands. So, I'm looking forward to a quasi-adventure. There are boat launches, so we'll see boats. I'm sure of it. And this is the last week of September, so this is it for fishing season. So, I do expect to see some people out here. First fish of the trip. Right there. Nice little yellow perch. That's good eating. But it's a little early in the day. I just had me a breakfast sandwich at the general store. These things are delicious. You're lucky. On the board. It is said that Benedict Arnold and his men took rest in this area on their way to attack Quebec. Upon his order, a flagstaff was erected. The raising of this flagstaff is how the area got its name. The year was 1775. The United States of America was just a concept worth fighting for. It was an early flag with 13 stars. So, we were just at Savage Farm campsite. Really nice. I'm quite sure that we'll be hitting that up later during the week. There's more lake to see and it's really early in the day still. It's only about 1230, so we didn't want to stay put. Just heading up the lake. Cruising. Loving it. That's awesome. Such cool creatures. I want to see one. I want to see one out here. Look at this. Pretty awesome. It's about 2.30 right now and the water is unbelievably calm. It's crazy. It's so nice out. The water is like glass. A loon just popped up right in front of me. 175 years after Benedict's famous visit, a dam was built on the Dead River, creating a body of water that would swell to over 20,000 acres in size to become the fourth largest lake in Maine. It was 1950. In the process of becoming the lake we know today, lives were upended. Entire towns were submerged. Flagstaff Plantation, Dead River Plantation, and the Bigelow Township, all of them completely submerged. There's much folklore about it today. Some even say it's haunted. It's a strange feeling, floating over a ghost town. We found our campsite for the night. Check out this view. This campsite is pretty nice, spread out. Fire pit. There's this very unique wind block. Got a sink. Picnic table. A bar. It's not a bad place to hang out, spend some time. Feels good to take those boots off. Yeah, I'm going to do that as soon as I get water. For this week's adventure, I am using my Superior Gear 30 degree hammock. Integrated underquilt, rated for 30 degrees. I've got it hung with the Superior Gear suspension system, which I've really come to like. This is my favorite suspension setup so far. For my quilt, I'm using my Get Out gear, puffy down, 45 degree. This thing right here, for the money, I don't think you can beat it. It's awesome. I've been using it for a couple years now. It's great. I mean, this is a budget quilt. It costs like $70. Down, rated for 45 degrees, one pound, $70. I like it so much that I have not at any time felt the need to upgrade to a much more expensive one. It works for me. It's working great. And that's topped off with my Worbonnet Superfly tarp, which I have folded in half and pinned back because we're not expecting any rain tonight. I like to sleep out in the open as much as possible. In the event that it starts to rain, all I do is unhook that end of the tarp, fold it over, and pin it down. These things work great, and they've never let me down. Not yet. And because I'm sleeping really close to the water, I'm going to use my underquilt protector. Open this up a little bit so it's nice and loose for ventilation so it's not terribly cold. This is just to protect my underquilt from moisture. For a pillow, I used my down jacket stuffed inside a fleece pillowcase that I made. It works great. So I'm sitting here drinking my PBR and admiring the beauty of that bench. Whoever built it really put in some time because as you sink down like so, the top of that bench matches that shoreline almost perfectly. That cannot be a coincidence. Somebody put some time into that. That thing is awesome. All this stuff is cooking down nicely. Now I'm going to throw in some pulled pork. This is leftover pulled pork that I made for a party we recently had, and it's fantastic. I took a big chunk of it, froze it for this trip. It's still actually partially frozen. I'm having a hard time getting through it. We're just going to let all that cook down and add some cheese. That's going to be wicked good, bud. All right, now that this has all been cooking for a while and melding together, I'm going to turn off the heat and let it sit. Craig's got a good fire going now, so I'm just going to let all these flavors sit here and do their thing. I'll reheat it on the fire when I'm ready. There it is, guys. With some gotchu. The squirrels, they're relentless. They're bombing us with their pine cones. What a way to wake up. There's some really fresh deer tracks. Those are from this morning. You can still see the moisture. Pretty crazy to think that at one point someone had just finished making that and it was brand new. If this thing could tell stories, I'd like to hear them. An old engine of some sort. It's pretty cool. Check this out. It's been sitting there for a few minutes. That's so cool. The squirrels are bombing Craig with their pine cones. I'll get you. And your brother, too. Yesterday, Craig and I happened across this awesome campsite that we're at. And we've decided that we're going to stay here again today. Just kind of slower paced today. Base camp here. Check out the area. Fish, eat, explore. All at our leisure. Because yesterday was a pretty ambitious day and today we just want to slow it down a little bit. So, that's where we're at. This section of the lake has a really rocky shoreline. Huge contrast to the other part of the lake. Big water. Being that I skipped breakfast and I'm having a slightly late lunch, I'm going to have breakfast for lunch. It's going to be epic. Water. Tonight for dinner, I'm having spaghetti with meatballs and pasta sauce. My wife made some homemade meatballs and I made a sauce to go with it. It's got peppers, onions, garlic, all the good stuff. Froze it, threw it in the cooler. Here we are, day three. This is going to be good. To Maine, man. Maine. Another trip to Maine. The great state of Maine. Cheers. Flagstaff. Spaghetti, meatballs, cheddar cheese. Oh yeah. That was a lot of food. I can't finish it. I'm going to have to sacrifice the rest to the fire gods. This morning for breakfast, I'm having some granola, some oatmeal, powdered milk, coffee. Carnation is the breakfast. Quick, easy, warm, delicious. 37 grams of whey protein isolate. It may seem kind of weird, but I really like mixing in a pack of oatmeal with my granola. Then I toss in some powdered milk. That is a nice, warm, filling breakfast. Lots of calories. This little 550 tokes cup works perfectly. It's a lightweight body for a French press. Perfect for one cup of coffee. Life's too short to drink bad coffee. Craig and I are paddling back into the area we were checking out yesterday. Yesterday was a bit windy, choppy, big water. We just decided to stay put in hopes of today being a day to get out there and check it out. And here we are. So, really excited. The area we're heading into is, I mean, it's huge. It's like its own lake. And there's no development on it at all, at all. So, we're just going to paddle around and do some fishing. Check things out and see where the day takes us. Really excited. Yeah, that coffee. I can feel it kicking in. All hopped up on the bean. Every trip that I've been on this summer, it's rained. I've had to cut short in one way, shape, form. Just foul, inclement weather. And the loons. Good morning, loon. Anyway, as I was saying before the loon rudely interrupted. Rain all summer long. And it's been great so far. And the forecast says more of the same. Say good morning to Craig, folks. Hey, folks. That is a big bird. That's the king of the lake right there. Conditions are so much different. What a difference a day makes. We didn't see one single person yesterday. The only person I saw all day long was Craig. This is the sunburst by Bending Branches. Got that nice carbon shaft. I figured it was a really good match for this North Star Trillium Stealth canoe. They go together like peanut butter and jelly. They're meant for each other. This is exactly what I think of when I think main shorelines. Rocky. Wild. Difficult. We found this really cool beach. It's just this little strip. Check this out. I'm having a better day than whatever that was. Almost looks like an eagle. That's what caught my attention. I saw that from the water. That's wild. Picked a good place to die. It's wild out here. Tuna. Dehydrated tomatoes. Bacon pieces. Some grape, papaya, and mustard. And some cabbage and carrots. That's going to be pretty good. Just had a really good lunch, which I needed. I was very hungry. It's about a quarter after one. Back on the water. Now we're going to make our way to the other shore. And just start paddling around. Hopefully find a spot to camp in the next few hours. It's nice out here. Colors are starting to pop. That sun still has some power to it. I'm hot. I'm sweating. Every time I put my glasses on, they fog up. It's almost October, man. I'm using my tripod to gravity filter some water. Never done that before. Hey, whatever floats your boat, right? Craig and I pulled up onto this island to check it out. And we got another dead bird. That is really fresh. Really cold water. Well guys, it looks like we found ourselves a nice little spot on this beach. Got a really nice run of beach here. Sun is hot. But we found a spot in the woods here where I can hang up my hammock. Let me show you. Left my life jacket on so I can find it again. This tree to that tree right there. Now that I have that all figured out, it's time to unload the canoe. It's like you want to be careful out here barefoot. One thing I do like to do when I'm out in the woods is remove all the branches that can poke your eyes out. So anything like that head height that I can run into. Because when you're messing around in the dark, your headlamp, sometimes you can't see those things and you don't want to run into them. That'd suck. So, that's it though. That's all I had to do in this hammock. It is set up in here nicely. Got a nice little spot for the night. Looking forward to it. Time to go swimming. That felt great. Nice dip in some cold water. Got some fresh clothes. And now I'm ready for a beverage. Yes, beverages. Craig got a fire going and no saws required. There is so much wood. Look at it all. Just driftwood. That's my hammock. There it is, folks. A little bit of hot sauce. Styling. There's some old moose poop. There's my hammock. Justin's peanut butter. Some Swiss Colony strawberry preserves. Yeah. Well, folks, after two years of use, my do-it-yourself ground sheet for the chair has failed. Got a leg puncture pushed through here. So, I think a little bit of tape is in order. See if we can get another two years out of it. Or maybe I'll just make another one out of Tyvek. Maybe I'll do both. I kind of want to see how much I can get out of this. Two years for a tarp and duct tape. That's not bad. But, what a spectacular morning. This whole experience has been pretty awesome, but yesterday in particular was just incredible. We had no plan, just to pile around, check out this lake, explore some islands, try and find some campsites, and we're going to end up where we ended up. And we ended up here. And it was incredible. We didn't see anyone yesterday. Not another soul. No one else was out here. It's two days in a row we haven't seen anybody. There were no lights. There were no campfires. There was nothing. It was just us. That's really hard to find in New England. And to be able to come out here to a place that's just accessible and not see anyone else is a real surprise to me. I really enjoyed it a lot. That was amazing. Last night was perfect. It's not a night that I'll soon forget. That's for sure. Having a really good time. There are trout in here, but from what I've read, the lake reaches critically high temperatures for the trout population in the summertime. It's not a very deep lake. It's just a man-made impoundment. And they stock it with trout to keep them going for whatever reason, to feed the other fish or attract fishermen because they claim there's trout in here. To sum it all up, what an awesome day yesterday was. Yesterday is exactly what I dream of doing. Just paddling around no booking campsites, no having to be somewhere on a particular day. Just wing it, go for it, end up where you are, make the best of it. Reason number 823 why hammocks are cool is intense because they fit into places like that. Making our way to Hurricane Island which is right there. Well, Hurricane Island is nice, but it's only like 2.30. I don't really want to be sitting around trying to cruise around and look for something else. It's 4 o'clock and Craig and I have apparently lucked out once again. We have found a magnificent little beach site. What a view. The sun should be setting over there. Can't complain. It's bevy time. Oh, I've been looking forward to this for a couple hours now. It's been really hot today. Today was hot. I feel like I got quite a bit of sun. Yeah. Ice cold. Oh, it feels so good. Oh, that feels good. Beer, erotica. Founders. Yummy. I'm going to take my chances and sleep in it just like this tonight. No tarp. I haven't needed my tarp for the last two nights, three nights. The weather has been holding true to the forecast and the forecast says no rain in sight so I'm going for it. Risk take-off. For dinner tonight, we have some seriously fine cuisine. Chipotle corn chowder with some bacon bits. I'm going to add a pack of chicken and I'm going to have an Asiago cheese bagel. Half of it to go with it. And look at that. Yes! Beautiful. Cheers, folks. Some bacon bits. I found that this is a pretty versatile stove. I really like it. It can boil a lot of water really fast and it can also simmer, do soups and stuff. It's great. The legs also make it adjustable and versatile. It's pretty awesome. Just like that. I'll just throw the bagel in there and let it soften up, almost go into dumpling mode, basically. That was really good. I'm going to wake up. I wish somebody had told me about hammocks before someone told me about hammocks because I wasted a lot of years in tents. We've got really good weather for the next two days. The weather has been sticking to the forecast so I'm pretty much counting on it and we have a plan. So we're going to get on the water here shortly and try and execute that plan and we'll see if all goes accordingly. Yesterday I used some duct tape to make that repair on my chair ground sheet and it held. It worked last night so I got that going for me which is nice. It's a quarter of nine and we're off and thus it begins a nice night at a nice site. Yeah. I've got my rain jacket on because it's a little chilly out and breezy. Quarter of... What a stunning morning to be on the water. Wow. This is incredible. I've got my line in the water doing some trolling using the Thomas Buoyant Gold and looking for some action. This is awesome. Very easy to see how people can lose their way. I was just kind of paddling down the lake and then once I really got sucked in I decided to bear right and head for the shoreline but I've got no idea where it is. Just hoping to pray. That's wild. As I was paddling I saw a fish way up ahead of me and grab a fish and then it flew off and landed on that little island and there just happened to be a little patch of land right there that I could stop and get some footage of him. I wish I could have gotten him taken off and flying but it wasn't in the cards and I'm not going to complain because that was an awesome experience. What a great morning to be on the water. This is just fantastic. Got a pickerel here. Got the old slime dart here. Look at that fish. Pickerel. Look at those things. It's a good one. Going back. Off he goes. I'm going to try and find a spot on one of these islands to have some lunch. They look pretty rocky but I'm hoping there's a spot. Check it out guys. Neat little island. You guys know the drill. Boom. Craig and I have made it to the campsite that we wanted to get to. It's an island that we found two days ago. I'm not going to tell you where it is but I'll tell you that it's really, really cool. That's not so bad. That's my view that way. I can work with that. And here's my view from the hammock. Yeah. The water's really starting to pop now. Popping. Placid Boatworks Rapid Fire. That's Craig's North Star Trillium. I'm going fishing. I just cannot take the temptation. My will is weak. The yellow perch. There's something about trolling. I'm watching that tip rocking back and forth. Just waiting for it to bend over with those glorious mountains in the background. Life is good. Yep. There's my accommodations for the night. Pretty sweet. I decided to set up my tarp as a windbreak. Makes a pretty big difference blocking out all the wind coming from that direction. Nothing crazy. Peak refuel. Chicken, teriyaki, and rice. My buddy, Backpacking with Jason, gave me this maybe two years ago. And he keeps telling me I gotta try it. So I'm trying it. All I have to do is add one and one third cup of boiling water to this bag and wait. Gotta say, I'm looking forward to the Chinese restaurant. I ate it all. But I'd say it's okay at best. The chicken broccoli alfredo was way better. The ceremonial opening of the last beer of the trip. That's it, folks. Another very successful night of sleep. There's the sun peeking out. The hammock is right there. And right there, I just noticed, there's more dead bird. Check this out. There's more dead bird. Pretty wild. I've never seen so many dead birds in my life. It's very interesting. I'd like to know why that is. I'd like to know what kind of birds they are. As of now, it remains a mystery. That was a very enjoyable morning. I think this might be my new favorite camping spot. Right here. We're all packed up. We're out of here. It's our last full day. These guys just swallow these hooks. Voracious eaters. We're lucky that these things don't eat people. Gnarly. Gnarly fish. Snack time. Chicken bites. Jalapeno. These things are really good. And honey almonds. We've made it to the Savage Farms campsites. Real nice spot. It's the last night of the trip, so I'm going to make a beverage before I set my stuff up. I've got a lemon. Made some iced tea. Got the powdered iced tea here. I brought two of these frozen in this cooler. And that's kept my stuff cold all week long. Which is pretty awesome. And now on the last night I have a bunch of cold water to drink. Oh. And the magic ingredient. Bourbon. It's the last night of the trip and there's no rain in the forecast so I'm throwing caution to the wind. I'm not using a tarp at all. I've pretty much gotten away without complete tarp coverage for the whole trip. No reason to start now. It is a really small world. As Craig and I were paddling here we could see the first powerboat that we've seen the whole trip way over on the opposite shore. Past us. Then he turned around and went back past us again. And as we were pulling up to this campsite he was here. He was having lunch with his one of his friends. And turns out the bench that I've been oogling over at the campsite way over on the other side of the lake he was there when one of his buddies made it. We chit chatted about it for quite a bit. And it's just incredible that two out-of-staters floating around on this huge lake and we happened to run into one of the people that happens to have a hand in building that thing. It's pretty wild. He was telling us about how his buddy is quite the artisan. He was out there with a chainsaw cutting up the blowdown. The tree had blown down so they decided to do something cool with it. And they made a badass bench out there with hand tools and a chainsaw and fitting everything all nice and tight. Pretty awesome. I could tell that thing was nice and someone put some time into it. And now we know. It's incredible. Small world. Right there. Crazy predatory fish right there. Smaller one but still. Look at the size of that moose print thing is huge. That is a big critter. I'm out for the evening paddle so I figured I might as well stop along the shoreline and grab some driftwood. That'll come in handy tonight. Stuff is everywhere. Line is in the water. Wood is in the boat. I'm gonna make my way back to camp which is right along that shoreline over there. Tonight for dinner I'm having mac and cheese a packet of chicken bacon puttered milk. Oh yeah. This is the North Star Trillium Stealth and she's taken a couple good whacks on this trip. You get those big boulders lurking just beneath the surface and you don't see them until you're riding them. Just surface crashes. It's been crazy. So the stealth package can definitely take some hits. It's not a whitewater boat but it's not gonna crumple on you either. She's all packed up ready for the final paddle of the trip. I can see the bridge I can hear the road got about a mile left of the last big paddle of the season. It's a little bittersweet. Won't be long. We'll be putting our canoes away getting ready for winter. This wasn't even the trip that we had in mind originally. This was a plan B. A rushed plan B. We figured out we were coming here literally a day before our trip started. So that was pretty intense. Real quick plan B and what a plan B it was. This lake blew my mind. I think it's my new favorite lake. I'm pretty sure it's my new favorite lake. The fishing, it's great if you're into pickerel and perch. I gotta start targeting perch a little bit more but miles and miles of undeveloped shoreline. It's a magnificent lake. It's huge. It's sprawling and we caught it at the right time of year. We only saw one power boat the whole time. And the guy with the motor boat that we were talking to yesterday, he said that this is the longest stretch they've had without rain all season long. It's been the same way everywhere this year it seems in New England. Just a really really wet year. Every trip that I've done this year has had rain, quite a bit of rain, and most of those trips were cut a day or two short because of all that rain. And we just had somebody looking out for us on this one to give us a good one because it was fantastic. What a stellar trip. Future Justin has a lot of editing to do. Took a lot of video of this trip. A lot. I hope you guys enjoyed this video as much as I enjoyed this trip. I really appreciate your support and I'll see you next time.