Open Boat, Moving Water - A Paddler's Journal: Umbagog Lake Camping - June 7

Sunday, June 13, 2021

Umbagog Lake Camping - June 7 – 10, 2021

Looking north up Umbagog Lake

I really wanted to get out to do some camping this spring but nothing was coming together. Rather than wait I decided to plan a trip on Umbagog Lake and see who was interested. Most of the usual camping crew was busy, but Bill and Earl signed on so we had a trip!

Umbagog Lake is located along the border of NH and ME near Errol, NH. The lake runs almost 11 miles north to south and is fed by the Magalloway, Rapid and Dead Cambridge Rivers, and is the source of the Androscoggin River. The lake is part of the Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge and Umbagog Lake State Park.

Dead Cambridge River

Umbagog Lake State Park includes a base camp at the southern end of the lake and 33 remote campsites around the lake that are accessible only by boat. I crossed the upper end of Umbagog Lake when we did the Magalloway trip last fall. On this trip we would be site-hopping from south to north. I’d be paddling with Bill in my Spirit II. Earl would be paddling his sea kayak.

We meet at Umbagog Lake State Park and shuttled a car to the take out at the Errol Dam. Once all the boats were loaded we set out to explore the southern end of the lake. The day was sunny and warm, but the wind was blowing from the west giving us following waves and a strong tail wind as we paddled east toward the Dead Cambridge River. From there we paddled west and north before crossing over to Big Island at Tidswell Point.

Ribeye steaks on the fire

Our first campsite was site R9 on Big Island – a large wooded site on a point with water views on both sides. We quickly fell into the usual ritual – gather wood, set up camp, cook dinner and settle in around the fire for the night. Dinner was ribeye steaks cooked over the fire with shrimp macaroni salad. It was an early night – we turned in around 9:00. Paddling for the day was around 6-miles.

I woke up around 5:00 and crawled out of my tent to get some pictures of the sunrise. Bill and Earl weren’t far behind so we lit the fire, cooked breakfast (omelets and home fries) and started packing up camp. The day started off cloudy and the plan was to be on the water by 8:30 in hopes of avoiding some of the afternoon wind.

Heading out on day 2

We headed out across the lake at Tidswell Point and paddled through a series of small islands (Bear Island, Blake Islands and Matallak Island) to Tyler Point. From there we had a 2-mile crossing to Pine Point. As we set out for Pine Point the wind was blowing from the west creating challenging crosswinds and waves. We did out best to quarter the waves. When we reached Pine Point we looked back and saw Earl quite far behind. We pulled around the point to get out of the wind and wait for him to catch up.

After 10 or 15 minutes I climbed out on Pine Point to see how Earl was progressing, but there was no sign of him. We paddled back around the point, and in an abundance of caution along the shore all the way back to Tyler Point to see if he stopped for a break or retraced his steps – still no sign of him.

Crossing to Pine Point

At that point we started to get a little nervous, so we called the rangers to see if they could check our next site (R15) in case we had somehow missed him and he had gone ahead to campsite. Shortly after I got a call from Earl telling us that he was at the campsite. He had pulled over the take a break (not sure how we missed him), and continued on when he couldn’t find us at the point.

Bill and I were relieved, but now faced a third crossing to Pine Point. The wind was stronger and we were getting tired, but we made the crossing fine. From there we headed west to the mouth of the Rapid River, and then north toward Sunday Cove to our next site R15.

Windy afternoon in camp

As the afternoon progressed, the wind picked up considerably, and we were glad not to be out on the water. We took a break for lunch, and then set up camp. We even set up the tarp in case we got some evening rain – we didn’t.

Dinner was Jonathan’s fried fish (egg wash and bread crumbs) and Maine Guide Potatoes (boiled potatoes and onions with butter). Then we settled in around the fire for the night. Paddling for the day was 10-miles for Earl, 14 miles for Bill and I due to the multiple crossings at Tyler/Pine Points.

Earl makes the crossing on day 3

We woke the next day to sunny skies and light wind. The original plan was to paddle over to the Rapid River and hike up the portage trail before crossing the lake to our next site R28 at the mouth of the Magalloway River. Concerned about afternoon winds, though, we decided to skip the Rapid River and head over to the campsite first thing. This would allow us to cross in lighter winds and smaller waves.

Even in the morning we had winds out of the northwest, but we made the crossing fine. We dropped our gear at the campsite and headed south to Molls Rock. Bill had stayed at this site several years ago when he did this section of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail. The sun was hot so we jumped in the lake for a swim. From there we headed up a section of the Magalloway River before retuning to the campsite to set up camp.

Chef Bill cooks dinner

We had a leisurely afternoon in camp, but no one seemed to mind. Dinner was Chef Bill’s pasta with gravy (tomato sauce with onions, peppers and sausage - breakfast, not Italian). After sitting around the fire it was another early night. Paddling for the day was around 6 miles.

I slept late the next day, not crawling of my tent until around 6:30. By then, Bill had the fire going, and Earl was already starting to pack. We got the coffee going and cooked breakfast (pancakes and bacon) before Bill and I started to pack. It was a leisurely 4-mile paddle down the Androscoggin River to our take out at the Errol Dam. After retrieving cars and packing up we snapped a couple of final pictures before beginning the 4-½ hour drive home.