PaddlePalooza!

Today marked the first day of Kayak Season in Bangor, ME. Coincidentally, it was also the first day of Flipflop Season which makes me equally ecstatic. I paddled a new stretch of water today, at the end of Field's Pond in Holden. Beautiful narrows stretched before me with bright yellow sun and bold blue skies above.

I have never paddled this early in the season in Maine before, and it was such a treat. There are no insects out yet, and very few birds, which made for a very peaceful afternoon - occasionally interrupted by the birds fighting with each other.

~Ducks flying into the sun~

I was happy to be able to navigate an area that, based upon depth and the dense reed and grass thickets, I don't believe I would be able to travel in the summer when the plants are grown up.

And I was so glad to have found this stretch of open water - it was my third stop because the other places I went were still too frozen to navigate. The narrows had some ice that made areas off-limits, but it was largely open and easily navigable. It was really neat to hear the sound of the ice. It was rhythmically squeeky with the bobbing water from my wake, as the frozen edges rubbed together. I tried to record it but the sound was so gentle my microphone couldn't pick it up.

~Thankfully the boat stayed upright. It would have been a chilly dunk!~

After a couple of miles I turned back and caught some really great shots of red-winged blackbirds high in the trees overlooking the marsh.

Today's paddle rounds out my 27th Goal: to kayak three new bodies of water. Last summer I went adventuring on Mud Pond in Old Town and Souadobscook Stream, a tributary to the Penobscot River. Below are a few shots from those trips. In order to attain my goal I did some research and found a comprehensive list of all the ponds and lakes in Maine. I have a feeling this summer The Frogg and I will be visiting many more new spots!

MUD POND

SOUADOBSCOOK STREAM

Lakes and Ponds of Maine by County

Pick a puddle, and paddle!