By Miller Elston
This is a four-day canoeing trip for ages 13-14 on the St. Croix River in Downeast Maine. On the first day, we had an early breakfast before starting our drive to the drop-off point. We ate lunch when we got there, then got out on the water. We paddled through many small rapids on the way to Little Falls, where we took all our gear to the campsite, then ran the rapids with empty canoes. Only one boat, piloted by two 14-year-olds who shall remain anonymous, flipped! Then we set up camp and went to sleep.
Day Two was a nicely uneventful day. We passed through a few medium-sized rapids, then reached our campsite and had pesto pasta for dinner—we had to pass the pot around and each take a bite until we finished it all. Then we took our boats a little ways out to watch the sunset from the water.
We started Day Three with a small portage, about a quarter- to a half-mile, before getting back on the river. It was mostly calm water, except for a few rapids. When we got to our campsite, we made a fire, then we saw a snapping turtle hanging around some rocks! We named it Bertha and watched it for a couple minutes before it left and we went to sleep.
On Day Four, we paddled on a big lake until we arrived at our pick-up spot. We played baseball with paddles and rocks until the van picked us up. We stopped for burgers, hot dogs, and ice cream on the way back at camp. It was a great trip!
This article was originally published in the July 2024 edition of The Mid-Summer Pine Needle.