First day of kayaking in the new year, and on some lakes in
Maine the ice isn’t even out yet. We packed a lunch of lentil salad, apples and
strawberries, stopped at the accountant’s in Portland to sign our electronic
tax return form, then escaped into a glorious get-a-way day.
We drove to the state park on Lower Range (pronounced rang)
Pond only to find the entrance gate down blocking automobiles from entering the
park – not pedestrians of which there were plenty. It is only April 16th.
Carrying kayaks and all the gear was not worth it for the little bit of paddling
we planned to do.
We drove to Middle Range pond, talked with a few of the
locals, and found a free-bee parking space and put-in just off of Schellinger Rd.
Take an immediate left just after crossing the bridge on Rte. 26 heading north.
Most of the lake was lined with camps until we approached a
shallow and narrower end of the lake near Upper Range Pond. We saw Loons, a
Canadian goose (looked like it might have been protecting a nest), a Merganser,
a muskrat, red-winged blackbirds, and a few turtles. It was quite marshy and
the bugs were enjoying the nice weather as much as we were.
We found another put-in with a motor boat ramp (state-owned)
between Upper Range and Middle with plenty of parking. However, a couple who
were just taking out their kayaks said that the parking lot was full at 11 AM
when they drove in.
We lunched in the shallows of the marshy area then paddled
to the state boat ramp where we were able to disembark and stretch our legs.
There are not any public bathroom facilities – a big drawback. But it was early
in the season and we didn’t encounter any other boats on Middle Range for the few
hours we were in our boats.