New Meadows River -- from Sawyer Park to Merritt Island

We put in at Sawyer Park in Brunswick, ME, at an all tide ramp, when it was almost high tide on the New Meadows River. The wind was light, clouds were abundant, but the paddling was easy. Usually I have a stiff back after paddling. This time I had very tight lower back muscles before we started, and took my extra large Back Warmer in the car to help with flexibility.

At the beginning of our trip we paddled past a house with a dog that started barking when he spotted us. His owner kept saying, “Frankie, stop barking.”  Frankie did not stop barking and trotted out onto the dock as we paddled by. The owner repeated, “Stop barking." The back and forth barking and human response broke the peaceful aura of this Saturday morning for several minutes until we paddled out of earshot.

Boat traffic was light, and the few who were out in boats waved. Even the herons didn’t budge but nonchalantly watched us paddle by. We saw some lovely homes with expansive lawns and observed people mowing, working on docks, and repairing houses.

We paddled down to Merritt Island, owned by Bowdoin College and listed on the Maine Islands Trail. A small rocky beach offered a scenic lunch spot though we had to smack a few pesky bugs who wanted to share our lunch.

After slipping back in the kayaks, we navigated around Merritt Island and between Williams Island and the Mainland before heading up river. On our return, my back muscles were looser than they were when we departed -- that's a change. But couple of Ibuprofen with a drink of water on Middle Ground – an outcropping of rocks -- helped make the paddling easier.

As we approached the last half mile of the trip we saw what looked like two people walking on the water, but soon discovered they were on paddle floats. They told us they had rented their crafts at Sea Spray Kayak Outfitters just above where we put in. This was the first time they had been on paddle floats. We were a bit surprised that one of them wasn’t wearing a life jacket as walking on water not an option in an emergency.

After five or six miles of paddling my back was crying for a rest. This is a beautiful river to explore and we are eager to return and put in near Merritt Island and head down to Cundy’s Harbor.