Kayaking Indian Pond -- Upper-middle section in early summer

Driving to a place to kayak can be an adventure in itself as was the case with finding this put-in. It is on the Northeastern, upper

Indian Pond put-in on the Northeast end

end of Indian Pond which we accessed via a dirt road, called Burnham Rd off Rte 6 & 15 (no road sign visible). The road into the pond is fairly smooth for about five miles, then it jogs to the left, then right. Although this last stretch of road is only a mile, it took us almost 15 minutes to navigate over the bumps and through three or four large, muddy puddles, all the while being careful not to get the kayaks tangled up in low hanging branches. A four-wheel-drive vehicle with a high wheel base will helps.

See map 40 on the Maine Atlas.

Small cove to check for wildlife

There was plenty of parking, some picnic tables, and a wide stone beach that made putting in easy.
Tucked in the trees was a porta-potty that was clean! Although this area is somewhat remote there is a private camp right next to the put-in. We saw only a couple of boats during the four hours we spent on the "pond."

We paddled south, crossing over to the west side, avoiding the northern bulb of the lake where there are a number of campgrounds. Since we started our paddle about 10 AM we missed a lot of wildlife, although we saw a large turtle that I could not identify crossing the dirt road on our drive in. We came across a couple of man-made Loon nesting sites. The second one had a Loon in it, and not knowing what it was,

Man made, unoccupied Loon nest

we got a little too close. As soon as we realized what it was we quickly left the area hoping the mother didn't abandon her nest. If you see one of these, stay clear. The one in this photo happened to be unoccupied when we stopped here for lunch. Not knowing what it was made us curious and we wondered if it was some kind of trap.

Indian Pond -- really a large lake on the Kennebec River -- is a watershed created by the construction of the hydroelectric Harris Station Dam, in 1952-1954. The river starts as an outflow of Moosehead Lake, then opens up into Indian Pond. Several islands provide places for paddlers to step out for a stretch or lunch. As you paddle, be careful of rocks and tree stumps just under the surface of the water. There are also a number of small coves and streams to explore -- and where we had hoped to see a moose.

Maine Warmers Black Bear microwave warmer

Since I like to camp at the Holiday Inn, at the end of a day of paddling I am happy to heat up a Neck Warmer in the microwave and melt away stiff muscles. If you know someone who missed seeing a moose or bear on a trip to Maine, you can give them a unique gift of a Maine Warmer's Black Bear (like the one in the photo) or Magnificent Moose (check Comforting Creatures for more options on the web site) that can be microwaved and used all year long to relax tight muscles or to warm up.

Happy paddling in Maine!

Paddling south on the Androscoggin River from Center Bridge Rd. In Turner, ME

The Androscoggin Riverlands State Park on the western side of the river protects twelve miles of the

waterfront from development. The Eastern side of the river has almost no development, making this a quiet, lovely place to paddle with several opportunities to get out and stretch along the way. A few islands long the way make for a nice spot to stop for lunch.

Put in at Center Bridge Rd. in Turner, ME

Inlet along the river -- calm shallow water paddling

Island lunch stop

A couple of unfortunate situations occurred resulting in the quietness of this stretch of the river today. One, the river was terribly polluted for decades due to dumping from industrial activities upstream. Two, a hydro-dam constructed in 1925 in Auburn, created an impoundment that stretches up river 14 miles and forced residents to evacuate the land along the river. 

The lower end of this stretch is more open and exposed to boat and float plane traffic. The upper end seems to have less boat traffic and there are several inlets that are shallow and fun to explore.

There wasn’t a lot of wildlife I think because we put in late morning when the animals seem to be less active. In less than two feet of water I inadvertently came close to a large turtle with an oval shell that was about twelve inches long. The head was almost as big as a baseball. I think it was enjoying the warmth of the shallow sunny water and was probably more startled than I.

A small box turtle was sunning himself on a log, and I was disappointed that we didn’t see more turtles on logs or rocks. A few fish were jumping, a Blue Heron flew off in front of us, several Dragonflies darted around and hitched rides on our kayaks, and other birds flitted about.

The put in has a decent ramp and bathroom facilities (portable) and lovely tree-lined frontage for picnicking. I am not sure if the water quality is okay for swimming. 

A Maine Warmers heating pad feels great on stiff shoulders at the end of a day of paddling.