We took our time getting up and made some breakfast, with coffee and hot chocolate.  Then we took down the campsite and packed our vehicles for the trip into the woods.  This stop was just a waypoint to span the gap between the road trip on pavement and our main camp for the week, in the wilderness.  I had originally had us driving all the way there on Sunday, but realized that it was risky to be on the road for such a long day and arrive at a previously unknown location to set up camp in the dark.  While we may have lost 1/2 day, and spent some money on the campground, it made more sense and everyone was in agreement.

Next we stopped at the stores at the Indian Hill Plaza and picked up a few odd items that we felt were lacking in the menu or outfitting.  I picked up some oval magnets that show a moose outline on a yellow background.  I gave each of the guys one.  We decided we would stop here again on the way home to get things for everybody back home.

Carl picked up a hatchet cover that we used to protect Leo's hatchet.  I replaced one of my water containers that had a broken cover.  We picked up some food, then hit the road.  But not before one of the lumber trucks went rumbling by, giving a preview of what we would be facing in the woods.  They are huge, travel fast, and in most cases barely yield.  Indeed, the rules of the road in the North Maine Woods state that you must yield to them under all circumstances.

I activated the GPS route that would take us into the wilderness and lead us to our camp on Round Pond.  I had spoken last week with the North Maine Woods folks, secured a fire permit, and been referred to a few camp sites in the area of our intended explorations that would fit our needs.  Round Pond was our number one choice for a camp site because it was directly on the pond, close to our objectives (Ice Cave and The Trains) and because it was an improved site (outhouse, picnic table, fire ring).

The first part of the drive took us west of Moosehead Lake.  It was a paved road like any other though the scenery was quite beautiful.  The leaves were starting to turn so everywhere we looked, it was very pretty.  We came upon a large statue that I suppose depicts a play on words.  I called it the "Moose Fly", though I am not sure if it has a name or was meant to illustrate something else.  In any case, we stopped to take a couple pictures.

Pretty soon, we got to the end of pavement, right after crossing the bridge in Rockwood.  We drove a couple more miles and then decided to air down a little in the hope of smoothing out the ride.  We went down to 20 p.s.i. 

That worked well and the road seemed a lot smoother.  We stayed aired down for the rest of the week, only airing up when we returned to pavement on Friday.

Next, we came to the 20 Mile Checkpoint.  This was our official stepping off point into the woods. 

Here, the North Maine Woods company manages access to the wilderness, charging fees for day and camping use, and verifying trip plans so that travelers do not go out into the area uninformed or unprepared.

Our plans were found to be in order and our maps deemed up-to-date.  The folks manning the checkpoint were very helpful and friendly.  They confirmed that we had correctly identified the site of the Ice Cave and told me which roads to use to access the hiking trail.  They also confirmed the train location and agreed that we had found the general area to hike in to them.  Later in the week we would learn that our starting point for the hike to the trains was not well chosen (my bad) and our experience described in due course will explain why.

We told the man at the checkpoint that we were looking for places to drive our Jeeps that were challenging.  He suggested that we take the closed road that cuts off the corner from Pittston Farms over to Seven Mile Hill.  He said it was washed out but we might enjoy it.  He also suggested we drive down past Raymond's Store at Northeast Carry, and poke around down there for more trails.  It was confirmed that we could get gas at Seboomook and Northeast Carry for sure.  This was reassuring since we hoped to do a lot of exploring and did not want to be limited by the range provided by our gas cans and tanks.

With all the registration and fees taken care of, we got on the road and went up to Pittston Farm (link to web site).  Here we found a working farm from another century.  There were very few hints of modern times.  The people inside were very welcoming, and we got to meet the exotic birds that live there. 

After a few minutes chatting with the moose in the ante room, we got back on the road and doubled back a few miles to take the cutoff to Seven Mile Hill.

The road (link to where road reconnects main road) was marked closed, as promised, and the first few feet offered some erosion to encourage us that this road might require 4-LO.  Leo expressed his desire that we not spend a lot of time "screwing around" and suggested we get to the camp before it got dark.  He was right but this road or roads like it was part of the reason for the trip so I asked him to humor us.  As it turned out the road was pretty tame by our standards but there were some spots that definitely would claim regular vehicles.

Soon after returning to the main road, we came upon Seven Mile Hill camp, and stopped for lunch. 

I had made some sandwiches with pita bread and chicken from foil pouches,  We drove up to the picnic table and had a nice relaxing lunch.  We found a tidy outhouse a few feet up the path into the woods, and made good use of it.  After discussing whether or not we could make it up the steep hill in front of the camp site we decided not to mess up the grass and continued on our way.  We came to the road that leads to Seboomook Wilderness Campgrounds, and the sign promising gas (Mobil).  So of course we had to drive down there and see what we could see.

The store had a good selection of things one would need out in the middle of nowhere.  They were out of ice cream but we were not yet so far from civilization that it much mattered to anyone.  I picked up a sticker to add to my trunks, and we asked about rough roads.  We were encouraged to continue on our way to Northeast Carry and we would be rewarded.

We got going again and drove for quite a ways, poking in to a couple of roads that lead off to the right, trying to find Loop Road.  They all petered out into the bush.  We made a stop at Roll Dam where we found many campers and lots of people, most likely fishing as it was also a boat landing.  We talked to some of the people there and found one guy from Massachusetts.

Convinced we knew where we were on the map, we continued east and took the side road down to Raymond's Store near the Northeast Carry.  We found a tidy little place with a warm couple with great senses of humor.  I discovered that they even had the Super Siphon in stock and selling for the same price I had ordered it on the web.  Ironically, I could have bought it here, saved postage, and had it for when I needed it.  As it was, mine was still somewhere in the mail when I left home for my trip and I was forced to buy one of the cheap Wal*Mart ones...  I took the opportunity to top off my tank, even though the price was 30 cents more than in town.  It just seemed like a good idea to have as much gas as possible.  JJ and Carl opted to pass.

We got back on the road and found Loop Road.  It was very picturesque, but didn't provide any challenging wheeling.  I was a little disappointed that we had gone so far out of our way seeking some off-road terrain, but happy that we had found these places where time moves a little more slowly, and nature is so close to hand.

We connected with the Golden Road, a superhighway of a dirt road.  I found myself flying along at about 50 m.p.h., leaving a long dense trail of a dust cloud behind.  I flew down to our planned turn north at Ragmuff Road.  There I stopped to wait for Carl and JJ.  Once they caught up, we continued north in much the same fashion, interrupted from time to time by "whoop-dee-doo's" where drainage pipes had been installed across the road and the dirt burying them created rises that would get you airborne if you hit them at speed.

At the junction of Caucomgomoc and Loon Lake Roads we stopped to check the map and chat a bit, not to mention get a pit stop.  A few people came along the road and stopped to talk with us, making sure we were not lost, in need of assistance, and of course to ask about our plans and our vehicles.  There is a cut-off here that I would have liked to have taken, but the map does not precisely match what we found, so I opted to keep to the road that did match the map and we drove up Loon Lake, on the west side of Caucomgomoc instead.

Just as we reached the Caucomgomoc Lake Checkpoint, we had our first encounter with the lumber trucks.  One popped out of the intersection, took the road and passed us close on the left, traveling in the opposite direction.  "INCOMING!" was about all I got out before it came to JJ and Carl.  We would have many close calls all week.  They should forget about the moose signs and instead have lumber truck signs!  I managed to squeeze off a picture of the truck after it passed, so close all you can see is the stack of timber on the back!

After that, we made all the correct turns and soon were rewarded with arrival at Round Pond Campsite, as planned.  The site was everything we could have hoped for and we unanimously decided to stay here without checking any of the other alternatives.  We set about erecting tents, exploring the waterfront, locating the outhouse, and getting a fire started.

Although named a pond, Round Pond is quite large and would be thought by many to be a lake.  Because of the size of lakes in the region, it would be considered small by comparison. 

The wind coming off the pond was cool and we soon decided that with the rain promised for tomorrow, we had better erect some sort of windbreak around the picnic table if we were to have a sheltered spot for our meals.

Carl dragged a huge tree out of the woods with my help and everybody got to work on it, sawing it up and splitting it for firewood.  Meanwhile, I got the provisions organized and started cooking a meal.  We had some cheese pasta with Spam, and some hyper-concentrated Kool-Aid.  I mistook the "Serving Size" info on the back of the package and incorrectly translated it into mixing directions.  Thinking it would take five packages to make a gallon of Kool-Aid, I mixed it up.  To say that it was super-sour would be an understatement.  I used up five meals-worth of it in one mix.  We didn't realize it until we had drunk most of it.  We could have diluted it and used it but it was too late.  Live and Learn...

Expecting rain on Tuesday, we all set up our tents so as to avoid getting wet if possible.  For me, that meant putting a tarp over the tent.  Since I was expecting high winds off the pond, I spent a lot of time securing the tarp so it would not blow around, and would provide extra protection on the side that faced the pond.  My attention to detail was rewarded all week as the inside of the tent stayed bone dry through two or three rain storms, and the tarp stayed put with the minor exception of two small tent stakes that require resetting after one storm.

That night, we sat by the warm fire and marveled at the stars.  The woods was full of sounds from birds, most notably the Loon, whose lonely song echoed around the lake.  We talked about all sorts of things, and made plans for the day to come.  Pretty soon, one by one, we went to our tents and went to bed.  I was thankful for my warm sleeping bag and secure tent, even though it was pretty warm outside.  It was a great night for sleeping! 

Tomorrow:  Wheeling and The Ice Cave!

Waypoints