I was looking for a place to go where we could do some canoe "backpacking": where we have our stuff in our canoes and boat out to some campsites. I ended up stumbling on Lake Umbagog in northern NH/Maine that seemed to fit the bill. I got a permit for May 2020 (I wanted as early as possible to avoid mosquitos and ticks) but COVID killed the trip. We ended up going last weekend. I am mainly writing this for myself so that I can find everything again:)
We brought one canoe, and two more (https://beoutside.com/) and had them shuttled. We started at the Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge building in Errol, NH, where we could park overnight and launch our boats.
It was a ton of work getting gear ready for all 6 of us, but it worked out. Our canoe is small, so I was really trying to be light on gear. In the end, the canoes we rented were huge, so there was plenty of room. We wrapped everything in garbage bags or dry bags, and I wrapped painters tarps around our gear to keep it extra dry. The boys were in inflatable kayaks, which are surprisingly awesome!
We headed to downstream on the river and out into the lake into R27 campground (remote campsite), which is a group site that allows us to have more people. My parents and sister came, so we were quite a crew! I had to reserve the campground here: https://newhampshirestateparks.reserveamerica.com/ and reservations are taken 11 months in advance. Weekends go fast, so it's good to get it early.
The campsite was really nice: a big rocky outcropping to hang out on, firepit, two picnic tables, two outhouses, and 3 tent platforms. There was plenty of wood around for fires, but maybe later in the year it would all be burned out.
It was colder than we thought it'd be. I think we were prepared enough, but if it would've been slightly colder, it might have been miserable. We were smart enough to wear our rubber boots rather than sandals. The wind was coming right into our campsite, which chilled us a bit but meant we saw almost no bugs. We went out in the boats a bit during day 2, and explored some nearby islands and rode the waves on the lake. We saw a bald eagle glide around and perch on a tree: we didn't want to take a picture because the little dot on the picture just wouldn't have done the whole thing justice!
We had some nice sunsets, my dad caught some nice-sized pickerel, and a few of us even attempted some swimming. I was too wussy to go past my knees, but Aaron went all the way in!
Day 3 we got up fairly early and paddled up the river to the Steamer Diamond boat launch, where we had left a car. We packed out, and drove back home. Lot of work for a little trip, but I think the kids had a good time!
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