Canoeing

On our last morning at the Four Seasons Hualalai, we had to be in the lobby at 7:30 am for a guided paddle on a Polynesian-style outrigger canoe. The kids weren’t thrilled to get up so early on vacation, especially since our son, Jake, had to register for classes at Cornell at 9 am EST or 3 AM Big Island time that night. So I was seriously considering blowing it off. That would have been a huge mistake!  We saw at least a dozen sea turtles feeding on the reef as we pushed off from shore. Within five minutes, heading to a sheltered bay, we spotted dolphins jumping out of the water. “They never usually come this close to shore,” said our guide, a local who seemed just as amazed as we were. He handed us snorkeling gear and the next thing you know, we were swimming next to rows of six and seven dolphins. One zipped right by my daughter, Mel, and me. When we lifted our heads, the dolphins were flying above the water, doing flips in the air. Ridiculous! Needless to say, we didn’t get much paddling in, but yes, it was worthy of getting the kids out of bed. 

As an outdoor writer based in New England, I’ve spent a good deal of time following in Henry David Thoreau’s footsteps, from climbing Monadnock and Katahdin to walking the shoreline of the upper Cape to swimming in Walden Pond. In 1864, the great naturalist and philosopher published his book “The Maine Woods” that chronicles his exploration of the remote Maine waterways. In October 2009, I had the good fortune to paddle down the West Branch of the Penobscot River following his route. Our guide was Kevin Slater, a legendary Maine paddler who learned these rivers and the skill to carve his own canoes and paddles from his mentor who he simply called, “the Old Timer.” We spent four glorious days on the water, with few other paddlers, spotting moose, bear, loons, and osprey. In the backdrop was mighty Katahdin, the end point of the Appalachian Trail. The story appeared in an issue of Sierra Magazine, the publication of the Sierra Club. If you want to paddle with Slater on the Penobscot, contact him at Mahoosuc Guide Service. 

It’s supposed to reach 90 degrees today in Boston, but my mind is already thinking ahead to fall foliage. The dry hot summer will lead to an earlier than usual foliage. Though we did get much needed rain in New England this past week, so trees that were wilting should be happier. This week, I’m delving into my favorite activities during the height of fall foliage.

12 years ago, I was hired to write a story about paddling the Allagash River for Men’s Journal magazine. It was late September, when the leaves on trees were yellow, orange, and crimson and the normally taciturn moose was in heat and was as talkative as Bullwinkle. There were no mosquitoes, no black flies, no humans, except our little group who paddled over 5 days up the narrow river corridor. Last year, I was fortunate to return to Maine’s North Woods in autumn, this time on assignment for Sierra magazine. I was in the capable hands of registered Maine guide, Kevin Slater, who with his wife, Polly, run Mahoosuc Guide Service. We spotted moose, bear, a barred owl, and once again we had the river, this time the West Branch of the Penobscot, to ourselves. There’s something about being on a lengthy Maine river in autumn, when the crowds are gone, and you have this serene scene of water, the pine-studded campgrounds, and mountains hovering in the background. It seeps into your skin and I yearn to be back there each fall.