Paddling Pontook Reservoir 9-16-17-14
In our quest to cover new territory and visit new places we once again travelled to the Great North Woods of New Hampshire, north of the state's largest northern city, Berlin, to the town of Milan where we stayed at the excellent State Park Campground, Milan Hill State Park. Pictures and a report about our stay there are available here:
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Despite a tumbling gray and cloudy sky which seemed more suitable for late October or November instead of the last few days of summer, we set out to paddle on the Pontook Reservoir which lies a few miles north of Milan in the town of Dummer. As we arrived and got out to unload at the boat launch on rte. 16 we noticed the wind did not seem as active on the western side of rte. 16 so we crossed the road, unloaded and put our kayaks in on that side. As we looked across at the larger, windswept body of water on the eastern side of the road we were pretty confident we had made the right choice. We had driven by this area numerous times and even stopped at the dam and boat launch before, but had never paddled any of it. We had always said, "This looks like the perfect spot for moose!" At this time of day neither of us had much hope of seeing one, but it's alway nice to be surprised!
The clouds danced before the sun and despite the constant threat of rain the sun managed to push them aside on occasion to shine down approvingly on us as we paddled along and enjoyed the changing sky and beautiful colors along the shore which were just now beginning to unfold into their autumn splendor. A Kingfisher chattered his disapproval as he left his perch again and again as we approached him over and over, paddling west along the stream which feeds from that direction. We came out of a tiny cove where there were some nice colors in the low marsh which also had the added bonus of being filled with Cotton Grass and there ahead of us along the shore was a cow moose grazing in the pond weeds. We did not try to approach, instead I readied the camera with my long lens as she continued to graze. In a few moments she noticed our presence and decided to move into the woods. It is amazing how they can just disappear into the thicket. They could be standing 10 feet away and you couldn't see them! We paddled about on this part for over an hour, but it wasn't very big, and we left just as rain was about to soak us. We rushed to get the kayaks loaded as we watched the hills to our west disappear into a raincloud and watched the sheets of rain crossing the pond towards us. We managed to get loaded up again and in the car just as it reached us.
Before we returned to camp we took a ride around the area to check out a couple of smaller ponds which we had seen on the map that were in close proximity to where we were. We easily found the boat launches at Cedar Pond and Nay Pond, but decided they were too small to make the effort the next day. Good size for a lazy afternoon float on a hot summer day, but not big enough for a paddle of several hours. Next day we decided against these smaller ponds and thought we would like to return to Pontook Reservoir and this time paddle on the east side, and that is exactly what we did. Unlike the day before, this day shined brightly from the start. As we put in at the boat launch we had a low fly-by greeting from a resident Osprey, apparently welcoming us to his realm. The return to beautiful weather must have brought out the birds who relished the chance to enjoy the warmth and light of the sun on a fine late summer day. Although we saw no more moose or Osprey this day we did have a nice visit with a Great Blue Heron. Later we drove a little further north scouting places to put in along the Androscoggin River which feeds Pontook Reservoir. Bird activity along the banks of the river was excellent and I was able to photograph a small flock of Cedar Waxwings as they flit through the tops of the cedars.
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Despite a tumbling gray and cloudy sky which seemed more suitable for late October or November instead of the last few days of summer, we set out to paddle on the Pontook Reservoir which lies a few miles north of Milan in the town of Dummer. As we arrived and got out to unload at the boat launch on rte. 16 we noticed the wind did not seem as active on the western side of rte. 16 so we crossed the road, unloaded and put our kayaks in on that side. As we looked across at the larger, windswept body of water on the eastern side of the road we were pretty confident we had made the right choice. We had driven by this area numerous times and even stopped at the dam and boat launch before, but had never paddled any of it. We had always said, "This looks like the perfect spot for moose!" At this time of day neither of us had much hope of seeing one, but it's alway nice to be surprised!
The clouds danced before the sun and despite the constant threat of rain the sun managed to push them aside on occasion to shine down approvingly on us as we paddled along and enjoyed the changing sky and beautiful colors along the shore which were just now beginning to unfold into their autumn splendor. A Kingfisher chattered his disapproval as he left his perch again and again as we approached him over and over, paddling west along the stream which feeds from that direction. We came out of a tiny cove where there were some nice colors in the low marsh which also had the added bonus of being filled with Cotton Grass and there ahead of us along the shore was a cow moose grazing in the pond weeds. We did not try to approach, instead I readied the camera with my long lens as she continued to graze. In a few moments she noticed our presence and decided to move into the woods. It is amazing how they can just disappear into the thicket. They could be standing 10 feet away and you couldn't see them! We paddled about on this part for over an hour, but it wasn't very big, and we left just as rain was about to soak us. We rushed to get the kayaks loaded as we watched the hills to our west disappear into a raincloud and watched the sheets of rain crossing the pond towards us. We managed to get loaded up again and in the car just as it reached us.
Before we returned to camp we took a ride around the area to check out a couple of smaller ponds which we had seen on the map that were in close proximity to where we were. We easily found the boat launches at Cedar Pond and Nay Pond, but decided they were too small to make the effort the next day. Good size for a lazy afternoon float on a hot summer day, but not big enough for a paddle of several hours. Next day we decided against these smaller ponds and thought we would like to return to Pontook Reservoir and this time paddle on the east side, and that is exactly what we did. Unlike the day before, this day shined brightly from the start. As we put in at the boat launch we had a low fly-by greeting from a resident Osprey, apparently welcoming us to his realm. The return to beautiful weather must have brought out the birds who relished the chance to enjoy the warmth and light of the sun on a fine late summer day. Although we saw no more moose or Osprey this day we did have a nice visit with a Great Blue Heron. Later we drove a little further north scouting places to put in along the Androscoggin River which feeds Pontook Reservoir. Bird activity along the banks of the river was excellent and I was able to photograph a small flock of Cedar Waxwings as they flit through the tops of the cedars.
