Monthly Archives: October 2017

Chowderheads Just Wanna Have Fun

Is there a better way for outdoor enthusiasts to spend four days than mountain hiking on a range of magnificent summits, sea kayaking along perhaps the most spectacular section of the Maine coast and biking a network of scenic, off-road trails that weave through mountains and around secluded ponds on an island paradise? That’s exactly […]

Creeking the Piscataquog

Each October the State of New Hampshire draws down Lake Horace, providing an excellent Class III/IV creek-like whitewater run on the North Branch of the Piscataquog River. Located in Weare a little west of Concord, the release attracts whitewater boaters from around New England. For several years, Penobscot Paddle and Chowder Society president, Ryan Galway, […]

Moosehead Lake Surf & Turf

Call me quixotic but I like surf and turf outdoor adventures. What’s a surf and turf? My definition is a sea kayak or canoe trip blended in with a mountain hike. While this may seem bizarre to the uninitiated, it’s an excellent way to combine three popular outdoor activities, paddling, hiking and camping. Fortuitously, Maine […]

Whitewater Adventures on the Wild, Wild West

For two days each September, the Army Corps of Engineers releases water from Ball Mountain Dam on the West River in Jamaica, Vermont. An event that attracts many Mainers, the scheduled releases provide an excellent opportunity for paddlers to experience some outstanding late season whitewater boating. The releases have evolved into a veritable whitewater festival […]

Monadnock – The World’s Most Popular Mountain Hike?

For many years, the West River Whitewater Festival in Jamaica, Vermont has been a destination of choice for Maine paddlers in late September. Each fall, the Army Corps of Engineers releases water from the Ball Mountain Dam for recreational paddling on the West River in southeastern Vermont. My addiction began in 1989. About a five […]