Of the First Water: A long and winding journey on the Northern Forest Canoe Trail

AMC Outdoors, March 2006

Roughly hewn paddles slide silently through the water. Deer graze on the banks, unaware of approaching danger. Two slender, tanned youths with long, raven hair stay low in the handsomely crafted canoe, letting the boat glide into the reeds along the edges of Maine's Moose River. They reach for their flint arrows and creep towards their prey. The boat rides low in the water, laden with furs and carcasses. The hunting trip is nearing its end.

The waterways of the Northeast tell many stories. From the days when they served as highways and routes of communication to Thoreau's extended explorations on the northern Allagash, from loggers' ingenious trams to visionary businessmen building dams and ferrying tourists into remote summer hotels. When the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) officially celebrates its grand opening on June 3, 2006, paddlers will be able float through this history, assisted by interpretive signs and frequent campsites along the way. And this is no predictable ramble: The 740-mile passageway threads through some of the most remote and jaw-dropping landscapes of Quebec, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, with days of smooth paddling, spiced with enormous swaths of lake and boiling rapids.

Water trails like this are a relatively new phenomenon. As overnight paddling evolved, participants learned multi-day outings didn't have to be relegated to epic adventures like the Middle Fork of the Salmon or the Grand Canyon. One of the earliest designated paddling routes was the Maine Island Water Trail, established nearly 20 years ago with 138 campsites dotting 325 miles between Machias and Casco Bay. The east coast is also home to Janes Island State Park trail in Maryland and Pennsylvania's Schuylkill River Water Trail. Intrepid adventurers with time on their hands and great organizational skills may tackle these or the NFCT in one fell swoop, but, as on another beloved long trail in our region, they will also be able to "section" paddle the rumbling rivers and mirror-like lakes in more reasonable chunks.

The NFCT's modern origins go back to 1976, when Native Trails, a non-profit group led by Mike Krepner, a Mainer intrigued by conversations with a professor friend of his grandmother, began researching old trading routes of the Penobscot and Abenaki (or Wabanaki) tribes and following their paths throughout the north country. What they found was a viable route connecting the Adirondacks and Northern Maine, one that could still be traveled.

Hundreds of years ago, they learned, these two tribes occupied much of the land along the trail. Skilled watermen, they paddled birch bark canoes with ease between Fort Kent, Maine, and Old Forge, New York, as they hunted and gathered. Although no Native Americans are believed to have traveled the trail's entire length, they would spend weeks on the water, cramming boats with meat, fur, and other goods to keep them alive during their long, secluded winters.

Krepner and his colleagues spent the next few years devouring history, paddling, and portaging the future NFCT, and creating significant buzz in the recreation community. Kay Henry and Rob Center, who then owned Mad River Canoe in Waitsfi eld, Vt., heard about Krepner's doings in the late 1980s and were intrigued. When their business was bought by Confluence in 1998, they decided to fully commit to the project. "At the 1999 summer Outdoor Retailer Show [in Salt Lake City] we could feel that people wanted this trail to happen," says Center. The paddling community envisioned a connected trail like the MIWT in the Northeast. "So we got together with Native Trails and by January of 2000 we had formed the NFCT organization."

The duo then went to work fundraising and securing each state's help in designating trail paths and signage along 22 rivers and streams, 56 lakes and ponds, and three National Wildlife Refuges. Plus, says Beth Ann Finlay, a coordinator for the Northern Vermont Resource Conservation and Development Council, "There is so much history along the trail and we were able to bring it all together." Each region within each state has separate native occupation and settlement patterns, and the NFCT is now what connects them.

One major hurdle was creating maps of the trail, obviously a vital part of the project. Each of the 13 section maps describes local tribes, flora, and fauna. They also outline routes, hazards and campsites, be it the "Grand Portage" on the Missisquoi River straddling Vermont and Quebec or a scenic stopping point on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway in Maine. The entire trail would take about eight weeks to paddle-Maine Outward Bound Instructor Donnie Mullen was the first to prove this in 2000, finishing in 55 days--but most users will break it into segments and the maps reflect that, marking convenient put-ins, take-outs, mile markers, and campsites.

Communities like Errol, NH, and Newport, VT, have taken a keen interest in the trail's creation because they believe it can help buoy their struggling economies. Many of these once-vibrant agricultural or logging centers see the NFCT providing not only recreational opportunities for tourists but also economic opportunities for entrepreneurs. Many canoeists would rather sleep in a bed and breakfast or eat at a cafe along the way.

And those who camp need cooking fuel, food, and emergency equipment. "We envision this trail will attract enthusiasts and create an exciting adventure tourist business," says Terry Martino, executive director of the Adirondack North Country Association. "I had a guide tell me...customers showed up at his door with a credit card. Just like the mountain bike and road biking segments, the potential is huge." How huge is still up for debate. If compared to the biking industry, Martino estimates the trail could bring in $60,000 annually to each community. This enthusiastic involvement was a godsend for the organizers.

"We're very connected to the locals," says NFCT Executive Director Kate Williams. "And we had to be. We needed their expertise in finding the proper paddling routes and doing justice to each region's stories." Winding through these regions, you'll traverse some of the most incredible paddling country in the Northeast as you witness the story of the north country from the water. From challenging to serene, through small villages, working forests, deep woods, and open water. From days where you won't see a soul, to forays into bustling summer resort areas. Days when you can disappear into the slow rhythms of the trail.

One misty morning it just might be possible to see the ghostly outlines of a hunting party of Native Americans setting out to restore their supplies or a group of French soldiers paddling across Lake Champlain for a meeting with Abenaki allies. Here, history and recreation weave together and the years slip away to a time long before roads existed. It's an impressive sanctuary, the journey of whose creation is nearly as epic as its waters themselves.

-Joe Carberry

Next:
Northern Forest Canoe Trail: State by State Guide