Where first people paddled, you can today

September 13, 2009|Kari Bodnarchuk, Globe Correspondent

ERROL, N.H. - Our canoes sliced through the shallow water, dispersing a swath of pollen that floated down the river and stirring up water bugs that darted across its surface. To our left, a gangly heron took flight and crossed a small cove where autumn’s fruity colors reflected on the water. I felt like an explorer, drifting through a seemingly untouched wilderness where moose and eagles outnumbered human visitors.

The Magalloway River soon spilled into Umbagog Lake, where my fellow paddlers and I joined the Northern Forest Canoe Trail. This magnificent, 740-mile water route snakes through Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, and southern Quebec as it traces trade routes used by Native Americans and early European settlers. Between Old Forge, N.Y., and Fort Kent, Maine, it links more than 75 lakes and rivers, and passes through 45 communities, from sleepy hamlets to lively towns. It even flows beneath a hotel in Vermont and over submerged villages on a dammed-up lake in Maine (it’s possible to see a church steeple when the water is low).

At times, paddlers on this mainly self-guided route cut through some of the region’s most remote wilderness, and in other spots, they can tie up their canoes in the middle of a town and wander across the street for pizza. Similarly, they can pitch a tent and sleep on the ground or, in sections of Maine and New York, paddle from inn to inn and enjoy more luxurious accommodations.

“Water trails are closer to communities by nature,’’ says Kate Williams, executive director of the Canoe Trail. “I can’t think of a town along our trail that isn’t there because of the waterway.’’

I had always been drawn to New England’s coastline and forested footpaths, but had spent little time on its inland water trails. The now mapped and signposted Canoe Trail, which officially launched in June 2006, offered a chance to explore several waterways and discover their natural, cultural, and geological history.

A group of us had gathered for a three-day trip along the trail, from the Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge on the Maine-New Hampshire border down the Androscoggin River to Pontook Dam. The 25-mile stretch included a 200-yard portage, frothy and turbulent white-water sections, coves and inlets to explore, remote campsites, and few brushes with civilization.