Five day base camp trip on Seboeis Lake in Maine

Last week I met up with Robin and we headed to Seboeis Lake for a traditional style base camping trip. We had a great time. We ate well, had good conversation and lots of laughs. Our island campsite was comfortable with scenic views and would have been perfect if it had a decent landing. Like most of the lake, the shoreline was rocky and lined with thick brush but we made it work.

Our traditional gear worked great making for an extremely comfortable camp. My set up was the same as it was for almost thirty years when I first started using the Campfire tent and bringing the two burner gas stove. I hadn't brought the two burner for a while and appreciated how it made cooking pretty much like cooking at home.

This was my first trip to Maine but hopefully not my last. An extra bonus for me was stopping at Island Falls Canoe and meeting Jerry Stelmok. He had to make a repair on my boat that he built in 98' He wouldn't take any money for it calling it warranty work. Jerry's love for canoes was obvious as he showed me all the boats in his shop and the 138 year old form that my 20' White Guide was built on.

Great looking trip. So glad you two were able to connect and then share your adventure with the rest of us. Thanks!

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

It was a good trip, spending time with Allan again was a lot of fun, we joked, evaluated almost everyone , ate well, sat out the wind, and enjoyed the calm conditions.
I want to publicly Thank Allan for pretty much carrying my butt, I would have never been able to hump my gear up into the campsite without his help.
While traditional gear is not for everyone, our set ups would have even made Bill Mason do a double take.

Looks like a great time, I’ll have to check it out, maybe later this fall.
Jim

Looks like a great time! Makes me want to get the old Tremblay out.

Sounds like a great trip! Thanks for the trip report and fun to see forum members tripping together.

I took my oldest boys to Seboeis Lake for their very first canoe trip when they were eight and it holds fond memories. Though, I confess that we "cheated" and rented a cabin on the northwest pond. They heard their first loon calls, evaluated some Beaver dams and lodges, cooked their own hot dogs on a stick, caught frogs and I'll never forget it.

Its a great lake to visit for sure. Hopefully there wasn't too much boat traffic. I thought that I may have recognized the campsite that you based camped at but then I wasn't sure unless the firepit was relocated. Looks like the weather treated you both well. Great canoe kits and great looking canoes. I canoe camped here with my son a few years back. Wind and rain held the fish at bay and kept us hunkered down but it was still enjoyable. Great pictures and appreciate the share. Good stuff!!

That 20ft White Guide copy is a handsome boat. I have often thought of using the 20' White Guide plans that are in Gil Gilpatricks book on cedar strip canoe building and seeing if they cold be used to build a form for making a cedar/canvas replica.

Great members, great canoes, great gear . . . and a great pictorial trip report (which I'm moving the the American Trip Reports forum).

dcloots said:

Hopefully there wasn't too much boat traffic

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Not much at all, 3-4 boats in 5 days. Your advise to put in at the south end of the lake to avoid fishing boats was spot on. We stayed at a small island next to Hammer Island on the map.

alsg said:

That 20ft White Guide copy is a handsome boat. I have often thought of using the 20' White Guide plans that are in Gil Gilpatricks book on cedar strip canoe building and seeing if they cold be used to build a form for making a cedar/canvas replica.

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Thanks, I love that boat but when I saw it in Gils book I never thought I'd want one. In fact I may have passed on a used one that came up for sale near me because it looked too big. When I bought mine I was looking for a big boat to take people out in for a tour around the lake and never thought it would be come my preferred daily driver.

I commened you for wanting one, it's a dream to paddle. After I left Jerry's shop I wish I asked if anyone had built another form, or if his original is the only one. You could check with him to see if he knows of another form that someone might sell or you may be able to build one in his shop on his form.

Robin said:

I want to publicly Thank Allan for pretty much carrying my butt, I would have never been able to hump my gear up into the campsite without his help.

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It may have seemed like a lot of help Robin, but in reality I don't think it took more than five minutes of my time in the whole five days. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Glenn MacGrady said:

Great members, great canoes, great gear . . . and a great pictorial trip report (which I'm moving the the American Trip Reports forum).

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Thanks for the kind words Glenn and thanks for fixing my post.

lowangle al said:

thanks for fixing my post.

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Admin tangent:

I hate to see someone take a lot of time to post pictures and text and then have some of the text, like the end of a sentence, end up next to or under the obvious wrong picture. It's easy enough to fix if you notice such text splits after you post. Go into edit mode, cut the text from where it's not supposed to be, and then paste it onto the sentence or into the paragraph where it's supposed to be. Sometimes you have to move a picture down with a few line spaces to fit the newly pasted text. Test your fix with the Preview icon, before you re-post, to make sure you've moved the text or made the corrections properly.

Pseudonym said:

Sounds like a great trip! Thanks for the trip report and fun to see forum members tripping together.

I took my oldest boys to Seboeis Lake for their very first canoe trip when they were eight and it holds fond memories. Though, I confess that we "cheated" and rented a cabin on the northwest pond. They heard their first loon calls, evaluated some Beaver dams and lodges, cooked their own hot dogs on a stick, caught frogs and I'll never forget it.

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Sounds like your boy first trip was a success! There is no cheating when it comes to a first trip.....the cabin rental was probably what made them feel extremely comfortable on their first trip. Glad you have those memories with your boys!