The St. John to Fort Kent & Finishing the Journey of a Lifetime

July 23, 2024

Mile 670.9-700

(Fort Kent) (THE END)

Henry walked up to the house to pay for our camping last night where he discovered that everything is closed today in the village. No general store, no diner, no library to use the wifi. Initially a bit of a disappointment but we didn’t let it get to us, it’s our last day.

We put in on the river, ran a quick rapid and then immediately paddled out into the St. John.

It was chilly to start out and I wore my base layers and Senchi as we paddled a few more class IIs with big waves and boulders and made it through all of them seamlessly. These were some of the most fun rapids we’d ran the whole trail, came close to hitting a few big rocks that would’ve rocked our shit but we dodged them at the last minute. I wished we could run them all again. My skin is burnt from yesterday and I have sun blisters on my lips but wow I just feel really good in my skin and like a paddling Goddess today.

We came to a campground and took out to walk down the road to a general store to buy a sandwich, some energy drinks and a Diet Pepsi.

The day warmed up, the sun felt so good and we tried our best to take it as slow as we could but the miles still flew by. Before we knew it the bridge before Ft Kent came into view and Henry began to cry. I still couldn’t feel it sink in really and felt more in shock than anything.

We pulled ashore at the take out and then it sank in. I looked at our canoe- our beautiful Ramblin Fever- there on the shore in Fort Kent and I was so proud of her. She carried us the whole way from NY and never once let us down, even with two holes in her.

Henry and I held each other and cried. He said he was so proud of me and there was no one else he would’ve ever wanted to paddle this trail with. All I could say is that I can’t believe it’s really over. All of the struggles and the trail had finally given us that easy day I’d prayed for- on the very last day. I collected some water and sand to keep in a jar to remember the moment forever. We wheeled the canoe up to the terminus sign and snapped some pics with the self timer.

Then sat underneath it, not willing to leave yet. We were both quiet and sad and I pulled out my phone, reclined in Henry’s arms and we went back and looked at all of the pictures from this incredible adventure, reminiscing about it all. It was a beautiful moment and felt like it pulled it all full circle for us, helped it sink in and when we finished we felt like we could finally leave. We made ourselves get up and walk through town to the free campsite on the river. We called in some takeout- I ordered steak tips, sweet potato fries and fried zucchini and couldn’t wait to devour it all. We’d just settled in at our picnic table when Henry’s mom texted that she’d got to Ft Kent early. She met us there at the site and after some discussion we decided we’d try to make the drive back to West Ossipee tonight- 6 hours. I knew if I got an energy drink I could make it and that it would feel good to sleep in Henry’s bed tonight. I drove about 4/6 hours with the help of a C4 and we crashed into Henry’s bed at 4 am. What an insane, magical, unforgettable trip. Later when I could put my feelings into words, I wrote this:

On July 23rd, day 52 of our trip, we finished paddling the Northern Forest Canoe Trail. This was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life… and I’d do it all again.

There are no words to describe what a journey this has been. I purposefully did no research on this trail because I wanted to be surprised and I sure was. It ended up being so much harder and so much more rewarding than I could’ve ever imagined. I feel like a different person than I was in Old Forge, like there is nothing I can’t do, no limits. The 20 mile portages, the demoralizing upstream paddling, the mosquitoes, black flies, no see ums, the 3-4 foot lake waves, bushwhacking, road walking, beaver dams. All of these were met with breath taking sunsets, crystal clear water, running rapids, sun on my bare skin, the feeling of finally laying down on my sleeping pad every night, moose, otters, bears, and loons, catching big bass, and all of the kindness from strangers and friends we met along the way.

There’s no way I could’ve done this trip with anyone besides Henry. We pushed through the struggles, most of the time even laughing through them and at the end of the day we had fun every single one of the 52 days we were out there. I love you and there’s nowhere on this earth I wouldn’t paddle (or bushwhack or portage) with you. This trip has proved that together we are an unstoppable force of nature.