Safety concerns are a worry and I am trying to address as many as possible. One major goal for the trip is to paddle/portage solo across Maine without help, except for resupplies of food and clean clothes. To provide peace of mind and also allow for communication of my position on the remote sections, I will be using a SPOT Satellite Personal Tracker, which arrived this week and was activated yesterday.
Mine is a first generation model that weighs just over 7 ounces, floats in water, and runs on two AA lithium batteries. There are several actions that SPOT can do for the basic subscription service I purchased, which costs $99 per year. Most critically, it has a 911 button that can be used in an emergency to notify the GEOS International Emergency Response Center. Once activated, appropriate emergency responders will be notified and, even on the move, your updated position will be broadcast every 5 minutes. SPOT can also send your GPS coordinates as part of an "I am fine" message to your desired list of friends and family. These waypoints are saved as a record of your journey. The third feature is a call for help from family and friends only and would let them know that you have a non-critical need. Here's a picture of my new friend.
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| Dad and Megan putting in |
My daughter Megan arrived home from college and joined me for an evening paddle around Webber Pond. I'm still exploring this pond, whose 220 acres include sections of undeveloped shoreline and a wild atmosphere, in part due to the limited (or nonexistent?) public access. In researching the pond's size, I came across the interesting fact that sea-run alewives ascend Muscongus Brook to spawn in Webber Pond, providing a good food source for smallmouth bass. Here are a few shots of the launching of Megan's rather basic kayak. She plans to join me for a day or two of my journey, perhaps in the Jackman area.
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| First paddle of the summer (and I use the word summer very optimistically) |
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