Davis Stream/Damirascotta Lake, Maine

Body of water: Davis Stream (from Damirascotta Lake) [Maine Gazetteer Map 13] 

Directions: Form Portland, take 295 North to Exit 49, Gardiner, Rt. 201.  Take Rt. 201 into Gardiner, then take Rt. 126 East. Stay on Rt. 126 East until Rt. 32 South, turn right onto state Park Road and bear left into the park. (There are park fees, prices were not listed today, and gate was unmanned.  I have a state park pass.) 

Coordinates: 44.1979109651981, -69.453248642385

Parking: There is ample parking at the state park.  

Boat Launch: This would be the best location from which you should launch.  However, today the wind was very strong and the lake was too choppy for paddling, at least if I wanted to stay dry.  So we put in Davis Stream at an unauthorized location. (Not recommended!) 

Wildlife: Ducks, heron, kingfishers, eagle & other birds.

Notes: The weather reporters were not exactly accurate in their forecast for today.  I had heard it was supposed to be mostly sunny and warm, but that was not the case.  A friend of mine, with whom I am working on a kayaking project, and I met up to paddle together for the first time.  We planned to launch from the state park, but the waves really were too big to be safe, especially this time of year. She had heard that a local store allowed paddlers to launch from there, but the launch site was not ideal.  The worker at the store told us of another location which was marked as accessible only to those who had been given permission.  We knocked on the door of a house nearby and nobody answered.. and decided to be rebellious and put in... parking further up the road.  

Davis Stream was a nice place to paddle in order to be safe from the wind.  It is a protected area given the trees and paddling here was nice. 

There were many downed trees in the stream. 

A wasps nest/hive was hanging pretty low... this gives me hope for a less harsh winter than we are anticipating .

This is coming out of the stream, heading for the lake. 

It was crazy paddling towards the lake against the wind.  We opted to turn around pretty quickly. 

Fall is definitely in the air.  If you are still paddling make sure you are wearing layers to stay warm and make sure you have appropriate gear for cooler temps.  Be safe!