I recently returned from a few days on Flagstaff Lake with the Maine’s Bigelow Preserve as my backdrop. I’m not much of a writer so I’ll spare everyone the minor details but some of my pictures are on-line at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10206194639817090.1073741836.1597205438&type=1&l=c4f860cb8c. You can see I’m not a great photographer either but they do give you taste of what the lake is like. The water is shallow enough that even in a light kayak you have to keep an eye out for obstacles. I even managed to get caught on a submerged asphalt road. Also the fishing is not very good although I did see trout in the clear shallow water and I was told by a game warden that there are large pike about. I highly recommend Flagstaff Lake and Bigelow Preserve. This is a great area for hikes combined with kayaking or canoeing trips of up to a week. Fishing is not good in the big lake but I have caught trout in the smaller lakes within the Preserve including Horns Pond (which I believe is stocked) and in the streams on the Southern side of the mountains. There are numerous small islands complete with sandy beaches and plenty of flat places to bed down on which I saw nary a sign of humanity despite the fact that the lake is a man-made reservoir. The Appalachian Trail is also nearby, running along the length of the ridge that forms the backbone of the Preserve, allowing for easy day hikes and overnight camping in the mountains as well. I hope people will take some of these Maine kayaking/hiking routes on because I think they offer a lot of variety and interesting but not life threatening obstacles for light hikers to tackle on land and water. I'm going out a few more times in Maine before the cold weather descends on us and I'd be happy to have company.
