Voices from the Trail
Category: Stewardship
Northern Forest Canoe Trail
The Northern Forest Canoe Trail crew is out for ten weeks of sweat and hard work mixed in with some stunningly beautiful “commutes” to their job sites by canoe, during a summer living out of a tent and swimming in…
Winds of Change
I am writing this at 3am on a late spring morning. I’ve got a big life transition coming up, and this just happens to be the time of day my brain chooses to become most introspective. When I arrived in…
Remembering Bill Schomburg
Our community lost a trail hero in March, when Bill Schomburg, an NFCT volunteer extraordinaire from Columbia, New Hampshire, passed away at age 77. Bill was involved with the NFCT from the get-go. He helped our fledging organization map the…
Nulhegan Confluence Hut and Trails
By Noah Pollock Vermont State Coordinator & New York/Vermont Regional Field Coordinator The arrival of winter has slowed—but not completely stopped—the completion of a new amenity for paddlers: a hut along the Northern Forest Canoe Trail’s Nulhegan River in Vermont’s Northeast…
A Novice Canoeist’s Perspective on Paddling in Maine
By Serena Doose Lucky me, stuck with my brother as a paddling partner on my first canoe experience. The slow moving, tannic waters of the Santee Canal in South Carolina were the backdrop for the third day of “staycation” week…
A Summer in the North Woods of Maine
By Ryan Saul Intern, Moose River Bow Loop Crew With school in session and my summer behind me, let’s talk about the University of Southern Maine’s Northern Forest Canoe Trail summer course. The course is…
An Intern’s Privy Pride
I took a deep breath, stepped back, and paused a moment to gather myself. I could hardly believe that only several months earlier I had eagerly accepted this position, that of the outdoor wanderer, the transient do-gooder, a member…
NFCT Stewardship Machine
The Northern Forest Canoe Trail field season is winding down and we are shifting gears towards fall projects. But first, holy smokes, it’s hard to believe all the work that was accomplished this summer! Over the years we have developed…
Honeymooners turned trail volunteers on the Northern Forest Canoe Trail
By Eric Diven and Bree Carlson NFCT Volunteers In the summer of 2014, after almost a year of dating and on the cusp of moving in together, we decided to test our relationship for a week in a space that…
An intern’s first week on the Moose River Bow Loop
By Colin McIntosh Intern, Bow Loop Crew The 34-mile Moose River Bow Loop is a popular canoe trip in northwestern Maine. In partnership with the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, the Northern Forest Canoe Trail is…