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Moosehead Lake | Thoreau Journey Photographs

Moosehead Lake | Thoreau’s Maine: A Photo Story of an Epic Adventure The journey began on Indian Island, the heart of the Penobscot Nation. Everyone toured the island, saw historic sites and even stood outside the house where Thoreau’s guide Joe Polis once lived. The East Branch of the Penobscot River flows past Indian Island, […]

By Yankee Magazine|Mar 08 2015|

Two people in a canoe on a calm lake, paddling near a rocky shore with a small tree in the foreground. The sky is overcast, and distant hills are visible on the horizon.

Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine

Photo Credit : Katherine Keenan

Moosehead Lake | Thoreau’s Maine: A Photo Story of an Epic Adventure The journey began on Indian Island, the heart of the Penobscot Nation. Everyone toured the island, saw historic sites and even stood outside the house where Thoreau’s guide Joe Polis once lived. The East Branch of the Penobscot River flows past Indian Island, and on its shores the travelers gathered amidst chanting and prayers for their safe return. The next day the canoes touched the water at Moosehead Lake as storm clouds and winds let everyone know this would not be as easy journey.

The far southern shore of Moosehead Lake in Greenville, Maine, the group’s starting point. It was an ominous beginning, with heavy fog, cold drizzle and temperatures in the forties. The next few days were much the same.
*Photo Credit : Little Outdoor Giants*

Several hours into the trip, high winds and choppy waters forced the crew to pull ashore, where guide, Kevin Slater, cut down saplings and lashed the canoes together to form catamarans and prevent the boats from tipping over.
*Photo Credit : Little Outdoor Giants*

Despite the adverse conditions, the chance to paddle together that first day bonded the crew for the two weeks ahead.
*Photo Credit : Little Outdoor Giants*

A few of the crew members load their canoes on Hardscrabble Point, located on the north side of Mt. Kineo and home to the group’s first camping site.
*Photo Credit : Little Outdoor Giants*

When nature calls, nature is there for photographer Dom Francis.
*Photo Credit : Little Outdoor Giants*

Penobscot archeologist Chris Sockalexis holds up a piece of quartz crystal he found on the beach during a break. “It was cool to see, among the crushed and water worn shale and rhyolite that was everywhere along the lake,” says Sockalexis.
*Photo Credit : Little Outdoor Giants*

During a brief spell on day two of the trip, the rain let up, allowing the group to take in the views and flat water along the northern end of the big lake.
*Photo Credit : Little Outdoor Giants*

Wet feet became a permanent condition for much of the group during the 16-day trip. “We frequently stood knee-deep in cold water to load, unload, portage, and beach our canoes,” says photographer Jarrod McCabe.
*Photo Credit : Little Outdoor Giants*

Maine Guide Lani LaCasce skips a stone along Moosehead’s calm waters during a snack break.
*Photo Credit : Little Outdoor Giants*

LaCasce fly fishes from her canoe near Seboomook Point. The group came up empty with the fishing, but it didn’t matter since LaCasce brought along fresh moose meat for burgers that night.
*Photo Credit : Little Outdoor Giants*

Thoreau’s Maine: A Photo Story of an Epic Adventure

Last May, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the publication of Henry David Thoreau’s classic “The Maine Woods,” Thoreau’s final trip, 325 miles through the heart of Maine’s north woods waterways was recreated. Maine Woods Discovery brought together expert Maine guides, members of the Penobscot Nation, Thoreau scholars, and those hoping to draw attention to the wonders and potential of Maine’s north woods. They were joined by Yankee photographers Jarrod McCabe and Dominic Casserly who make up the talented team Little Outdoor Giants. Our photographers were the only media along for the 16 day expedition, and they captured hundreds of photos. What follows lets you see and feel the trials, tribulations and sheer joy of following in the footsteps of Thoreau and his Penobscot Indian guide Joe Polis.