The Penobscot expedition is an epic canoeing journey along less traveled rivers and lakes in Northern Maine. It is the second of our big wilderness trips; it is tailored for 14 and 15 year olds who have completed the Allagash Canoeing Adventure. Where the Allagash introduces its participants to spending multiple weeks in remote wilderness, the Penobscot builds upon those initial experiences and brings everyone to the next level of canoeing adventure. This is a 26 day trip.
Cragged Mountain Farm’s first Penobscot trip was in 2011 and was led by Nick Utter, who founded and operates the Farm on Cragged Mountain and is one of the grandchildren of Dr. Wilson Utter, who led the first Allagash trip in 1971. The Penobscot is becoming a staple in Cragged tradition as a challenging trip that campers look forward to doing after their Allagash.
The Penobscot starts at Moosehead Lake. From here the group proceeds up the biggest lake in Maine, eventually portaging into the West Branch of the Penobscot River close to where the Allagash starts. The group reminisces about their past Allagash experiences for the next few days as they find themselves in familiar places until their path takes them east onto the East Branch of the Penobscot River. The canoeing portion of the trip ends when the group reaches Medway. From here, the journey takes the group to Baxter State Park where they climb Mt. Katahdin, which will have been looming far off in the distance throughout the entire trip patiently awaiting the Penobscot’s arrival on Day 25. Then it’s back to camp to regale everyone with stories about their incredible expedition!
Click here to read about one of our past participant’s experiences!
The Penobscot is led by WFR certified leaders with extensive backcountry canoeing experience.
“The Penobscot is a difficult trip that builds on the Allagash experience in terms of rapids, portages, and the amount of responsibility the campers are expected to show up with everyday. The campers who go on this trip come back to work at CMF in following years with much more competence and confidence who add more value to the camp and campers’ experience. One of the simplest ways I think about the value of the Penobscot and why we started this trip is that the summer between freshman and sophomore year of high school is rarely spent doing anything close to as challenging, rewarding, and fun as a river trip across northern Maine with your friends.”
~Nick Utter
Cragged Mountain Farm Summer Camp 