We absolutely CRUSHED the miles into Fort Kent. We had planned to paddle up the Fish River to the public boat launch by the blockhouse, but the Fish was VERY flooded and not having any of it so we pulled in behind a levee and walked into town.
Since the campsites at the end of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail were flooded out (the water had come down nearly 20 feet in the days prior to our arrival), we sent them an email asking about alternatives and checked in with local PD to see what our local camping options would be. While we were waiting for answers we horfed some sandwiches, made a solid resupply at the local Shop & Save, ate an absurd amount of Chinese food, and signed the NFCT registry at their “end of the line” kiosk. They had anticipated our arrival and left us a delightful care package of paddling trail magic, which absolutely made our day. Lacking other ideas, we even went to the movies for a viewing of “Supertroopers 2”, which was a very weird experience to have a) sober and b) after our recent interactions with border patrol.
The local cops put us in touch with Boy Scout Troop 189, who were absolute rock stars and allowed us to pitch our tent on the lawn of their Trading Post at the Fort Kent blockhouse and even use the Post’s bathroom. Given that their entire campground/picnic area/boat launch had been completely underwater mere days earlier, their troop had done an incredible job cleaning up in the aftermath of the flood. We had to drag the boat over the levee and through town since we couldn’t get up the Fish, but it was totally worth it.
The weather is gorgeous, but everyone still seems to think we’re nuts for camping before Memorial Day.