June 13, 1999
Placid Paddling
The St. George River in midcoast Maine may not be wilderness, but longtime guide Don Kleiner and many other paddlers enjoy it.
Copyright © 2001 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
 Don Kleiner paddles along the St. George River near Union. Staff photo by Herb Swanson |
"This ain't the Allagash," he said.
The St. George certainly isn't a wilderness waterway, but it's hard to imagine a nicer way to spend a warm June morning than paddling lazily down a river, talking, laughing and looking forward to whatever is around the next bend.
"I really like the farmland views," Kleiner said. "I mean, it may be just a personal thing about liking a more settled landscape. But it just has that open feel."
Until January, Kleiner, 43, made his living as a professional guide, shepherding everyone from bird hunters to beginning paddlers through the Maine outdoors. He's given up guiding — at least temporarily — to take his "first real job" as director of information and education at the state Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Since the mid-1980s, though, this jaunt up or down the St. George has been his signature trip, a journey he's made more times than he can count, with thousands of paddlers.
"It's what I was going to make my fortune on," he joked.
What appealed to him and many others is the calm, comfortable, almost cozy quality of the St. George. It's a no-pain, no-strain paddle that's easy enough for beginners yet lovely enough to attract experienced paddlers. "It's a great trip for families," he said.
One of the nicest parts of this trip is that it offers both river and lake views. Another attraction is the strong sense of history.
This is the river that most historians now agree Sir George Waymouth explored during his historic 1605 voyage along the Maine coast. The voyage marked the beginning of English efforts to colonize Maine, including the founding of the Popham colony in 1607.
 Staff art |
Williams' fictionalized account of Union's start during the Revolutionary War was promoted as "a novel of tremendous power and passion." Even though it was written half a century ago, the 866-page book still generates enough fans — some from as far away as Texas — to warrant an annual "Come Spring" tour during Union's Founder's Day celebration, set this year for July 17. (Call 785-5444 for information or reservations).
Although the Union Historical Society's tour is by bus, the journey also can be made by canoe, Kleiner said, "because, of course, when they first came, water was their highway."
The river is so sheltered, he said, he often brought clients here when other waterways were too rough to negotiate. Even though last Tuesday's forecast was stormy, he didn't call off our trip. He kept tabs on the coming storms via the Internet's radar map and insisted we'd have have a fine morning and a fun trip. "As long as we have our rain gear," he said. "It won't rain."
So, we left one vehicle at Ayer Park on Seven Tree Pond, on Route 235 just south of Union. Then we drove south and parked off the road at the point where Middle Road crosses the St. George. The path down to the river was a bit steep, especially on the ankle I badly sprained in May. Luckily, Kleiner is so used to paying customers that it seemed normal to him to tote the canoes and more than his share of the equipment.
For clients, Kleiner offered three versions of the St. George trip. The more hardy canoeists could choose the 10-mile, six-hour journey that begins at Ayer Park and goes downstream, through Seven Tree Pond, White Oak Pond and then on the St. George to the Powder Mill takeout just north of Warren. There's a short stretch of easy (Class II or less, he estimated) whitewater at Hart's Mill. The only tricky part of the long trip, he said, is not missing the take out at Powder Mill, an old dam that marked a former gunpowder factory.
"After that it's a fairly difficult set of rapids and the initial drop is unrunnable at all but certain levels," he said. "It's one of those dynamited spots where the rocks are in the wrong places. "
 A painted turtle sits on a rock. The St. George offers a view of farms and nature. Staff photo by Herb Swanson |
"I'd take kitchen strainers on broom handles so kids could dip bugs, 'cause tons of stuff lives in the bottom of a pond," he said. "It was always fun and it was always fascinating for them."
Considering the possibility of bad weather, though, we chose option No. 3, a six-mile, two-and-a-half-hour trip. Starting at the Middle Road crossing, paddle up river through White Oak Pond and Seven Tree Pond to Ayer Park.
The current in the St. George is so placid — "100 cubic feet of water a second, which is nothing," Kleiner said — that going upstream can actually be easier, if the southwest wind kicks in to give paddlers a boost.
"It should be a no-paddle deal on the ponds if I set that up right," he said.
It took only a few moments to see that Kleiner had been right about the current. The paddling was easy and the views were lovely.
Even thought this wasn't a remote Allagash-type experience, there was no feeling of being crowded or too close to civilization. Few buildings were visible from the river, except from a distance. We were never more than a mile from a road, Kleiner said, but the sounds of birds singing, fish (smallmouth and largemouth bass) jumping and turtles plopping into the river were all we heard.
The banks were lined with trees, where redwing blackbirds — my favorite — were busy. We caught glimpses of a great blue heron, working its way down the water in front of us. Cormorants, called "shags" along the Maine coast, flew close overhead while even higher there were ospreys coasting on the air currents. Kleiner spotted a deer up river and a muskrat glided along near on the banks.
We also quietly followed a loon to a secluded nest on an island, while its mate watched us from mid-river. Despite all the times he's traveled this river, the St. George remains a special place for Kleiner, though not a unique one. One of the best things about Maine, he said, is how many nice little river trips are tucked in and around towns all over the state and sometimes taken for granted. These pleasant day trips may not be as glamorous as the wilderness journeys, he said, but they can provide a lot of fun and a lot of good memories.
"We do a real good job of taking advantage of what we have," Kleiner said, "but we don't appreciate it near as much as we ought to."