I wasn't able to join the Androscoggin River Source-to-the-Sea Canoe Trek this past weekend, but I'm definitely on for Weekend Two, which runs Thursday, July 12 through Sunday, July 15.

The annual Androscoggin River Source-to-the-Sea Canoe Trek samples all sections of the waterway, which connects northern New Hampshire to the Atlantic Ocean by way of Maine.
FILE PHOTO BY SCOTT ANDREWS

For those who aren't familiar with the format, the Trek is a series of day trips, averaging 10 miles apiece, that sample all sections of the Androscoggin. Maine's third-largest river, the Andro flows 170 miles between Lake Umbagog in New Hampshire to Merrymeeting Bay, where it joins the Kennebec for its final 20 miles to the sea.

I've participated in the Trek for about 10 years and guided about 20 miles of it for the past eight. I'll be the official guide for this Sunday's section, the 10 miles from Mexico to Dixfield, and the following Thursday's stretch, in the Livermore Falls-Jay area.

To give people some flavor for the event, I'm running a few pix that I've taken over the years.

Kayaks are welcome too!
FILE PHOTO BY SCOTT ANDREWS

Canoeing in the Turner-Auburn area.
FILE PHOTO BY SCOTT ANDREWS

Kayaks often outnumber canoes on the Androscoggin Trek.
FILE PHOTO BY SCOTT ANDREWS

The Androscoggin River Watershed Council -- the Trek organizer -- provides a guide and takes care of the logistics (including setting up the car shuttles). Plus they generally conduct an educational program.

The Trek is neither a race nor a fund-raiser. Participation is free. Just bring your canoe or kayak, but please register first.

Added enticements inlclude a chance to win a hand-made Lincoln Canoe, from the prominent Freeport firm, or a season ski pass to Sunday River Resort.

Click here for details on dates, places and signups.

Back-paddle three decades ago: The Androscoggin was one of the nation's 10 filthiest rivers, hideously polluted due to untreated discharges by paper mills and municipal sewage systems. But after years of cleanup efforts, today's river is an outstanding recreational resource -- a point that organizers hope to impress upon a sometimes skeptical public.

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