Given our moderating climate here in the Northeast, November is becoming a glorious extension of October. We are ending our paddling season in a blaze of late season colors on two of the eastern tributaries of the Sheepscot River in Newcastle.

The put-in is adjacent to the Route 1 picnic area in Newcastle. A rough road leads along the south side of the highway to a small concrete boat ramp next to the bridge over the river. You will want to time your outing with the tide. Paddle between the hours of three hours before and after high tide. At low water the mud takes over.

The waterway forks just north of the highway. Head to the right up the Deer River, or go left up the Marsh River, or explore both as we did over a four-hour period. We ducked under the Deer River railroad bridge and left the sounds of Route 1 behind us. Black ducks erupted out of the golden marsh grasses. We heard the high-pitched calls of plovers and yellowlegs filling in behind us. A blue heron flew across the river 50 yards ahead.

In the early morning calm the reflections were brilliant: greens, browns and yellows of shoreside oaks; pipe cleaner-like gray trunks of maples; shaded ledges morphing into a variety of hearts, fish, and arrows.

We passed by a couple of young duck hunters at water’s edge. They asked us if we might paddle over to the far shore and pick up a black duck they had downed. We were happy to help. My wife remarked that we should have brought along our black lab and rented her out to the boys for gas money. We asked them what they would have done if we had not appeared. One of the boys said with a grin he would have stripped down and plunged in to get the duck. Us Mainers are a tough bunch.

Near its end, 2 miles from the put-in, the Deer River forks. The right fork ends beside an expansive green hillside lawn reaching up to the Lewis Hill Road. The left fork leads into a shadowy corridor of hemlock and oaks. An impressive torrent of tumbling water emptied into the cove from Meadow Stream. Small patches of foam floated down the river, looking like a sea of miniature Arctic icebergs. The water was a swirl of white streaks reminding us of a black and white knockoff of Van Gogh’s painting “The Starry Night.”

We headed back to explore the Marsh River up to the end of Cunningham Island, passing under another railroad bridge on the way. A crescendo of honking brought us to a stop and we counted 25 Canada geese drifting along the marsh grasses.

At the tip of the island the water was swirling around the point telling us that it was time to head back to the put-in. The river takes a sharp 90-degree turn here on its way south to meet the Sheepscot.

Another nice trip option is to design your outing with another canoe of friends and spot a vehicle at the public boat launch in Wiscasset. This way you can continue south to the village and do not have to backtrack.

We were fortunate that a brisk breeze sprung up that had enough push to cancel out the tide we were paddling against. It seemed strange to paddle by strands of seaweed 20 miles from the open ocean.

A pair of bald eagles soared in the deep blue sky above us, bedeviled by a fivesome of NIMBY crows. The eagles finally gave up and headed over to a pine to sulk a bit at the embarrassment of being driven off by much smaller birds.

We made it back just in time to avoid any serious mud. With iconic Red’s Eats now closed for the season we had to go to Plan B for lunch. It had been a grand morning on the water, creating a discussion on the way home; “Could November now be our favorite month to paddle?”

Consult the DeLorme Maine Atlas and Gazetteer (map No. 7) for help in getting to picnic area and boat launch in Newcastle.

Michael Perry is the former director of the L.L. Bean Outdoor Discovery Schools, and founder of Dreams Unlimited, specializing in inspiring outdoor slide programs for civic groups, businesses, and schools. Contact: michaelj_perry@comcast.net

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