We’ve moved way North in our Maine adventure, all the way to the North Woods. We’ve moved from the coast to the mighty Kennebec River. But I promise you…the long car ride was well worth it.

The moose tracks lead us to Caratunk, a small town with a population of just 69 people. Well why did I bring you here? Enter Adventure Bound. Its mission is to create “Maine’s finest youth and family adventures.” There are many activities you can do on their premises, but the main reason to trek up to this secluded town is for the whitewater rafting. It’s both perilous and quite exhilarating at the same time. Adventure Bound has top-notch facilities, from its cabins to a delicious breakfast every morning. On the day that we went rafting, we were given a quick safety briefing, and loaded vehicular transportation to take us up the river by the Harris Station Dam. The Kennebec River is dam-controlled, and this particular dam supplies power to locations as far as Boston! We were told that we would be rafting 12 miles down the river today, with a break in the middle for lunch. The morning rafting was indeed more eventful, as the largest rapids were located in that section. (For more information about Kennebec whitewater rafting and classification of rapids, visit this link). One of the most memorable rapids was called Magic Falls, as its descent ratio of approximately 5:1 (every 5 meters forward, you would go 1 meter downward) makes it quite daunting. After a few more scenes where our lives flashed before our eyes, we stopped at a place along the river bank with only a staircase in plain sight. We then walked up the countless amount of stairs only to be met by two pickup trucks carrying buckets of food. Man, these guys run a smooth operation (in sharp contrast to the roughness of the rapids)! We carried these buckets of raw steaks, salmon, chicken and veggie burgers (don’t forget rice!) all the way back down the stairs and back into the rafts. Shortly thereafter, we “docked” the rafts at a secluded spot along the river, with nothing but a metal fire pit and a log for a bench. The guides immediately got to work and whipped up quite a fantastic lunch. I’m not kidding when I say this, but it was one of the best lunches I’ve ever had. Your choice of freshly grilled steak, chicken, salmon or a veggie burger served with fried rice and a chocolate chip cookie for dessert. It was absolutely incredible.

The afternoon consisted of floating in inflatable kayaks, and just simply drifting down the (slightly freezing) but peaceful river. Finally, we pulled the boats out of the water and headed back to Adventure Bound for an evening under the stars. All in all, it’s was quite a well-coordinated operation by every single member of the extremely friendly Adventure Bound team, delivering the signature Maine hospitality (more on this to come in a future post).

Ok, I’m running quite high on my word count. If you’re in the mood for a fun, adventurous way to spend your weekend/summer/beginning of school activity, Adventure Bound may be the place for you!

I’m Adventure Bound. Are you?

(Note: You may notice that in the above gallery, there are absolutely no pictures of the actual rafting experience. This was because at the time, Off the Maine Road did not possess such sophisticated waterproof photography equipment. However, Adventure Bound had us covered. Guys in inflatable kayaks showed up at random locations along the river, taking pictures of us. It honestly felt like the paparazzi. Literally 20 minutes after we arrived back at the lodge, they had a slideshow full of pictures and videos from the day’s trip. They’re crazy efficient.)