Debsconeag Wilderness Area / A 9 day canoe camping adventure in Maine 

I love the Maine woods in October. My old buddy and I would go camping the second week of October every year, just after he got back from his annual trip (since retiring) to a horse riding ranch in Wyoming. Great memories! He recently passed away at 94. Riding and camping ito his late 80's.

Hey this was an awesome video. So much wilderness to explore in Maine. I feel fortunate to live in the Moosehead area and enjoy these type of places. You have the dehydrated meals down Pat, was interesting to see what food you made up each day. Take care my friend….

Omg im so jealous! Beautiful area unbelievable weather. What an adventure! The food porn was top notch lol the fall colors are breathtaking thank you for sharing it and of course, thank you for all that you do brotha 🙂

I'd say you could get 6 more uses out of that custom Dutch Oven lid 😁 Great adventure I like those boots

Very cool trip video. It was cool seeing all the different camp sites you were able to find. Some epic footage in there; thanks for spending the time editing so we could live vicariously. :) Also, it's such a joy to me to see your enthusiasm about hammocks. We need more tree dwellers.

Working as a scientist in Alaska and living in remote field camps for months, we use Katadyn Be-free type gravity water filtration bags. Durable, lightweight, and no effort, gravity does it all. A bit pricey but you can process a huge amount of water in a short amount of time. Great show BTW. Like your extended multi-day expeditions, and shorter ones too. You're just chill and I like the no pressure trips. When expeditions have hard-and-fast schedules, it ruins the whole vibe.

I appreciate the map and route!

Pretty awesome!!!

Man, you and Craig have the whole nature video thing nailed. Great video, and I agree with Alan that I like the longer movie version. Glad you guys had a great time, and, btw, you're not fooling anyone - calling the trip a little "early" so you can score point with the wives. 😆 "Honey, I came home early because I couldn't stand to stay away from you another day!" Yeah, nobody's buying that. 🤣 Seriously, God bless your family for giving you the opportunity to get away, especially your daughter, packing you a Slim Jim. Love it. Joe

Great video man! Hey, by the way I'll give you guys your man cards back, lmao I didn't see any White Claws roflmao. Just busting balls. Nice video man really enjoyed it! Lol

MY BACKYARD!

Well done Justin! Beautiful lighting on this trip and your dehydrated meals are well planned. By the way I know where you were but I won’t say anything. Great trip for you and Craig! Thanks for sharing.

Lol "I am just trying to help you....BOY" that is great. Another trip I have to copycat! Seems like an amazing place.

Very beautiful area spent some time up there as well

There’s a beautiful camp up beyond the falls on that road.

Man, there’s so much to like about this video 👍🏻 I really like that you give a nice balance of all the components of the trip. I subscribed to your channel the other day as I was watching Craig’s video of this trip and I’m glad I did because this is a great version/perspective of that trip. I personally prefer the longer “movie” versions of multi day trips. Some RU-vidrs release an episode a week or even a month and a lot gets lost in the gaps. I’ll be going back and watching your older videos until the next new one pops up lol

msr guardian pump. it was expensive but works fabulous . can pump 2 x 32oz water bottles in under 2min. and 4L bladder in about 3-4 minutes. its about the size of a 24oz water bottle , tubes roll up around it no problem. I just did this canoe loop about 2 weeks ago. it was very strenuous for me. I also brought WAAAAAy too much gear (which cancelled out my ultra lite boat-Lol) it was a learning experience for me. the portages were longer than I expected (lots of bugs) the camp site at moose island was taken (well , people left their campsite all set up-left all their gear, so I opted not to stay with their 6 tents all set up) I should have stayed the night at Namakanta stream site, but did the portage and White house landing to 3rd debs at 5pm. got to campsite at 3rd by 6;30, proceeded to dump my entire boat and self while negotiating the rocks and cliff-Lol . had a good night, saw biggest spider in my life next am. paddled 3rd debs to portage by 10am. should have stayed at waterfall campsite but I thought there were more sites down lake, and I did 2nd portage to 1st debs (in same day!!!) paddled all the way across 1st debs to 4 sandy beach sites. I stayed at 1st site all the way to the right on its own across the outlet from the other 3 sites. there was a party of 12 locals with dogs and motorboats at the large cove where you and Craig stayed. anyways after my whole camp was set up, fire wood prepped, I jumped in lake with some Dr.Bronner's , and while walking up beach I noticed Bear paw prints every where on the beach and all around fire pit and picnic area. I decided to ear MRE's for dinner and packed all food away in airtight bags and stored them in the "clean outhouse"! It has a latch on the door. my hammock and tarp were set up about 150 yards away in the pine grove to the left from beach area. Bears did come to site that night rough 3-4am. They do "hoot" at night as my brother from the Adirondacks had told me. heard one up the lake at about 3, then all around camp "hooting" till about 4am. any ways I survived, was on water by 5am to west branch , little portage was tough , unmarked no trail just bushwacking, then I made wrong turn at passamagamet falls (should have gone full to the left!) but portaged around small falls and put back in, but there was still more swift water, I took 2 large rocks across the bottom of my brand new hornbeck-ouch, but I didn't dump it, holy shit, I said some prayers!!! wish I took more time, was in and out in 3 days, also would rather go with a buddy or 2 next time just for safety sake. I'm 55 years old and not in the best of shape, but glad I did it and want to do more of it. sorry for the long windedness. I truly appreciate you and Craig and Maine Tripper, and I have A LOT more respect for all of you after having done it myself now (a comedy of errors) you guys make it look easy. The beauty of the wilderness leaves me fill with awe. also drank river and lake water for the first time and it tasted GREAT!!! Thanks again Justin, you are the MAN! -Andy

Awesome video dude! I did that loop years ago with some friends and really enjoyed it. Your video brought me right back! We went early June and had high water of course. We all ran those falls without knowing how big they were. Probably class 4 easily. It was a huge yard sale. I was the only 1 of 5 that didn't tip. My yak was full to the brim with water and I barely made it to shore. Still the biggest rapids I've hit in a yak to date.

Awesome video! I live just a little east on the river and Pup and I are in the woods every day. I still can't get enough of it. Thanks guys. Again, great video.

beautiful scenery great trip really enjoyed this well done epic class all the good stuff brill

Hey Justin Great trip killer video definitely love the dehydrated meals you had some crazy weather but in my opinion makes the trip hunkering down for a couple of days with Craig and Jim Beam Thanks Earl

There was alot to soak in. A great trip to say the least, glad you dragged our ugly asses along for the ride!!

Terrific vid! I've been reading about the history of logging in every one of those lakes, so this vid was incredible to see. Imagine what it was like when they were driving logs down all of those waterways!! Log driving ceased in the early 1970's from what I understand.

CNOC & Katadyn BeFree

Nature is amazing, always to see something new, to expirience new surroundings, nice interpretation, that kind of trip looks really amazing, sitting here in a chair, watching this you can easily think you are there.

What an amazing trip! Cheers boys!

W❤️W! That’s Awesome And Incredible Camping Adventure! Cheers!🥂❤️✨

Now that is a great adventure

Great video. I really enjoyed it. Those views were amazing. Really liked that last campsite. A couple comments about the hammock, tarp and rain. If it's raining and the wind isn't going to be bad, have the tarp in porch mode. I have had great nights watching a lightning storm from the comfort of my hammock. Also you don't need to set the hammock up right away. Use the tarp as a shelter and hang out under the tarp with your buddy and then set up the hammock later that evening. (Before the spirits take affect.) Great forethought in using multiple rainbreaks along the suspension. Great looking food all around.... except for the biscuits from a can. 😉 (Just teasing.) However good biscuits are quick and easy to make. Get a can of Bakewell Cream from the cooking isle at the grocery store and use the recipe on the can. Keep the butter and milk cold and don't handle the dough too much. You don't want the butter to melt and the dough should be lumpy. About 5 min to mix up and about 15min to cook. You asked me to provide feedback on the style. I thought it was good. I was worried that you were going to keep the soft mellow voice from the intro throughout. I'm glad you didn't as although it was a nice opening, if you continued I probably would have been lulled to sleep. Keep up the great videos!

Nice camera work, thanks for posting !

Wow are you guys retired😂,I really enjoyed this video,truth is I have enjoyed all the canoe/camping videos you have posted.Thanks for all the walk bys and setups with your camera.I am sure you have hours editing. Is there a link where to get the maps you have? Going to try to make it to Flagstaff Lake in the spring. Again a huge Thanks and looking forward to another.

Love your videos. I save them for when winter comes and we cannot paddle. Some strange corner of my brain really wishes that you had tucked in that loose goose feather before applying tape, but that's another adventure. Well done!

Always enjoy your videos 😎 love the choppy waters scenes lol. You push right thru👍 happy canoeing n camping😊

Simply incredible!

I really enjoyed this video, especially that beach campsite, WOW... Stunning scenery all around!

Absolutely beautiful views

Great video! Appreciate the time and effort you put into it.

That was freaking amazing, dood.

It has been 10 years since I was there when the lakes weren't frozen. Three years ago I spent 3 nights camping on the ice on Ambejejus filling a cooler with bass and perch, followed by a day catching salmon on Chesuncook. Have you considered the Moose River Bow Trip, near Jackman, Maine? It's a 34 mile loop of paddling, portaging and in one spot lining a canoe down some rapids.

Another great video Justin. Hammocks seem interesting but better than a hot tent ...C'mon man. Appreciate the time you put into these videos Definitely enjoyable to watch. You may have inspired me to do some too.

Nice video for a great trip. Good work Justin, please keep 'em coming. You guys gotta come back to the Adirondacks more! I hope I see you out there one day.

Great video. Some comments! Seems odd that Craig is left out of the video for much if the trip. More interaction would be nice. Hammocks are great. We did a very wet trip on Middle Saranac a couple years ago. .My old faithful 40 year old Eureka tent started seriously leaking. Rather than biyiy another good tent, I went to a hammock and never looked back. Do you ever rig a tight ridgeline andbout you tarp OVER it? One major advantage is that you get to hang all sorts of stuff underneath the tarp. Dry yoir clothes, keep various little bags handy... Water filtration. I use a Platypus 4L gravity system. Works great. Filters are expensive and you can't let them feeeze as that will ruin them. Thanks for the video. Look forward to more.

This looks like such a blast, I really need to get out to Maine in the near future. I love the ADK, but I need to see some of these other wild places with my own eyes.

Another great one! I would love to get up there some time for a trip. I have a few water filtration systems, but my 2 favorite are my Platypus Quick Draw and my Grayl Geo Press. I use the Platypus the most, but always have the Grayl with me for sketchier waters. Thanks again for the great content!

Great video. We did this trip in september and got wind bound for the whole trip on Moose Island. We will be back. Thanks for showing some of the portaging. Helped a lot. We pretty much planned to do the trip you guys did last year.

I'm having a hell of a good time watching this trip! Your banter with Craig is always phenomenal. The socks on the fire part had me dying. 😆 maybe you could dehydrate them ahead of time for the next trip. Haha cheers bud!

This looks like an amazing trip....but it is almost a 24 hour drive from here in NE Alabama! I am watching, then pausing the video to comment about things as I see them, so I won't forget. LOL! I would love to try one of those lightweight packboats, but those things just would not survive a trip on the rivers that we have to run down here. Too many sharp limestone rocks. We have the Old Town Nexts that we use on trips like that. Most of the time, we are solo paddling our "big boats", 15-17 canoes. And we have them loaded up like the Clampetts with all of our creature comforts. LOL! Those boots look sweet for cold weather trips, but down here, they would just be needed about 2-3 months per year. After several years of hammock hanging, and watching several of my friends fall in their hammocks...I have learned that I like to hang low, because as much as I have made fun of them for falling, my day is coming. The lower it is, the less I have to fall! However, I do agree with all of your reasons for hanging higher. We also usually camp on sand/gravel bars, so we use homemade hammock stands that allow us to pop up a hammock anywhere. No searching for trees! On the 6th morning, you spoke about your weather app...did you have cell service? Or were you using a GPS, or something? I have the BeFree water filtration...I've used it several times over the past three years, and I keep waiting on that little flimsy bag to fail...but it hasn't yet. Awesome video...I've sort of been binge watching your stuff the past couple of days! Good stuff. Thanks for sharing!

I'm going to say it Justin, you are a hedonist but an environmentally aware hedonist who works hard for all your joy and deserves every bit. 😂. Those tacos, grits 🙄 …get out of the city. Great pair. Sublime video.

Very nice. I need to try a double paddle, they look very effective in the wind. Happy you got your long trip 😁

Oh no, I heard it again - "America in a Can" .

Nicely done man. I already want to get back out there ! There is still a lot to explore for sure. We had some fabulous camps. It was a blast overall, but exploring new campsites was epic. You should definitely expect some sort of “ payback “ for the presumed shot of me “passed out” 😅😂🤣 I was a good boy this trip, except maybe the night I couldn’t find my hammock ! 😂 best of times my friend ! See you soon man.🤘

Amazing video, thanks for the effort you put into this! What liter dry bag do you use for a trip of this duration? Looks like a 70L but I thought I would ask!

Great video! I just finished watching your Flagstaff video. Now this. Definitely gonna subscribe. What kind of coffee press is that? I want one! Also wonder what kind of camera you use? The video quality is excellent.

This was my first time watching one of your videos. I really enjoyed it. How do you recharge your batteries on a multiday adventure?

Hunker down*

what map is that you are using?