Bethel Adventure Tours

09/02/2024

Boats 🛶 , Brothers🤮, Beavers 🦫

Glad we got this family out on the water. Yesterday was a bit bananas in adventure land as it seems nobody expected a nice day. We got two simultaneous calls for kayaking. This crew was the first to book. Serendipitous I think because of the brother thing. Being the middle of 3 brothers I have an idea what it looks like to travel with that crew. What I have no clue about is what it looks like for a sister of 3 boys. Katy, with another episode of “tails from the sweep”, did ask. The sister doesn’t give them high marks😂.
(Pun intended)

I give her high marks for joining my “saw a turtle underwater” club. We are at 5 for this season. (Painted today)

We inspected the trestle bridge for the beaver 🦫 dam. It has been cleared. We showed them the lodges.

Swimming is still in. Paddling is still great. Wildlife is still here to appreciate. We can help, as we did with this family. Mom said it all “It was a good idea to have a second guide” 👍🏾😎❤️

09/01/2024

Touching all Greenwood ponds

Happy to have back in a boat and he brought John to “show him what you guys do”😊. Awesome to get active, in person referrals.

We decided to go south and touch South Pond first. We were immediately greeted by Motley and parents cheating on North Pond. The eaglet followed them onward towards Bryant Pond. I didn’t think we would see it again.

We had to bushwhack our way into and out of South Round Pond as the pesky beavers had tried to dam the passage. I was just under that bridge a few days ago, so it was impressive how much work they had completed.

Out on North Pond, Motley was there looking plaintive. I guess it got ditched. It hung out and posed for pictures.

The loons were all out and about. They all look good. No worries for them making their winter break.

Summer continues…sorry kids (not 😎)

08/31/2024

Beautiful paddle on the mighty Androscoggin

The crisp foggy morning gave way to a warm and crystal clear day. We had a stiff headwind for much of the day which slowed us down and let us enjoy more scenery. We had a good day with birds of prey seeing osprey, vultures, hawks, and eagles.

The swimming was good and the company excellent. We are grateful for this beautiful river and all the work in bringing it back to health. 100% of revenue from this paddle go to

08/28/2024

Paddling is not over

CPS, my elementary alma mater and our neighborhood bike mecca, went back to school today.☹️ In solidarity with the student detainees, we played hooky on the Mighty A.

I’ve always loved the Shelburne Birches. They are even more dramatic riverside.

wearing joggers is a bit over the top😊

08/28/2024

Happy to support Mahoosuc Land Trust and their conservation work.

Katy and I grew up on the mighty A and have seen an amazing transformation in the last 40 years.

This is not a float…. be prepared to explore😊

08/28/2024

Reports of summer’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.

08/26/2024

MTB skills clinic with an amazing group of ladies from near and far! 😎☀️🚲

Lots of flat ground training and skills mixed with some on trail sessioning. Such a joy to not only coach this group, but also watch them support each other throughout the day! 💖

08/25/2024

Great guiding and bit of coaching today with Liz

Liz and her family are part of the Mt Abram faithful and she wanted to expand her trail network a bit. You know we hit CPS😎 on our way to BVT.

Trails are riding well all around Bethel, come get it.

08/17/2024

Exploring the wild Androscoggin

It was a good day exploring the side channels, oxbows, and beavers ponds on the Mighty Androscoggin. A couple in this group had previously paddled a different section with us, this time we took them upriver…and they brought friends 👍🏽❤️🙏.

The change in birds is dramatic for those of us on the river all the time. We can feel the absence of songbirds and juvenile eagles; then a couple double crested cormorant buzz by. We ended up seeing quite a few.

The water in the main stem is still warm for swimming but the water coming off the mountains is cold.

Views were muted by low clouds and wildfire smoke but it didn’t diminish the serenity of our paddle.

The boat ramp in Gilead was bonkers though🙄.

08/17/2024

Misty morning kayaking

Fun taking the Patterson family on the still water of North Pond. We really like connecting our guests to places they may have seen but not experienced.

Turtles, loons, eagles, swimming…a sweet start to the weekend.

08/16/2024

Pond exploration fun

Great to be able to get this family reunion group from Massachusetts (and beyond) out on the water. A heavy rain forecast threatened the plan but eventually we got out. The water was like glass, which made for excellent reflections from Buck’s Ledge and much easier to spot the beavers that surfaced on Round Pond.

Motley was at home tree, letting out a plaintive cry or two every few minutes. One of the parents was on duty a couple islands over and Motley went island hopping to beg for fish. We heard the loons calling from the north end and paddled out to listen. We were joined by the “gang of 5” loons (probably transients).

We never got a proper sunset due to low level clouds but the wildfire haze made for an interesting moon.

08/14/2024

Buck’s Ledge from both sides 🛶 🥾

We did an early hike with a family from Croatia/Solvinia to catch a glimpse of the ponds and White Mountains. We then took them and a Conneticut couple out on the ponds. Our Neighbor cashed in a credit and joined the fun. It was a happy mixed paddle group 😊👍🏽🙏.

It was quiet early but we were graced by 3 broad winged hawks playing. This is a new one in this area. Motley the eaglet flew in from afar to home tree, probably hoping for a handout. 5 loons were about moving as a flotilla.

On the return leg the wind picked up and made for a welcome paddling challenge.

It is excellent paddling right now. Come get it!

08/12/2024

Magnificent day on the Mighty A

We took this fun family from the Czech Republic out on our favorite river. A crisp morning gave way to sun half way. Hurricane Betty runoff, cooling clouds, and lower sun angles have cooled down the river (not that it was really warm). I couldn’t flush the trout on my favorite aquarium side trip. I think they have moved back into the main river.

Great day for Great Blue Heron and Belted Kingfishers. Our national birds wowed the guests with a few sightings. I feel their numbers have dropped by a lot in the last week.

Found another beaver dam…I think I have 6 mapped. Amazing they can engineer parts of this river.

Thanks Katy for the sterling shuttle support!😊

08/11/2024

Calm paddle on the ponds

Happy to take this Pennsylvania family on pond water when it was a bit hard on the river. Betty blew through and increased the water levels and speed. The ponds, however, were most excellent.

It was all quiet on the eagle front, but finally Motley flew by. It is turning into a great flyer, high soaring and some aerobatics🦅😊. We had a bunch of loons, many ganging up, as they do this time of year.

We can feel the shift, but still plenty of adventuring to be done.

08/08/2024

Guiding and a bit of coaching on the village sampler tour

This crew is up for a family reunion. There was a good mix of cycling background so we did a few key fundamentals that help the transition to MTB….then we rode.

13 miles later we got the rental bikes back to Thanks Eric.

08/08/2024

Bethel has the best sunsets 😊

08/06/2024

Serene paddle on the Mighty Androscoggin

Frequent guest Cathie dialed up for another adventure- I think she has been out with us 6x? We have a bunch of custom, not so well known multi sport options but we needed to get her on the nature safari. She also is an avid swimmer, so a run through the Spin Cycle was mandatory.

Not a soul to be seen on a Monday between storms. We had good bird activity today with a constant es**rt of cedar waxwings being the stars. The Honey Hole produced a juvenile eagle and an osprey. My new favorite is showing swarming brown and rainbow trout (6-10 inches) in a special spot.

There is nowhere to go in Western Maine to experience the wildlife and biodiversity of the region than a trip on the Mighty A….but one needs to go with those who know. …one who is on the water 3-5x a week.

08/01/2024

Kudos to this intrepid crew!

Yesterday afternoon’s paddle was a weather smorgasbord. This group from Connecticut was up for a family reunion and a few wanted to get on water. Thankfully they were flexible on afternoon timing and we got out before any boomers came through. We opted for one guide on water and one in “on call” mode.

Smiles from start to finish 😊

07/31/2024

Morning Exploring

Very happy to take this Pennsylvania family on an early morning paddle on the Mighty Androscoggin. This season we’ve had more than our share of guests that are game for an early tour. As we chatted discussing our paddle plan, I heard in the background “As early as possible”. 😂 I was tempted, but tempered it back to a 0600 shuttle meet-up. Thanks Bethel Dunkin’.

We had gorgeous twilight colors (accentuated by the smoke), giving way to patchy sun. We had a great time at the swim spot, where one can feel the power of the river and the circus of an eddy.
We found new branches on the beaver dam, but none of our favorite river animals came out.

It was non stop eagles🦅. I deliberately undercounted on EBird and my submission was still flagged. Lucky I have the geo tagged pics. At one point we had 3 juvenile Bald Eagles almost equidistant and visible to each other, just perched and watching for fish. We are very happy to be seeing Great Blue Heron again, in good numbers. One of the juvenile eagles was flying up river and spotted a GBH flying down river . It decided to give it a go. The GBH simply out turned the eagle and flew off with a squawk.

Happy that nature seeking visitors are finding us and allowing us to show them the river, the Mahoosucs, and all the wildlife. As always, thanks to for the access and conservation.

Great pics from the sweep I eagerly await your new book “Tales from the sweep”

07/31/2024

Women’s Mountain Bike Clinic
Aug 25th @ 9am in Bethel, ME

Join us for a day of learning and riding with an inclusive and supportive atmosphere.

Cost $100 per rider.

Included:
9am-2pm:
Fundamental skills & on trail feature sessions

2:30pm-4pm:
No drop trail ride..if you have gas left in the tank.

*Coaching by (BICP) certified mountain bike, instructor and registered Maine Guide Katy Carr.

Not included:
Bike / gear rentals
Lunch
Guide gratuity
Transportation to / from the venue.

*ONLINE BOOKING AVAILABLE
Booking Link ⬇️
https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/betheladventuretours/items/564967/?full-items=yes&flow=1227002
or through our website: www.betheladventuretours.com

07/28/2024

NOVICstock😊

Fun family reunion group. We had the opportunity to share one of our favorite places with the extended Novic family.

We enjoyed sharing the history of this place and celebrating the future of community conservation.

A few hermit thrush serenaded our ascent along with the ubiquitous Red eyed Vireo. Tiny frogs were frequently visible to those who looked.

On Bucks Ledge, we could see the continuing education of Motley the eaglet on the islands below. Most of our views of this eagle family are from kayaks so it was interesting to see where the adults go to find fish for the eaglet.

Nature hiking and walking tours are a great option for large groups to experience western Maine up close.

07/28/2024

Last minute afternoon paddle 😊

Glad we took the call, as we were stepping out for another tour. This Kansas family was looking for an afternoon Androscoggin kayak. If we would have let it go to voicemail, none of us would have been on this special river, on that section, at that time.

We had birds the whole way, led by the river balds, common mergansers, and quiet kingfishers. We had an osprey fly by, which we only occasionally see on this section. Thankfully, the great blue herons are back in rotation, we have felt they were late this summer. We found a snapper and got tail slapped twice by a pesky beaver.

The wildfire smoke isn’t bad yet. The water was perfect for swimming. We didn’t see another person on the river.

We designed this tour to maximize chances for experiences like these. Nature serves up the rest.

07/22/2024

Morning hike in the Mahoosucs 🌕

This family is visiting from Ohio and staying at the . They were looking a photography tour, mostly birds. Since they were already up the Sunday River valley I had a few options. I also let them know that we had a full moon setting this morning. This resulted in moon azimuth calculations, terrain masking estimates, and hike time calculations. We eventually settled on a 0500 meet-up. This also, as I forewarned them, resulted in seeing a couple bullwinkles on our way. Healthy cow and calf 🫎.

We ended up having nice moonshots enroute, which released the pressure on our hike. This is a better recipe for a bird watching hike.

We had a crisp morning on summit with good activity from chickadee, junco, ovenbirds, downy woodpeckers, and robins. The stars of the show were the Cedar Waxwings and Hermit Thrush. They were super busy and curious😊.

The blueberries have a ways to go, but the bears do not seem to mind, judging from scatology.

Thanks for letting us customize a tour and making your Bethel adventure a success!

07/21/2024

Three paddles and a parade😊

Saturday, we kicked off our day with the annual loon count. We counted 3 Common Loons on Songo Pond. As usual, Katy had loons invading her personal space.

Later, we joined the Summerfest parade with our ward Teddy backseat barking. Great turnout!

The afternoon was a bachelorette paddle for a group of women from away. Beautiful conditions on the water and we missed crazy time at the boat ramp👍🏽.

Lastly, we went back out on water for a sunset and full moon paddle with Anna and Patrick from St Louis. The lovely conditions and quiet were only disturbed by a very hungry eaglet flying from home tree to the next island and back (twice) to complain to one of its parents about the “poor service at this restaurant “. If only I could tap into the stoicism of an adult eagle during “eaglet screaming “ season.😎

Long day at the office😊. Thanks for letting us help you meet your adventure goals while visiting Bethel.

07/15/2024

There is a lot going on with birds in the Bethel area, but we only have so much space on a poster.

This is free and on a weekday morning by design. We want to engage local people interested in birds and we want to support our favorite library.

Details on the next Bird Appreciation in Bethel Talk with Bethel Adventure Tours!

August 5th 9:30AM at the library.

What’s going on with Bethel Birds in later summer?
We will have updates on the eagles, loons, and other big birds.
Please bring pictures or sound recordings for all to enjoy and discuss.