Diane Paaso, right, of Hanover and Polly Mahoney of Newry and Mahoosuc Guide Service, wait on the Androscoggin River for about 30 participants in a paddle in July from the Hanover Boat Launch to the Rumford Boat Launch during the Androscoggin River Source to the Sea Trek. Paaso said their wooden canoe was handmade by Kevin Slater of Mahoosuc Guide Service in Newry.

HANOVER — After getting help carrying his kayak to the Androscoggin River bank Thursday, July 25 at the Hanover Boat Launch, Don Nodine of Millinockett was ready to paddle nine miles to Rumford.

Nodine and about 30 other paddlers were waiting for the eighth leg of the Androscoggin River Source to the Sea Trek to begin, having started the trip on July 12 in New Hampshire.

“It’s an enjoyable group,” Nodine said of the trekkers.

He’s paddled the Source to the Sea Trek for 12 years now. That’s 129 days of paddling, he said.

“It’s been a very successful paddle,” Diana Petrakos, Androscoggin River Watershed Council’s program coordinator, said of this summer’s Trek. “People have been very enthusiastic.”

Petrakos said they’ve had double the number of participants that usually turn out for the 170-mile journey. It begins at the river’s headwaters on Lake Umbagog in New Hampshire and finishes in Maine’s Merrymeeting Bay, where the Androscoggin meets the Kennebec River before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.

This year’s theme focuses on “Connecting People, Communities and Cultivating Healthy Lifestyles.”

Thursday’s 9.2-mile paddle from Hanover to Rumford was led by Cherri Crockett and sponsored by River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition.

“I think the coolest thing for me about the trek is meeting the people up and down the river, learning its ecosystems and culture and just being immersed in the communities,” Petrakos said.

Wildlife spotted in eight days of paddling roughly 50 miles include moose, many bald eagles, deer, turtles, a swimming vole, osprey, a kingfisher, loon and pileated woodpecker, she said.

During the Sunday, July 28 paddle from Bethel to Hanover, participants saw a juvenile bald eagle catch a fish in the river, Perry Risley of Bethel said.

The remaining 2013 Source to the Sea Trek schedule:

* Paddle from Twin Bridges to Center Bridge in Turner on Friday, Aug. 2. The trip through Turner to Androscoggin Riverlands State Park starts at 9 a.m. on Googin’s Island (between the Twin Bridges) on Route 219 in Turner. The featured speaker is Jeff Stern of the ARWC. He will lead a discussion on barrier assessment on Martin Stream, a designated high-quality brook trout stream.

* Paddle through and hike in the Androscoggin Riverlands State Park, starting at 9 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 3, at Center Bridge in Turner.

* A round-trip paddle in Lewiston-Auburn starting at 1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4, from the North River Road boat launch (near Wendy’s on Center Street in Auburn) to the David Rancourt Preserve and back.

* Back to New Hampshire for a paddle from Seven Islands Bridge off Route 16-Berlin Road, starting at 9 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, to Pontook Dam. The section goes through the beautiful Thirteen Mile Woods Scenic Area and is one of two sections that were skipped at the trek’s start due to high water, Petrakos said. 

* A short paddle with some quick water starting at 9 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 9, at the Durham boat access on Route 136 and traveling to Lisbon Falls.

* A one-portage paddle starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, at the Pejepscot Boat Launch in Lisbon Falls and traveling to Brunswick.

* The Trek’s finale paddle will start at 9 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 11, at the Bath Boat Launch (one mile north on Washington Street in Bath) and finish at the Brunswick boat launch within sight of the Sea Dog Brew Co. in Topsham.

For more information, visit www.androscogginwatershed.org, write trek@androscogginwatershed.org or call 207-754-8158.

Ferg Lea, left, and his wife, Susan Lea, both of Poland carry one of their two kayaks across the Hanover Boat Launch parking lot, while fellow paddlers Bill Lee, right center, helps Pat Nodine of Millinockett carry Nodine’s kayak down to the Androscoggin River bank. They participated with about 25 other paddlers in the Hanover-to-Rumford paddling trip during this summer’s Androscoggin River Source to the Sea Trek.

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