Mary, Jim, Ed and I left my house at 8am for the six hour drive to the Rock Lake Access Point. We arrived on time at 2 to meet-up with Kate and Dick to start the Paddle. We met with unusually high winds that whipped up white caps as we crossed the lake to our first campsite. We were all glad to be on dry land and a bit anxious about how to continue the trip if conditions remained the same. The next morning the weather was great, though, with gentle winds and mild temperatures. We found a terrific campsite on Clydegale Lake, which we expected to use for two nights. Our attempt to paddle up the S. Madawaska River was stymied with an expanse of weeds that choked and hid the outlet of the river. With the memory of the high winds we encountered the first day, we changed our itinerary to get some of the paddling and one of the portages out of the way for our trip out. We camped the next day on Pen Lake. The campsite on Glydegale Lake was the nicest of them, but we enjoyed our stays all along the way with beautiful scenery and the sounds of loons from across the lakes. As we approached the north end of Pen Lake, I saw what I thought was a beaver swimming up ahead. Pretty soon the beaver turned into the head of a moose cow feeding in a lily pad. The series of waterfalls next to the Pen Lake/Rock Lake portage was especially attractive. Just after we got all loaded up for the return trip, it began to rain. The rain continued for the first couple of hours of our drive home. While some of our trips have not been as blessed by the weather gods, this one was. Submitted by Richard Schraven