MILLINOCKET – Craig Taylor looked just a tad tired while sitting at his campsite picnic table at the New England Outdoor Center on Rice Farm last Thursday evening. He’d had a rough day, the roughest so far on his marathon swim of the Penobscot River.

Thursday was a real windy day and the northwest winds had put a froth on Ambajejus and North Twin Lakes where Taylor swam for 10 miles. He joked that he’d swallowed more than his share of the lake. His chase boat nearly swamped in the rough water.

It was the first day since he began his journey down the river on July 22 that “I did serious carbo loading,” the Waterville High School teacher said.

Since he began his journey he swam down the East Branch from Grand Lake Matagamon to Medway and then hopped in his truck and motored up the West Branch of the Penobscot to Nesowadnehunk Falls where he jumped back in the river. He has kept up a pace of roughly 10 miles per day, but as of last Thursday night was two days behind his planned intinerary. That means he may wind up his trip at Castine’s Fort Point State Park on Aug. 11 instead of Aug. 9.

As of Monday he planned to be at West Enfield, having made it to just below Brown Islands. If he keeps on schedule he will be at Greenbush on Wednesday, Old Town on Thursday, Bangor on Friday, South Orrington on Saturday, Bucksport on Sunday, Fort Point State Park on Monday and Castine on Tuesday.

As far as the schedule is concerned, though, Taylor’s not worried. Sometimes you have to be flexible and spontaneous, he said. He’s at the mercy of the weather and crews for his chase boat. He was not able to get someone to accompany him for the whole trip and he’s relying on friends and even volunteers at times to help him out. The logistics of getting his camping gear and his truck from place to place is more difficult than his swimming from place to place, he said.

“Any surprises?” I asked him. The mosquitos at Omaha Beach where he camped last Tuesday were about the worst he’s seen anywhere, he replied. They made the middle-of-the-night call of nature a real challenge. And then there were shallow places in the middle of North Twin Lake. He said he’d suddenly find himself hitting bottom in the middle of the lake.

The scenery, wildlife and helpful strangers he has met are high on Taylor’s list of memorable moments. People like Loraine Martel at Ambajejus Lake and Frank Crosby at Millinocket Lake, who helped him out of sheer generosity, will stand out in Taylor’s mind as highlights of his trip – along with the cow moose and her calf he swam near, or the various eagles soaring overhead. Taylor said Crosby had been very helpful in rethinking his journey through Elbow and Quakish Lake and being sure to stop at the Boom House to see the museum there.

Of Charlie Harris, who put together the museum at the Boom House, Taylor said, “He’s done an incredible job.” He has put together memorabilia of the logging days – old chainsaws, peaveys, chains, canoes, pictures and more to serve as reminders of the area’s logging heritage.

Once he was clear of the many pitches and waterfalls of the upper parts of the river, Taylor said he should be able to keep his 10-mile-per-day pace with ease. Then 32-plus miles of the West Branch and the 47.5 miles of the East Branch provided him with more than enough excitement.

The 70 miles from Medway to Bangor should prove routine, with portages at Mattaseunk Dam, the West Enfield Dam, two at Old Town and one at Veazie. There is only one stretch of Class III water, which is just below the confluence of Stillwater and the Penobscot. And provided Taylor hits the tide right at Treats Falls, the site of the defunct Bangor Dam, the rest of the trip should be pretty much flat water with river and tidal currents. The leg from Bucksport to Castine will be ocean swimming with water conditions dependent of the whims of Mother Nature.

We’ll try to catch up with Taylor again and see how he makes out. If you are interested in daily updates he is posting his progress on his answering machine at 877-0914 in Waterville.

Jeff Strout’s column is published Tuesday and Thursday. He can be reached at 990-8202.