Today I have a grab bag of shots from our stay at Mere Point. I have been working on a larger themed collection of shots as well so I apologize for the relative silence. I promise there is more coming.
These photos were taken on various kayaking trips and walks around the point. We were very lucky with the weather for an extended period of time, so we had plenty of chances to take in the nature that is all around there.
By this time we had been in Maine for nearly two weeks, but had not yet gotten the motor boat, so I was looking for ways to get out and explore a little further. I decided to up the kayaking ante again and make the trip out to Whaleboat Island. Given how often I have passed this one by I have wanted to explore it for quite a while.
I set our on a beautiful Saturday morning with very little in the way of wind or waves and made my way out. I took my first break at the goslings, a pair of small islands a little over half way out to Whaleboat. You can see Whaleboat on the horizon at the left edge of the image.
Though it was the longest crossing, the next stretch went quickly, and I pulled up near the campground at the north end of the island and got out. My original plan was to explore the woods a bit and see what the interior of the island looked like. As it turns out though, the interior of the island is an impenetrable tangle of downed trees and brush. It would have been a tough bushwhack in the best of conditions, but my shorts and flip flops definitely did not help.
I decided instead to walk down the shore of the island along the high tide line. Though much more passable, it was still slow going. I took my time and enjoyed the varied rocks and occasional glimpse of the resident herons.
Once I made it about half way down the island where the vegetation opens up a bit I decided I should make may way across to the other side and head back. Once again, I was surprised to see just how dense things were. Though I eventually found a way, it took quite a while to get across. In the process I came across a couple glimpses of the handiwork of people who once lived on the island. Not much is left of their farms at this point though.
Once I had finally gotten to the other side, I headed back north along the shore. Surprisingly, the shore was actually quite different on this side, with much more gravel and mud. After passing a family of geese and a flock of seagulls at the northern tip of the island I quickly made it back to my boat.
With a final snack and a drink of water I pushed off and made my way back. On the return trip I paddled around the other side of the goslings and Goose Island. In the end it was a 9.5 mile paddle and a 1.9 mile walk. Definitely a highlight of our stay in Maine for me.
After our successful paddle the day before, I decided to step it up a notch and go for something a bit more ambitious. I decided to paddle around Birch and White Islands. Right off the bat the trip was harder than it had been the previous day. There was a steady wind out of the north that made progress slow and pushed the occasional wave over the bow of the boat. I took a number of rests and kept the camera safely tucked away until I came around the end of White Island. With the wind now to my back I made quick progress back down the other side.
I ended up taking a break at Little Birch Island, a very small spit of rock with a strip of trees down the middle. Apparently it is open to camping, but I’m really not sure where you would put the tent.
I then continued on to Birch Island itself, where I stopped at the Helen and Walter Norton Preserve. The preserve was interesting because it seemed to have plenty of land, but no trails that I could find. I ended up exploring the grassy fields for about twenty minutes, then headed back to my boat.
Just before I got back on the water I saw a pair of bald eagles flying around, so of course I had to stop and try to get some photos. They never really got close enough for me to capture them well, but as always it was still neat to see.
I’ll start today’s entry off by apologizing that there has been a bit of a lull in new photos to share. Don’t worry though, it’s the lack of organization and editing rather than the lack of pictures that is causing this. We actually just returned from our stay in Maine, so I should now have more time to get some of the many photos I took uploaded.
First up is a little kayaking adventure we had around Upper Goose Island. The island is not far from where we were staying, and it’s only a four mile trip to go all the way around. We took a stop on one of the many tiny gravel beaches along the side of the island near a stand of trees on the edge of the water. It was a beautiful spot to relax, take some photos, and put our feet in the water before continuing around to the other side.
