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.
