9/12/20 Fort Georges

It wasn’t intentional, but our day started early. We woke up at around 5:45 AM, early enough that the sun wasn’t up, so we decided to head outside to watch it rise over the bay. It was a very peaceful and quiet way to start off.

It was a lot colder than we were expecting so early in the morning, but a warm drink and every layer we had brought up to Maine made it manageable. I don’t know why, but I always feel like sunrises have the best color. We had a really nice time taking that color in and watching it give way to a beautiful blue sky day.

Once we had a chance to get some breakfast and pack a lunch, we packed the paddle boards on to the motor boat and headed to Fort Georges. The fort was built in the late 1800s in order to help defend Portland. It sits on a tiny rocky island right across the main shipping channel from Portland harbor. The ride down from Mere Point is about 15 miles, but it went by quickly. The perfectly calm water made it comfortable too. Once there we anchored and hopped on the paddle boards for the short trip to the fort.

We spent about an hour wandering around the inside of the fort. The main structure is in surprisingly good shape for the age. Clearly solid granite makes a durable building material. Many parts of the fort were open to explore, including some of the living quarters, gun batteries, and powder magazine. The many tiny gun windows all had great views of the channels and boats around Portland.

The highlight of the fort itself was probably the roof view. From here you had the perfect view of Portland itself, as well as the inside of the fort. This was also the home of the only remaining gun that we saw. Once we had our fill of the city view, it was back down the stairs and out of the fort.

At this point I wandered around the small portion of the island that was not part of the fort itself. Like most islands around here it is mostly rock and seaweed, but it was also home to a small sandbar. The sandbar is clearly the most popular place to hang out, and there were a couple of small motor boats pulled up on it while we were there. I had to pay attention though because the sandbar ended up completely under water while I took my photos. Fortunately it wasn’t too deep when I headed back to the paddle board.

We ended up relaxing on the boat for a while and had a nice floating picknick lunch. With the wind starting to pick up a bit we made our way back towards Mere Point. Compared to the morning we had a low key afternoon, and even managed a nap to make up for the early morning. To close out the day we had a classic Mere Point sunset. All in all it was one of my favorite days of the summer.

9/6/20 Little Whaleboat Island

We returned to Mere Point late in the season this year to spend some more time away from home. To kick things off we headed out to a new destination we haven’t explored before, Little Whaleboat Island. We were fortunate enough to get a perfectly calm morning, so we put the paddle boards in the motor boat and cruised out. Once we got there we paddled around the shoals and rocks. It was a pretty interesting place for the paddle boards. You could easily see down into the water, and the rocks made for some interesting underwater sights. I couldn’t really get a good look at it from dry land though, so you will have to take my word for it.

After taking a snack break on the boat I paddled over to the island to do a bit of exploring and take some more photos. The island did not disappoint with some classic Maine coastal views. Once I had my fill it was back out to the boat so that we could head home for lunch.

8/9/20 Jewell Island

We made the trip out to Jewell island again this summer, but this time with the rest of the family. We spent quite a while relaxing at the punch bowl. My niece and nephew had a blast playing in the shallow water, and I poked around looking for some of the interesting sights, including this pink snail.

I have no idea what made it so pink. It looked completely unlike the rest of the snails I saw. I also made my way out to the rocks on the edge of the punch bowl, where I found more interesting color. This time it was a combination of red oxidized rock, little blue mussles and yellow barnacles.

We also walked to the other end of the island to check out the WWII era fortifications, including the tower. The kids had a great time checking out the view, but they were much less interesting in exploring the old battery. A few of us stayed back to spend some time there while the rest returned to the boat for lunch. Though they aren’t huge, there is quite a bit to see in the dark tunnels, assuming you bring a light.

6/13/20 Whaleboat Island

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.

6/7/20 Birch Island

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.

6/6/20 Upper Goose Island

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.

5/31/20 Ashland Town Forest

Another weekend in quarantine, another walk through a new town forest. This time we headed to Ashland Town Forest. Though it didn’t look like much on Google Maps, we were pleasantly surprised at the size of it and the number of trails it boasted. In addition to some beautiful (and beautifully maintaned) trails, it also had a few surprises like a pair of old cars rusting away on the side of the trail. It was pretty interesting to see how the wildlife was slowly taking over the metal. It almost felt like they were melting into the landscape.

We also saw multiple painted rocks, messages of hope, and even a plastic dinosaur decorating the side of the trail. It was clear this place is well loved by those who come here often.

5/14/20 Sudbury River

Today I have a short one, a few photos from a recent kayaking trip on the Sudbury River. I went out in the evening to catch the sunset and get away from the house for a little while. Though the sunset didn’t turn out to be anything special, it was still a beautifully peaceful evening.

5/2/20 Hopbrook Marsh Conservation Land

Well we made it to through another week in isolation and emerged into a beautiful weekend to kick of the month of May. We decided to take advantage of it and explore some new trails in the area that we have not been to before. Our walk began at a small parking lot with just a couple of other cars. The trail wound its way into the woods and through the marshes passing a number of houses. Pretty quickly though, we were well away from signs of civilization, and the wildlife appeared.

We eventually found ourselves walking around a small pond that was quite overrun with turtles. There were easily hundreds of them on every tiny island, and log. In addition there was a heron doing some fishing, and a family of geese eating from the grass in the sun.

With all of the wildlife and beautiful views came more people as well. After we got back I found out that there was a second entrance much closer to this pond, so it seems that a number of people we coming in from there. We wound our way back towards the car, and saw a couple more critters along the way, including this beautiful snake.

All told it was a great spot, a beautiful day, and a great way to relax a little. I would highly recommend this spot to others.

2/29/20 Mt. Carrigan

Last weekend I headed up to the whites to get another taste of real winter. This time I met up with a friend of mine and we got an early start on Mt. Carrigan. The first couple miles of the hike were along a road which is closed through the winter. The road climbed gently but steadily up into the valley. As it turns out, this really set the theme for the hike, and the gradual slope just about continued all the way to the summit. The climb was long and steady, and with the mild temperatures we had no trouble staying warm. At last we crested the ridge and got our first glimpse of the summit. The view from that exposed ridge was quite nice, even though the weather hid some of the more distant peaks.

Perhaps the strangest part of the view from this ridge was how little wind there was. It was actually quite peaceful to stand there and take in the views. After taking some photos we continued up to the summit and climbed the observation tower. This turned out to be where the wind was hiding, so we started back down relatively quickly. As we descended the weather slowly improved, and we were even treated to a touch of blue sky by the time we were navigating the river crossings back at the start of the trail.

All told the hike was 14 miles, with nearly 4000′ of elevation gain. We hiked out without incident and made our way back down south to get some well deserved pizza.

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