Like a Maniac
August 15, 2017
I set off in search of adventure along Downeast Maine’s Bold Coast. The plan was for camping, kayaking, and some backpacking interspersed with photography opportunities and time with my dog.
After setting up camp at Cobscook Bay State Park we (the dog and I) headed to Quoddy Point State Park– the easternmost point in the United States.
Although most people visit Quoddy Point for the lighthouse views, I found the peat bog walk to be quite fascinating because of all the interesting vegetation. In addition to tasty blueberries, it was full of pitcher plants catching flies and ants to devour. The pathway to and from the peat bog was also home to many forest dwelling fairies apparently since there were many earthen homes along the way.
From Quoddy Point we swung over to the town of Lubec where there is a bridge that connects Maine to nearby Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Canada. The town is beautiful… even if the restaurants do lock their doors up before 8:30PM! I’d like to revisit Quoddy Point and Lubec and then hit the surrounding areas on a future trip.
I stayed in Lubec through sunset then headed back to the campsite. Alamo slept next to me like a log, but I tossed and turned– it may have been the moon, but I think I felt a lot more like a kid the night before Christmas– I was pretty excited about embarking upon a 3 day 2 night ocean kayaking journey the next day!
Monday morning I donned a ridiculous amount of gear, checked the security of everything on my kayak and then departed from Jonesport Shipyard and headed through Pig Gut Channel on my way to Mistake Island. Moose Peak Lighthouse sits at the tip off Mistake Island and marks the end of the world– or at least it felt like that. Kayaking to that point and having no more islands between me and the vast expanse of Atlantic Ocean felt a lot like standing on the edge of a cliff and looking down. Don’t screw it up! After exploring the island and eating my fair share of wild blueberries and raspberries, I headed to nearby uninhabited Little Water Island where I set up camp for the night.
I woke Tuesday morning to thick fog. It wasn’t unexpected, but it was nonetheless disappointing. I brewed coffee and ate breakfast from within my tent frequently checking to see if the wind had shifted to the north as forecast which would drive the fog out to sea. At around 11 the fog lifted and I could see approximately 5 miles to the northwest. I quickly threw all my things together and jumped into my kayak to paddle back through Pig Gut Channel on my way to Duck Ledges. I kept a close eye on the weather and when the ceilings dropped to about 100’ and the visibility dropped to less than a mile I got my fog horn and signaling light at the ready– just in case. Thankfully, some rain pushed through and with it a breeze that moved the nasty weather out. The trip took me through Moosebec Reach and I was thankful that I was going with the current as it helped speed my progress to the west (which was good because it was very busy with lobster boat traffic). Just prior to arriving at Duck Ledges I heard a splash and noticed at least 15 seal heads sticking up from the water surrounding my boat. They kept their distance but it was a fun diversion. Less fun was hauling my boat out at near low tide and then drying out all my gear once I arrived at Duck Ledges. I took advantage of the breeze and the late day sun to dry some things out and even squeeze a bit of energy out of my solar panel. Thankfully the sky cleared and treated me to a beautiful sunset and a couldless sunrise to begin my paddle back.
Wednesday was a relatively easy paddle back to Jonesport. The current was light and in my favor so it was nice to enjoy the sights along the way instead of worrying about currents and lobster boats. Once ashore and packed up, I headed off to Cutler where Terry picked me up in a boat and took me to Little River Island for the next night of my journey. Felt nice to sit back and let someone else do the work for a bit.
After getting settled into my room in the Lighthouse Keeper’s building and taking in the view from my room, I explored the island and took in the sights. The fog was definitely beginning to roll in and we were pretty much guaranteed that we wouldn’t get a colorful sunset. During a brief clearing I got to fly Terry’s drone. I’m embarrassed to say that it did not come naturally to me– it flew nothing like a helicopter!
Despite the fog, it was still really cool to get to go up inside the lighthouse and see how everything worked. It was a surprise to find out that the lights are tiny (about the size of your thumb) and that it is the Vega lens (sorry, Fresnel lenses are no longer used!) does all the work to produce such a powerful beam! There are 6 lights on a rotating device such that if one burns out it will automatically switch to the next bulb, but only one is shining at a time. Also of note– the light and the fog horn at Little River are solar powered and the fog horn only operates on demand. The following morning was clear and I enjoyed taking some pictures of the pre-dawn sky and a lobster boat on his way out to work.
After departing Little River Island, I picked up Alamo and headed back to Cutler to share an adventure with him in the Cutler Public Lands. The idea was to use this especially dark segment of the coast as a location to do some night photography– both of the sky and possibly of the water if there happened to be any bioluminescent plankton. I would only have a short window between astronomical twilight and when the moon would begin to light up the eastern sky, but it was worth a shot. He’s not much of a hiker, so we took it easy and only did about 3.5 miles to our campsite. The mosquitos were brutal but they didn’t seem to bother the boy too much! I got some sunset pics, but the calm winds allowed the fog to roll in. I got one 20 sec time exposure of the fog but then called it quits. It was for the best– the fog only thickened overnight and we hiked out in 100% humidity and 100’ visibility.
Oh… I may have forgotten to mention that my dog takes up most of the room in a 3-person tent and pushed me off the Thermarest mattress. Thanks, buddy. Thanks a lot!
After an uneventful hike back to the car, we wrapped up our trip in Machias, ME for one night before driving back home. The weather was rainy and foggy at the end of the trip but I definitely saw some locations I will have to visit next trip!