Category Archives: Hiking

New Trail….Fail…

Where last time I won where trails were concerned, this week I failed.  I’m not sure if I can blame it on the trail or if I should blame it on the day/circumstances.

Recently, I checked out another new trail (again, one I’ve driven right past for several years and never knew it existed).  This time it was the Norse Pond trail between Cutler and Whiting.

First of all, it was an extremely hot and humid day.  Strike one.

Second, there were several people on the trail behind me.  Strike two.  (I always feel like I’m being pushed down a trail when there’s someone behind me)

And third, the black flies were relentless even though I nearly drown myself in bug repellant (the strong DEET stuff, too).  Strike three.

For as sucky as the experience was, I won’t write the trail off completely just yet.  I’ll wait a while though, put it in the archives, and try it again later on in the fall when it’s cooler, the bugs are less prevalent, and the kids are back in school.  Who knows? On a better day, under better circumstances, I might actually like the trail.  It did have a nice little patch of beach after all.

I did happen to see some HUGE prints in the mud which I can only assume were from a moose.  I’m talking HUGE!

 

 

Here’s to hoping the next new trail I explore will yield better results!

Until next time…

d_[^_^]

~A.M.

New Trail….Win!…

As an avid hiker, I’m always stoked to find a new trail or two.  On my recent trip to Campobello Island (which I posted about last week), I stopped at the Roosevelt International Park visitor center and grabbed a pamphlet detailing trails in Maine.

I’ll let that sink in….

I had to go to Canada to find new trails in Maine.  What the, what?  Yeah.  One thing Maine is notoriously bad at is promoting hiking trails (and signage. Hardly any signs exist, directing you to trails).

But, I made super use of that pamphlet and found several new trails to add to my hiking itinerary.  I decided to check out one of these new trails a few days ago.  The Hamilton Cove Preserve.

It’s within five miles of my favorite hiking spot, Quoddy.  And in all the years I’ve been visiting, hiking, and raving about Quoddy State Park, I never knew the Hamilton Cove Preserve existed.  Maine signage fail!

Anyway, I checked the trail out and I have to say, I was impressed.  It was a pretty easy to moderate hike and the views of the ocean and Canada’s Grand Manan island were awesome.

Hamilton Cove Preserve Overlook

On to the next trail…

Until next time…

d_[^_^]

~A.M.

Lighthouse Adventure….Round 2!

Back in 2012, I went on a little trip to the Little River Lighthouse in Cutler Maine (you can view that post here).

This past Saturday was the Summer Solstice and I managed to view another lighthouse, but this one was in Canada.  The Head Harbour Lightstation on Campobello Island to be exact.

The only way to get to this lighthouse is by foot at low tide.  It’s not just a straight shot walk though.  You have to climb down some old rusted metal stairs, cross a small beach, climb up more rusted metal stairs, cross a small wooden bridge, climb down MORE rusted metal stairs (these were a little treacherous as they were more like a ladder and were slanted), and cross another little beach to the actual lighthouse.

I saw this lighthouse before about year or two ago, but I wasn’t there at the right time to get over to it.  So, I just settled for taking a few pictures from the parking lot back then.  This time, I hit it just right (lucky me!)!

It costs $5 to even walk over to the light house and there’s another $10 charge if you want to tour the inside of the keeper’s house and climb the tower.  Well, for me, all that’s a little steep, but I don’t do this every day (or even every year), so I went for it.

The coast guard had possession of this lighthouse for a long time before they decided to shut it down, board it up, and forget about it.  Then, it went down the line, being offered to different outfits/agencies before it was offered to, accepted by, and taken over by the town.  Volunteers and students are still working to restore the lighthouse and keeper’s house to it’s former glory (the full fee for walking over to the light house and touring it goes directly to the restoration/up-keep fund so that made me feel better about paying the price).

It’s a cute little lighthouse.  Getting into the tower, I expected to find the typical spiral staircase curling around the tower, but instead, there were two normal flights of strait stairs and a ladder leading to the light at the top.

It’s typical to see seals and whales from this lighthouse.  I did glimpse a seal, but it was camera shy and dove under the waves just as I lifted my camera.  Oh well.

Head Harbour Lighstation (Campobello)

As I mentioned in my last lighthouse related post, if you ever have a chance to tour a lighthouse and climb the tower….do it!

And if the lighthouse adventure weren’t enough for the day, I also went hiking over in the Roosevelt International Park.  I would highly suggest this park’s trails to anyone that enjoys hiking.  They’re pretty and the views are amazing.  There’s also something called the “Sunsweep Scuplture” near Liberty Point that’s worth checking out.  The cliff it’s on was covered in wild Irises.  I saw an eagle the minute I got out of the car.  I also saw a wild rabbit on the trail!!  Yay wildlife!!

 

 

Eagle

 

Wild Rabbit

 

So, aside from the fact that I fed the mosquitoes and black flies, it was a nice day.

Until next time…

[^_^]

~A.M.

Mosquitoes SUCK!

This past weekend, Saturday in fact, the weather decided to play nice and I was able to hiking for the first time in almost a month.  I was so completely stoked to get out into the fresh air and into the wilderness that I made a rookie mistake.  I forgot to apply bug spray.  I was smart enough to apply sunscreen before I left my house, but the bug spray escaped me.  Thanks to that little brain fart, I ended up getting eaten alive by mosquitoes.  I loathe those things.

So, as you can see, there’s no new photograph this week.  I blame the mosquitoes.  They were out so thick that I couldn’t even stop for a second to take a picture of the trail in front of me without being bitten ten or fifteen times.

I’ll make it up to you, folks, by posting two or three pictures next Monday.  Deal?  Deal.

Until next time…

[-_-]

~A.M.

The Mists Of…Avalon?

I’ve always been enamored with mythology, namely Greek mythology and Arthurian legend.

Recently, I went on a hike at Quoddy Head State Park.  There was a thick blanket of fog and mist rolling in from the ocean that completely obscured the view of Grand Manan.  There were several spots where the mist had parted to reveal portions of Campobello.  It reminded me of “The Mists of Avalon”.  Either that or Stephen King’s “The Mist”.  But, I’d rather there be a magical isle in the mist and not monsters, so I went with “The Mists of Avalon.”  [^_^]

 

The Mists of Avalon

The Mists of Avalon 2

The Mists of Avalon, Yo!

Yes, I’m a nerd/geek, I know.  But I’m proud of it!

 

Until next time…

[^_^]

~A.M.