So, it's been a little crazy around here. After I got back from all my trips, I had to give all my finals, then grade all of the papers and figure out my grades. So I worked through the weekend, so I could get it all done on Monday so we could go on our kayaking trip Tuesday. Monday I also sent out a few more job applications and talked someone at a small liberal arts college in Maine, who was interested in my application. So with everything in the air, we just decided to leave and let the chips fall where they may.
Tuesday, we drove the three hours out to Stonington, at the south end of Deer Isle. (Check it out on google maps if you want to see where we were.) We searched around for the a public boat launch, but couldn't find it, but we found some steps down to a granite ledge, which will do for us. Since I had just revarnished the kayak, I was suddenly worried that I hadn't packed all of the pieces. (But we'd seen a hardware store on the way out, so we could've figured something out.) Luckily, it was all there. So I put together the boat while Bekah brought the gear down. Packed it all up and set off. I paddled in the klepper with the two kids and Bekah used a kayak we borrowed from the Bates Outing Club.
So we paddled out and had lunch at Rock Island, a lovely little island with a nice beach and meadow and forest. A little bit of everything. We circumambulated the island. Then we paddled to Steve's island, where we were going to camp. It was tiny, but very picturesque. There were several tiny coves with beaches and lots of big granite boulders/slabs or islands, depending on the tide. We finally chose the biggest campsite on the leeward side of the island to be out of the wind, and the view was nice. Then set up the hammock and relaxed. The island was small enough, the kids could roam on their own.
So this is our camp.
Our boats, in the little bay just across the peninsula from our camp.
The girls on our big boulder in front of camp.
The next day, I was woken up by the lobster boats and their wakes making waves on our beach. The tide was at it highest around 5, so I went over to check out boats, but they were fine. By the time everyone got up and ate breakfast and got ready to leave it was around 8:30, and the tide was so far out we had to carry the boats all the way down the beach and over the slippery rocks to get out to the water.
Sunrise from camp.
We paddled further south to harbor island, which was lovely.
Miriam wanted to stop at every patch of sand and play at the "beach." They also wanted to go out and be on every rock in the water, so I carried them out when it was too deep. Bekah found her first sand dollar, then five minutes later, I found a bigger one. Sorry. Then we decided to go to Isle au Haut (pronounced ile o ho, high island, in French). Gwyn wanted to know why they didn't just use English. Turns out the landing spot here is kind a bit of a paddle past a lot of private wharfs. We thought we'd hike to the mountain and get the view. Gwyn wisely said no, but then we suggested there might be someplace to buy ice cream on the island, and she quickly changed her mind. So we weren't sure where to land, so we tried the beach in front of the store, but it turned out to be mud flats. So we spent about 40 minutes or so mucking around and carrying kids and kayaks, and Bekah almost losing my slippers 5 or 6 times and having to dig them out of the oily mud, Also, it was filled with mussel shells, which are kind of sharp. Then we realized that the wharf fifty feet further down was probably the public wharf, so we paddled down there and easily tied up our boats. Walked around to get the kids, who we'd left on the rocks and headed off to find the hike, and get ice cream. The store hours turned out to be MWF 2:30-5, so we still had a few hours. Instead, we stopped in the public library and chatted with the librarian, who gave us some banana bread and cookies and told us about the island. Then we found the trail and started hiking. The whole island was not very shady, so it was kind of feeling like a death march even before we started hiking, and the trail too was surprisingly unforested. I ended up just carrying Gwyn and Miriam wanted to know why I wouldn't carry her. Here is a picture of Gwyn on the top.
The views were okay, but could've been greatly improved with a chainsaw. Then back down, another stop at the library to check my e-mail. (And find out there will be no job interviews this week.) Then ice cream at the store. It is surprisingly not much more expensive than the mainland, so I bought the most expensive thing to compensate. The Harbor Bar, ice cream sandwiched by two chocolate chip cookies and then the whole thing dipped in chocolate. 500 calories. Yumm. Mine looked like it was left over from last summer, but no complaints here. Then we paddled back to Steve's island. It was kind of a long haul (for us, maybe 3 miles) and there was weather. In fact we had some very strong gusts where Bekah wasn't making much headway and we stared eyeing some random islands to bail to if necessary. But then it started drizzling and quieted down. We could see some rain further up in the bay, but most of it missed us.
The next day we broke camp and headed across the small channel to explore wreck island. It was a big island, but there weren't really any trails, except deer trails. Kids were whiny, but we did get to the top and had some nice views and then kind of found a trail back down.
There was lots of deep moss and granite slabs. Then we paddled over to round island and had lunch. It was a short hike to the top, but contrary to the guidebook, there were no views. There were some short cliffs on the west side and we got some nice views from there.
We had lunch, and the seagulls nearby totally ignored us. Then we knew we weren't in California anymore. They were too busy dropping mussels on rocks. I had always wondered what seagulls ate besides McDonalds. Then we paddled over to Hell's Acre, which was a tiny little island, but great. We napped in the shade while the kids made fishing poles of sticks and seaweed and fished. After a leisurely stop, we paddled over to Russ Island where we stopped for the night. The campsite was wooded and a different feel from Steve's.
Gwyn testing the hammock.
Palmer scouts in action.
The island was a lot bigger, but we were the only people there. There were also paths to the top where there was a great view.
The was scattered evidence of the old quarry, like iron stakes pounded into the rocks, or piles of cut rock, now deeply covered in moss. This island is where the granite for the towers of the Brooklyn bridge came from.
The blocks that never made it to the Brooklyn bridge.
Although we were only a half mile from Stonington, the campsite was on the south side, so it looked out into the archipelago at half a dozen more tiny islands.
We pulled our boats way up onto a ledge that was all the way up the beach and then another four feet higher than that, but the night when the tide was high, they were just barely out of the water. (We also tied them up, but still.) I'm still surprised by the huge tidal differences. The differences between the high and lows are about 10 feet, so it can come up or drop a couple feet in an hour.The whole south side of the island is one long beach or granite slab, so very easy walking. It was also very glassy so we skipped rocks.
Bekah made a new record of 7 skips. The next day we explored the island more thoroughly and picked up trash on the beach. There was kind of a lot, unfortunately and we couldn't take it all. Maine law also prohibits collecting any fishing material, which is unfortunate since lots of it was old lobster floats and pieces of traps.
Gwyn on the last morning eating breakfast.Then we broke camp and paddled the short distance back to Stonington. Broke down the kayak and repacked the car. Our car was still where we left it. (I wasn't sure we were allowed to park there.) Bought a large pizza, half cheese and half everything, at the store and ate it outside by the statue of the quarry man. It was pretty cold, so after wasting some time and money at the local gift shop (you can put in a request for Maine postcards, and Miriam got a little lobster puppet for $5) we drove up to Ellsworth to spend the night with the Barrets.
Overall, it was an awesome trip. Usually, when I finish a camping trip, I am totally ready to be done. When we got back from this one, I seriously could've headed back out for a few more days. I think that means it was just about right for the kids. So if that wasn't enough, I am pretty sure we are going again in June, once school is out, so if you want to come, mark your calendars.
Thanks Bekah, for an awesome trip. She is a good camping mom.
