Hermon nature preserve provides great winter hike

Ever vigilant for new places to explore, I’ve “found” a great spot for a day’s outing close to Bangor.

Actually, I’d have overlooked this gem had it not been for Kathryn McCatherin, who sent me an e-mail the other day to tip me off.

“Nice column on Bangor’s forest,” she said, “but have I got a place for you.”

She’s a volunteer for ECOTAT Trust, an 89-acre public garden and arboretum atop Miller Hill at the corner of Route 2 and Annis Road in Hermon, and she said the trust has been struggling to get the word out to get people to visit this place.

I’m happy, Kathryn, that you tipped me off, and happy to let my meager audience know about yet another public place to explore. I spent a couple of hours there last Wednesday tromping around on snowshoes up to my knees in fluffy snow, and I’m looking forward to returning when the snow is a little more hospitable. I tried to walk a bit without snowshoes, but the thigh-deep slogging was more of a challenge than I was willing to accept.

Actually, a visit to ECOTAT in warmer weather would be in order for anyone who favors flowers, plants, trees and natural surroundings in general. Then you could see the results of a labor of love Howard and Ruth Crosby put into the land. There are landscaped gardens, wildlife habitats and trails the two tended to between 1980 and 1995 when they donated the property to Hermon. The town in turn created ECOTAT, or ecology-habitat.

The idea for preserving their work and allowing others to share in its beauty, according to a Bangor Daily News article by Andy Kekacs in 1996, came from the Crosbys’ longtime friendship with Oliver and June Larouche of Old Town. As young men, Oliver and Howard were lab partners while students at the University of Maine. In 1965, the Larouches established the Hirundo Wildlife Refuge along Pushaw Stream in West Old Town. By the time Oliver died, they had deeded several hundred acres to the University of Maine to ensure the land remained undeveloped. The Crosbys liked that idea and that’s how ECOTAT came to be.

If you stop by the town office on Billings Road, you can pick up a bit of information on the property, which “hosts a wide variety of flowers, plants, shrubs, a hand-made maze [of shrubs], and a rock garden amphitheater. The property is also the home of the Mary Blethen Memorial Library established by the Bangor Nature Club.” You also can pick up a brochure listing 10 gardens and 17 nurseries throughout the state open to visitors.

This time of year, you’ll have to look closely to find the place. The property is ensconced by the snowbanks of Route 2 and Annis Road. Look for a white house on the corner with a little sign that says Crosby. The parking area is the driveway. When the snowbanks aren’t sky-high, you’ll be able to see a small kiosk with brochures for ECOTAT. Last week, you’d have had to do some mountain climbing to get to it.

While I waited for my snow mentor, Karen Francoeur, to find the property, I wandered out back and did a little exploring on my own – very little. Once off the cleared path, the snow quickly became deep. I waded back to the path and waited roadside for my escort. It helps to have someone with energy to burn break trail. I’ve learned in several previous outings that snow this deep and of the fine, sugary texture doesn’t float me – I sink like a stone in a pond. Each step is a long way up and my feet feel as if I’d tied patio blocks to them.

Trudge around like this for a few minutes and you know you’ve had some exercise. A bigger pair of snowshoes, like the 5-foot Alaskan gunboats fellow staffer Terry Farren let me try a day later, would be the way to get around on top of the snow. I think I’ll keep an eye out for a pair I can call my own.

The trails in ECOTAT are marked with small signs on posts, and throughout the planted areas, you’ll find letters on posts corresponding to the brochure which tells you what’s planted in that area. There also are small informational signs at strategic locations explaining the plantings. One we found told of leaf shapes and arrangements, another of grouped trees that provide shelter for birds and another of the fantasy of the planted maze.

We followed Ruth’s Woods Walk down into the woods to a caved-in cabin and the spring, then farther along, following a deer trail. We circled back uphill, retracing our steps then bushwhacked a bit to discover numerous deer beds. The trails are a bit difficult to follow because limbs and trees are bent over with snow loads.

Nearer to Annis Road is the amphitheater, a natural ledge outcropping cut away by glaciers. You have to use your imagination because the thick blanket of snow obscures the ledge, but you clearly can see the general outline.

Having seen the property in its winter finery, I can’t wait until warmer weather to go back and see the place in summer bloom. It’s on my list.

For more information or to arrange for a presentation or a group visit, contact Ronald Hanson, 989-3598; Thomas Sweetser, 848-7414; Gaynor Reynolds, 848-5946; Kathryn Ruth, 848-3485; or June Larouche, 394-4681.

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A quick reminder: Don’t forget the Banff Festival of Mountain Films tonight at Camden Hills Regional High School’s Strom Auditorium. This showing is sponsored by Maine Sport Outfitters (236-8779). On Friday, the show is at the Bangor Opera House, sponsored by Cadillac Mountain Sports (941-5670). Then on Saturday and Sunday, the show is at The Grand Auditorium in Ellsworth, sponsored by Cadillac Mountain Sports (667-7819 or 288-4532).

Jeff Strout’s column is published Thursdays. He can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.