Swans Island trip lifts spirits Variety of ducks seen on ferry ride

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There it was, sitting in my mail pigeonhole at work Wednesday when I got back to work, the February issue of Sea Kayaker Magazine. Two young ladies in summer wear paddling on a clear-blue sea, the shadows of their bright yellow and red kayaks dancing on the sandy bottom just feet below. Featured in this issue are warm water destinations.

The “Hot Paddling Spots” pictorial features such make-you-jealous places as Baja California, Mexico; Everglades National Park, Florida; Grand Canary, Canary Islands; Kauai, Hawaii; Haruru Falls, New Zealand; the French Riviera; and Abaco Island, the Bahamas.

Suffice it to say turquoise is the predominant color and there is not a hint of Neoprene pictured. The photos are enough to make those of us frozen in the icy jaws of the north jealous, to be sure. My only salvation is that I still have warm memories from having been to the Bahamas and to Hawaii (years ago, way back before I developed a passion for paddling).

That’s not to say that I wouldn’t like to add to those warm-place memories with a trip, say, to Baja. Maybe someday…

In the meantime I’ll settle for a sandy beach here in Maine (a rarity, indeed).

Last Monday I had the fortune of good weather and an invitation to do just that. Good friends Dave and Deb Morrill of Orrington invited me to tag along with them and paddling buddy Karen Francoeur on an excursion to Swans Island. We opted for the 9 a.m. ferry from Bass Harbor at the southern tip of Mount Desert Island. It meant an early rising on a vacation day – ouch!

This would be my second visit, having made one four or five years ago by kayak from Black Island with a group of Girl Scouts on a Wider Ops exploration. We paddled across to Joyce Beach where we had a lunch before reboarding the tandem kayaks and heading back to Black.

It was warmer weather then.

Monday’s crossing on the “Captain Henry Lee” was bone chilling on deck (we could have gone inside where it was warm and sheltered, but we wouldn’t have been able to watch for sea ducks). Believe me, the on-deck experience was rewarding. We spotted long-tails, mergansers, white and surf scoters, buffleheads, horned grebes, loons, and black guillemots (in their gray winter plumage) on the half-hour crossing. (The scheduled crossing is 40 minutes, but there were only two cars on this trip.)

The Morrills have been going to Swans Island for many years, so they were more than qualified to be our tour guides on this outing. When all was said and done, we’d covered most of the tarred roads and a few of the untarred byways.

I played the role of tourist and pointed my camera lens at everything, much to the dismay of my car mates. We drove down to Minturn on the eastern side of Burntcoat Harbor then drove around the north end of harbor to the lighthouse on the western end at Hockamock Head.

There is a trail that takes you around the southern end of the point to the shore. We walked the rocky beach for about a half-mile before returning to the car.

Our primary destination was a small public sand beach on the western lobe of the island off Toothacher Cove, not far from Irish Point. In the summer the place is busy, I’m told, but we had the place to ourselves. It’s a short walk down a root-covered path to the shore. We’d packed food, small stoves, beverages, and Crazy Creek chairs. The tide was high, the sun warm, and the wind calm – pleasant enough to shed our winter jackets and bask in the relative warmth of the day. (If you closed your eyes and used a little imagination, it could have been summer – almost.)

I pulled the cork on a bottle of Black Swan label wine and broke out the cheese and crackers as we lounged, serenaded by gently lapping waves, drinking in the beauty of the day. Chef Dave fired up his little stove to warm up the bean filling for burritos and to brown the wraps for our main course. (Even a simple meal in such idyllic surroundings is a feast.)

The beach beckoned for some exploration and I obliged. A rugged, rocky shore bookends the beach, but the pink granite is smooth enough for walking.

It was with some reluctance that I packed up my stuff to leave. But time was running away and there’s no return ferry after 3:45 p.m. (Be in line at least 15 minutes before departure.) Swimming the six miles back to Bass Harbor was out of the question.

As we watched from the upper deck the sun set astern of the Captain Henry Lee. Despite the fact that the days are getting longer (around 10 minutes now), darkness still comes too early for me.

If you plan a trip to the island this time of year, be sure to bring with you what you’ll need. I didn’t see a restaurant open and the island’s only store is being rebuilt after a fire. The road will take you around most of the island and a bicycle wouldn’t be out of the question, especially on a warmer day.

Check with the Maine State Ferry Service at 526-4273 for scheduling information or go online at: www.state.me.us/mdot/opt/ferry/maine-ferry-service.php for rates and schedules.

Adult round-trip tickets are $12 per person and the round-trip charge for vehicle and driver is $34.50. The typical crossing time is 40 minutes.

2006 wilderness trek

Here’s an update on a trek undertaken by a couple who really is in touch with nature.

Next Saturday, Maine guides and authors Garrett and Alexandra Conover will strap on their snowshoes in Allagash to close a 400-mile loop through the rugged, frozen terrain of northern Maine.

The two began their trek last winter to commemorate their silver wedding anniversary. You’ll recall they started out on 40-mile-long MooseheadLake and traveled on the St. John and the Penobscot rivers, before arriving in Allagash Village four weeks later.

As newlyweds 25 years earlier, the pair became among the first to tackle the challenging course since the 19th century when Native Americans and fur traders used it as a winter highway.

And while the couple will rely on their woods skills to carry them through their monthlong journey, 21st century technology including a satellite phone, digital camera, and a Web site will enable the Conovers to maintain regular contact with the adults and thousands of school children they hope to reach through their experience.

They plan to complete their journey Feb. 11 in Greenville, where more than 100 friends and supporters are expected to greet them at a tent village set up by Moosehead Lake.

Students and teachers can follow Garrett and Alexandra’s progress, as they did last year, through daily trail reports and photographs posted on www.winterwalk2006.org. The reports will cover temperature, ice thickness, snow conditions, wildlife signs and sightings, as well as the biggest winter living challenge of the day. Pupils can also post their own questions to the Conovers. For teachers, there is an extensive list of educational links and lesson plans ranging from Native American history to winter survival.

The return trip will begin on the Allagash River, a tributary of the St. John. From there, they will cross Mud Pond Carry into the West Branch of the Penobscot River and ascend the waterway to Northeast Carry. From there, they will head south on Moosehead Lake to Greenville.

The couple will haul their food and equipment on two homemade toboggans approximately 10 feet long and a foot wide. Among their gear will be a lightweight titanium wood stove, mukluks made of moose skin, a tent made of Egyptian cotton for maximum breathability, and lots of dehydrated food.

The Conovers are proprietors of North Woods Ways, a guide service that specializes in canoe and snowshoe excursions in Maine and Canada’s Labrador region. They enjoy the simplicity of wilderness living year-round, residing in a 12-by-20-foot permanent wall tent along the Big Wilson Stream in Willimantic.

The third edition of their classic winter skills travel book, Snow-Walker’s Companion, was just released by Stone Ridge Press and covers many aspects of how to sleep warm, travel safe, and enjoy the white season.

Looking for donations

The Natural Resource Education Center in Greenville is holding its first-ever fund-raiser and to that end is hosting a reception in Greenville honoring Dr. James “Jim” Halfpenny at the Blair Hill Inn preceding his “Magic of Bears” presentation at the Community House. Halfpenny is a noted tracker, author, and naturalist. The reception and presentation cost $30 and seats are limited. And since it is a fund-raiser, anyone who digs a little deeper will get a big “attaboy!” Call Tarun Johns at 695-3705 by Jan. 8 to make your reservation.

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