New season gives familiar trek fresh look

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If you look about next time you’re out, there are signs that winter is losing its grip; not only is the snow melting, check out the wildlife. There’s more than sunshine in the air.

Last Sunday my wife and I picked up Dave and Deb Morrill in Orrington and headed out for a day outing at Great Wass Island, offshore from Jonesport, a 1,540-acre Nature Conservancy property acquired in 1978.

While a few inches of snow covered the parking lot and Little Cape Point Trail, the going wasn’t rough albeit a bit slippery in places where underlying ice was covered. Our footprints were the first since the last snowfall.

It’s about two miles via the Little Cape Point Trail to the shore at Cape Cove. Bog bridges take you across sensitive or wet areas, while the higher points take you over ledges and through a jack pine stand (one of the largest in Maine). I know I’ve told you about this trip before. But changing seasons provide a new perspective and a whole new cast of wildlife as well as a chance to tune in on their antics. Besides, a place worth visiting is worth revisiting, no?

Rising temperatures (we started out at 37 degrees) made it seem like much later in the season than early March, and before long we all had stopped at least once to shed a layer or two and grab a drink of water. What’s so nice about this time of year is being able to feel the sun’s increasing warmth now that it’s up a lot higher and longer than the last two months. We’re at 111/2-plus hours of daylight now and the days are 2 hours, 40-plus minutes longer than back on Dec. 21 or 22.

By the time we’d reached the shore, we were all ready for lunch, so we settled down on some flat boulders just past the first whale skull (really, there are two) and broke out our vittles. Let’s see, there was a dried tomato and basil tuna dip, homemade macaroni salad, crackers and cheese, sliced turkey sandwiches, and a little wine to wash it down.

Our panorama of rocky shore and ledges was highlighted by a bright sun that shone through a royal blue sky mirrored in the calm waters of the lee of the eastern shore. Gentle waves lapped the seaweed-covered pink granite just yards away.

And for entertainment seals cavorted offshore in what we surmised was a “dating” ritual (all sorts of a ruckus – jumping clear of the water, chasing each other, and splashing down) and long-tail ducks doing their version of the “Dating Game.” They were far enough away that they were in small, wind-whipped waves, bobbing up and down in and out of sight. If you get a copy of the Fields Pond Journal, the newsletter of the Penobscot Valley Chapter of Maine Audubon and Fields Pond Audubon Center, you’ll see a cover story on owl and duck courtship displays. Inland, April is the big month for the boldly colored males of various species to put on their show trying to attract the females.

After lunch we ditched our packs near a tree on shore and wandered south along the shore, stopping here and there to watch ducks through our binoculars or to check out the sundry flotsam and jetsam that has washed ashore over the winter. A second whale skull and various vertebrae littered the shore as we made our way toward Popplestone Cove, and yet more vertebrae in the Popplestone Cove area.

We surmised the remains were from three different whales, but we could be wrong. In any event, getting a hands-on experience really brings home the size of these animals. Just one vertebra was more than you’d want to carry for more than a few feet. And the size! Each piece was around a foot in diameter at the center.

Once again there was not enough time to walk all the way to the most southern end of the island where Red Head rises steeply from the sea. That would have been another mile and daylight was beginning to fade so we turned and headed back leaving Red Head and The Pond for another visit.

Reserved for future observation and exploration are numerous wonders of this spectacular island that is described by the Nature Conservancy as projecting “farther out to sea than any other land mass in eastern Maine resulting in extensive marine exposure. The waters of the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy meet here, and mix to produce a cool humid oceanic climate which is excellent for several plants and natural communities that are rare not only in Maine, but throughout the United States.”

The bogs are thousands of years old originating when sphagnum moss began accumulating in basins left by retreating glaciers 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, and two of the plants found in the island’s unique bogs are unusual in Maine. Baked-apple berry (rubus chamaemorus), a relative of the raspberry and dragon’s mouth orchid (arethusa bulbosa) flourish here. And on any given day you’re likely to see common eiders, great blue herons, osprey and bald eagles, palm warblers nest, Lincoln sparrows and boreal chickadees, the Conservancy says.

When you visit, pick up a trail guide at the parking area and sign in at the registration box. The preserve is open for day use. There is no camping, and fires are not allowed. Stay on marked trails or the rocks on shore, and don’t bring your pet.

There are two trails, Little Cape Point Trail (2 miles) and Mud Hole Trail (1.5 miles). You can join the two by walking the shore to make a 5-mile loop, or walk down the shore, like we did. It’s about 2.5 miles to the end of the island, making the round trip about 9 miles.

To get here, take Route 1 to Columbia Falls (coming from the west) and turn right onto Route 187. If you’re coming from the east, take Route 1 to Jonesboro and turn left onto Route 187. Either way you’re going to wind up in Jonesport. Take the Beals Island Bridge to Beals, bear left at the end of the bridge and follow the shore until you see water on both sides of the road. Bear right onto Great Wass Island and follow the winding road that turns to dirt until you see a sign at the parking lot at Black Duck Cove.

For more information about the Nature Conservancy contact: Maine Chapter, The Nature Conservancy, Fort Andross, 14 Maine St., Suite 401, Brunswick 4011 or call 207 729-5181.

Appalachian Trail lessons

Got itchy feet? Got that wanderlust? Ever thought about taking a real long walk? How about entertaining thoughts of walking the Appalachian Trail? How about just parts of it?

If so, what equipment would you need? What would you buy for footwear? How much should you plan on carrying?

How about a hiking partner? Good idea? Bad Idea?

What about trail safety? What should you eat, or how will you cook it?

What will a 2,100-mile hike cost you? Where can you get your mail? Will you have fun when you’re tired, down, and dirty? Just how do you cope mentally? What can go wrong?

I’m sure there are a hundred questions that would roll through your head if you were contemplating such an endeavor. Even if you don’t plan on doing the whole enchilada, you might entertain doing sections of the trail, being out several nights at a time. We all have questions about such adventurous undertakings, and who better to give us some answers than those who have gone before?

On March 23, Rod Wiley and Jasper Walsh, who have each through-hiked the Appalachian Trail, will be at Bangor Public Library in the second floor lecture hall to share their collective knowledge of the trail, and to answer questions like those above. The free gathering takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. and it includes a film they will show. Wiley walked the entire trail in 1965 and Walsh did it in 2003. Both work at Epic Sports, the outdoorsman’s candy store, and are up to date on the latest equipment for outdoor recreation.

If you need more information prior to the date, contact them at Epic Sports, 941-5670.

Paddle Smart symposium coming

Here’s the first of several reminders I’ll be passing along. The sixth annual Bangor area Paddle Smart Safety Symposium is scheduled for 5-9:30 p.m. April 28 at the Bangor YMCA on Hammond Street, where it has been held in the past. (Last year it moved up the street to the YWCA, but it’s going back to the YMCA). Scheduled to start at the beginning of National Safe Boating Week the symposium will feature pool rescue demonstrations for kayaks and canoes, paddling safety information, door prizes and a smorgasbord of paddling related talks and demonstrations.

The free event is sponsored by Castine Kayak Adventures, Epic Sports, the Bangor Y’s, U.S. Coast Guard, Maine Association of Sea Kayak Guides and Instructors, and the National Safe Boating Council.

If you’re thinking of getting into a paddle sport, expanding your knowledge of paddling or making the transition from lakes and ponds to the ocean, this is a great opportunity to learn from the experts. The Coast Guard will be there to help you with VHF radio protocols and provide other pertinent safety information for anyone heading to the salt waters of our coast.

For more information contact Karen Francoeur, Castine Kayak Adventures at 866-3506 or e-mail: info@castinekayak.com or Brad Ryder, Epic Sports, at 941-5670.

I’ll be there, will you?

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.