MITA 30in30 Deer Isle / Mount Desert
I’m finally headed Downeast. It’s hard for me to believe I’ve never been there during the years I’ve been taking multi-day trips in the Emilie, but I’ve never been past Mount Desert Island. Obviously there is a lot to explore there, but there is so much more north, from Winterport past the Bold Coast to Lubec. The 30 in 30 challenge has given me the reason I need to push things a bit.
I headed down Eggemoggin Reach for the long first day. I had a plan to visit multiple MITA islands on the way to Winterport, where I would spend the first night, and then make the long trip to Roque Island the next day. The weather looked good, and I wanted to take advantage of the good conditions to round Schoodic Point and Petit Manan for the first time.
Since I had not yet completed the 30 in 30, I had planned several pitstops to check out campsites, the first two down at the end of The Reach off Naskeag Harbor. Little Hog island is a mall island off Hog Island (you guessed it!) that has a nice anchorage with a muddy bottom to the north, and on average landing beach on the south side, but really only at high tide. The shore is mostly ledges and fine for landing a kayak, but difficult with most other crafts. Once on the island, there is a small patch of trees with a protected campsite within. The campsite is large and has good tentsites, but also good views out to the water. It seems like a great island to spend a night, and one of the best attributes is the shallow cove south of the island which seems like a great place to kayak. I’d wished I’d had mine.
Sellers Island was the next stop, and although it is just south of Little Hog, you have to go all the way around Hog and then sellers to reach the protected anchorage. Although it is a great place to kayak, it is a pain to have to travel around and anchor again. The reality is I could have taken the Gary over there easily, but I still didn’t fully trust her engine, even though Don Condon and I had figured out and fixed the problem.
The cove east of Sellers and west of something was a good anchorage with a stickly, muddy bottom. It was a small island, but had one of the more beautiful beaches I’d seen, a welcome sight after attempting to land on Little Hog. There is a nice, big campsite up the path at the north end of the beach. A good spot to spend a night or two. The campsite is quite large, and can accommodate 7-10 tents and the island is big enough to spend some time exploring.
The coolest thing I learned in visiting Little Hog and Sellers is that Hog Island is a preserve run by the Maine Coast Heritage Trust and is a huge island with lots of exploration possibilities. I visited the campsite but didn’t spend much time seeing the rest of the island other than by boat on the way around. I plan to. That experience reminded me I need to continue to research other organizations and land trusts that run these islands. I literally almost passed it by. It would be great if one resource gave information on all the islands. Maybe that’s what this blog will become!
The next stop was Pond Island, and not THE Pond Island, the one further downeast, the Acadia region of the MITA book. I’ve actually passed several Pond Islands this summer, and I always think it must be rough always being compared to the best. Like Michael Jordan Jr. trying to play basketball. I went to high school with Bobby Orr’s sons. They were wrestlers and never played hockey. I’m sure that’s why.
Pond really looked like a great island. There is good anchorage to the south, and a nice steep beach to land. There is a campsite at the east end of the beach. A great place for large group. The problem was the bugs. I have literally never seen anything like it. I had been warned by some island visitors who were leaving as I arrived, but I grew up in Maine all summer. I’ve seen bad bugs. But this was next level. I literally ran to get some pictures of the campsite they were so bad on the beach, and then in the woods they were worse. At one point, I looked down and there were six mosquitos in one place on my leg drawing blood. I took 4-5 pictures then ran back to the Gary and headed out to the Emilie. Several of the flies made it back out to the Emilie with me, and stayed until I got to my mooring in Winter Harbor that night.
The great thing about the Acadia region Pond Island is, like our Penobscot Bay the entire island is an MCHT preserve, so you can explore the whole thing. Pond is a great island to visit. Just do it early or late season. The fresh water pond must be a breeding ground for the mosquito kingdom that exists there.
After spending the night in Winter Harbor, which I describe in the next post, I visited the Crow Island Ledges, one of the MITA sites I’d planned to check out. They sit just outside Winter Harbor, and around Grindstone Neck to the west. I must admit, I was totally unimpressed, even disappointed. It was really not even an island, much less a campsite. It really shouldn’t even be listed as an option. The guide does say you can use the island as well if you stay away from the cabin, but I must admit, when I saw the ledges and realized that was my destination, and where I was supposed to go ashore, I didn’t bother. Maybe out of protest.
8.23.2018 Winter Harbor
Arrived in Winter Harbor after passing MDI without a stop. I love going up Somes Sound, eating at the Islesford Dock, but if I was going to make it to Roque, I needed to take advantage of the good weather. As I learned on Monhegan, you never know when things are going to change, or for how long. Especially out in the open ocean. I was greeted by the Yacht Club launch operator who told me the mooring number and said she would be out to chat after she had dropped her passengers. She seemed like a very nice girl, and I later found out she is a college student at Husson in Bangor and was headed back in a few days.
It was interesting that Winter Harbor Yacht Club has a launch operator. It is much smaller than Buck’s, where we don’t operate a launch, but definitely wants to feel bigger than it is, maybe due to their neighbors to the south. It’s not easy to keep up with Northeast Harbor, and their ‘Fleet’ as they call it. Winter Harbor was actually created as an alternative to the ritzy clubs and high real estate costs of MDI in the early 1890s. Grindstome Neck where the club sits was purchased by developers and they created a new community a little further away, at a fraction of the cost. I’m not sure whether it was the fact that the buyers could not afford the prices in Northeast, or they were not accepted by the clubs and community there, but they clearly wanted to create something that rivaled their neighbors and have an impressive yacht club building, a pool, and a 9-hole golf course, all of which guests renting a mooring are able to use. They are very welcoming to guests, which is more than I can say for a lot of clubs.
The Yacht Club definitely has a bit of douche factor, but I think they all do. Definitely the kind of place where everyone has something different on their pants, the more customized and wacky the better. Lobsters don’t cut it anymore.
I walked into town before dinner to see what was there and was pleasantly surprised. There is a nice IGA grocery store (which I didn’t think still existed) and several food options including a diner style locals spot call Chase’s, which was not recommended by the launch girl, as well as the Salt Box which seemed like a legit fine dining experience, although not cheap. I later learned on my way back down the coast that the restaurant was built by Roxanne Quimby, who was the founder of Burt’s Bees that sold it and purchased large tracts of land up north that became the Katahdin Woods and Waterways. Apparently, her life was heavily influenced by Helen and Scott Nearing and their Good Life Center in Brooksville. I love the idea that all these cool things lead back there. The restaurant is run by her son. It must be nice to get your passion bankrolled by a financial backer! It seems he did a great job building what they envisioned. Apparently, Roxanne is quite dedicated to the town of Winter Harbor and has made things happen there so the town can survive. Good place to buy some real estate!
I slept well on the mooring, and wanted to get an early start, but decided to go for a run since the Yacht Club had shower facilities. I was really thinking I should hang out by the pool, but really didn’t have time. I ran the loop around Grindstone Neck, and past all the ‘cottages’. There were some really big, historic houses, and they were all right along the road with expansive views of the water and the mountains of Mount Desert. In a way it felt like a subdivision, which was mainly because each driveway had a sign with the Yacht Club burgee and the name of the family. I assume this was required by the community since everyone had one. I didn’t love the ‘gated’ feel to the place but must admit it had some of the nicer homes on the Maine coast, and some of the nicest people. I asked a fellow runner for some route advice, and she couldn’t have been friendlier. The same was true of everyone I came across on the run. Very rare in a place like that. It felt less developed than what has happened on MDI, more like Northeast Harbor 50 years ago, which is more appealing to me than what is there today. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures because I was running. Maybe next time.
I pulled out of Banks Cove and headed in to the Inner Harbor to get diesel at Winter Harbor Marine. As I approached, it didn’t look like there was a Marina there anymore, and I realized that it was no longer a business and I would have to find another place. The Lobster Coop has diesel, but I didn’t want to get that far into the inner harbor, and I still had a half tank of fuel left. I was just being cautious. It did make me realize I should get a new cruising guide, since mine was from 2002.
I headed out past Winter Harbor again and started around Schoodic Point, which didn’t disappoint. The waves were BIG, and for the second time in my Emilie Belle boating career, I took out a life jacket. I didn’t put it on, but I did have it next to me. Some people think it’s crazy not to wear a life jacket. I couldn’t disagree more. But I felt that way about ski helmets and have now changed my tune, although I think the two are totally different.