Three Days Around Isle au Haut

Being up early doesn’t feel so early when the sun has already risen well above the islands to the east, and lobster boats have been grumbling around for awhile, but I’m up doing my stretching routine on the raised ledge that juts out from the east end of Wheat Island. It’s only early because my guests are still in their tents, and I have some precious time to myself. The early sun turns the granite boulders reddish-orange; the water is calm. I do my stretches slowly and sit for awhile, gazing out at the low smudge of Marshall and Swans Islands, and beyond them, the hills of Mount Desert Island rising through the haze.

We spent the previous day paddling around Isle au Haut. One of my guests had just finished her first day in a sea kayak. For most paddlers, an Isle au Haut circumnavigation is a trip you work up to slowly. The day trip from Wheat Island spans at least 15 nautical miles, and the seas around the southern end of the island tend to be lively.

We had no particular goal for the three day trip, but on her first day, my guest had taken instruction well, and she was strong and in excellent shape. My other guest was also fit and had been on some challenging kayaking trips. Aside from that, they had great, easygoing attitudes and I could tell they wouldn’t mind a long day that would kick all of our butts a bit. The weather and tide was perfect for the circumnavigation, so we decided to go for it.

I can imagine making such a choice and soon regretting it, but as we paddled along the east shore of Isle au Haut... past York Island and Turner Cove, forgoing a break on Battery Island for the easier landing on Horseman Point, we moved along easily. We chatted about previous paddling experiences and admired the scenery. Occasionally I gave some feedback to improve forward stroke efficiency. Without an efficient stroke, a longer paddle excursion could be a bit of an ordeal- and I see very few paddlers with anything close to an efficient stroke. It’s easier to teach this to someone on their first day of paddling than to someone who has years of an arm-cranking stroke committed to muscle memory.

Farther south, the swell increased gradually, and I tried to shepherd the group into some close-up exploration of shoreside rocks and chasms. She decided that, for her second day of paddling, getting around the island would be enough. He occasionally went in for a closer look. By the time we reached Eastern Head, the swells were just big enough to keep us a little farther from shore. We made our way along the southern end and ate lunch on a cobble beach, just a short walk to the Cliff Trail.

This was about half-way, and from then-on, our goal was to make our way along the west side and get back to camp without overly-exerting ourselves. We had a nice push from the current through the Isle au Haut Thorofare.

Back on Wheat Island,  we all felt pleasantly tired;  a pot of curry restored some of our spent energy. My guests sat back with glasses of wine and watched the sun set over Penobscot Bay.

 

In the morning, I’m feeling about as beat-up as I usually feel first thing every day. Doing my stretches out on the rock ledge helps. Today will be warm- even with the sun low on the horizon I can feel it. Today we’ll meander back through the archipelago- a grand tour of some favorite spots.

I feel good about the trip. My guests, an experienced paddler and a novice, have each been challenged and received some coaching and guidance to accomplish a trip that most paddlers would work up to slowly, if at all. Not only that, but the food was pretty good.

Wreck & Round Islands Cleanup

As volunteer steward for Island Heritage Trust’s Wreck and Round Islands, I wanted to do a spring shore cleanup, but these are big islands with about 2.5 nautical miles of shoreline: a lot of work for one person. So I decided to invite others along for the adventure. How do you get a crowd to volunteer to pick up garbage? How about a free guided kayak trip? Bill Baker, owner of Old Quarry Ocean Adventures liked the idea, and agreed to supply the boats and motorboat support, which we would need to transport the garbage. The Stonington Harbormaster gave us permission to collect washed-up fishing gear and leave anything useable at the Fish Pier.

We didn’t advertise much-- just a few posters and a couple of posts on Facebook. Island Heritage Trust and the Maine Island Trail Association also helped spread the word. With only two guides available-- Rebecca and me, we would be limited to 12 boats. Fourteen people arrived Saturday morning, so, including Nick, our guide-in-training, our flotilla came to 6 tandems and 5 singles. 

The morning weather was perfect: sunny and warm, with winds picking up in the afternoon. We made good time and arrived at Wreck Island for lunch. The powerboat arrived, dropping off three more helpers, along with a chainsaw. George, IHT’s Stewardship Coordinator, fired-up the chainsaw and immediately set to work, clearing the island’s overgrown trails.

I had to appreciate the diversity of the crowd. One couple from California had happened into the gallery a day or two earlier and decided to join us. Others had come from a little closer, including Wally, local enough to have a point of land bearing his family name. We had twenty-somethings and  an octogenarian, first-time paddlers and super experienced. While we ate, we spied a kayak making its way toward us. Barb squinted and said “looks like a Greenland stick.” It was our friend Geoff, who stopped by to help for awhile. 

We would have been happy to relax on the beach, but there was work to do. The main group split in two, each subgroup heading its own direction along the shore. Four of us did the same on Round Island. At first, we didn’t find much garbage, but on the west side where the two groups met, we came across large deposits of refuse. It was mostly fishing-related, everything from bleach and transmission fluid bottles to ropes and buoys, and of course plenty of plastic bottles. We cached most of the garbage high on the beach for the powerboat to collect. We made our way back to the kayaks and carried what garbage we could over to the beach on Wreck Island. 

The Wreck Island group had covered most of the shoreline and splintered into groups, some who bushwhacked over the island to get back to the beach. It had been a tough couple of hours and we were all hot and tired. We didn’t have much time for a break though. We were on a schedule, and the tide had crept-up to the boats. The wind had increased, giving us a push as we made our way back along Bare Island and across to Little Camp for a break before the last push. Everyone seemed weary and dreamy, but satisfied, both in accomplishing a nice little kayaking adventure, and in doing something good, taking care of the islands.