October 2008 – Waterlines — A Maine Sea Kayaking Journal

Kayaking is a year-round sport, but my winter trips tend to be on the conservative side. Each trip after Labor Day, then, has potential to be the last “big trip” of the season. The sense that this could be the last big one only adds to my enjoyment and appreciation.

My plan was to head up to the Jonesport area, close up the camp, and do some paddling. And then I got a call from a friend who had put together a group of 4 who also wanted to paddle that weekend. Perfect! An expedition was born.

Following a hearty second breakfast at Tall Barney’s in Jonesport, we drove across the bridge to Beals Island and traced the narrow road to the Beals Town Park, which includes trails through the woods, a fine beach, and a million-dollar view. We loaded our kayaks with spare clothing, food, safety gear, and other essentials, launched from the gravelly beach, and set out paddling east past Sheep Island and then along the northern shore of Head Harbor Island.

The forecast was for gusty winds out of the northeast, but we soon found that the winds were more easterly than anticipated. This added up to a 15-knot headwind at the start of the trip. And it became a beam wind as we curved to the southeast as we got further along the shoreline of Head Harbor Island.

The high black cliffs of the largely wild 1100 acre Head Harbor Island created rebounding waves that can make for difficult paddling. Conditions intensified as we approached Black Head, on the southeastern tip of the island. Waves, wind, and challenge were three of the ingredients that had brought us there, however, so it just made things all the more to our liking. Still the 50 degree water temperatures and remoteness of our location also inspired some caution.

After playing among the ledges and rock formations that stretch between Black Head and Man Island, we turned north into the calm protected waters of Head Harbor. We then circled through Head Harbor and past tiny wooded Black Island. Having had a chance to relax, we turned southeast to the more exposed waters between Steele Harbor Island (450 acres) and Knight Island. The high granite cliffs of Steele Harbor Island are a spectacular sight. We paddled in hushed awe beneath them.

Next we sought the narrow channel between Mistake and Knight Islands. (Note for future trips: you don’t see the channel until you are nearly past it. Don’t turn right until you can nearly reach out and touch the lighthouse with your left hand). We rode steep-sided swells up the narrow channel, curved around the southern tip of Mistake, and then pulled our kayaks ashore for a late lunch in a protected spot. After donning cold weather gear to protect us from the biting wind, we hiked the 500-yard Coast Guard boardwalk to Moose Peak Light.

Like many of the islands in the Great Wass Archipelago, Mistake Island, with it’s acidic soil and cool wet climate, is home to rare “raised bog” plants such as lush blueberry, crowberry, leatherleaf, lambkill, and Labrador tea. Most of the island is owned by the Nature Conservancy with the southern 6 acres, including the lighthouse, owned by the Coast Guard.

The 57-foot brick lighthouse was built in 1851. Somehow the white tower has withstood 150 years of winter storms and still stands, a solitary feature, on this treeless island.

The day was shorter than our ambitions. Hastened by the sun that was slipping into the west, we paddled back past Knight and Steele Harbor Islands, and then cut across Eastern Bay past Little Hardwood and Spectacle Islands before returning to our launch site.

We sighted eagles and seals on several occassions. Flocks of eiders were rarely far away during this trip of about 15 nautical miles.

The trip was just another reminder of the incredible richness and diversity of natural beauty Maine has to offer. If you have a chance to get up to Eastern Maine and do some exploring, either by foot, sailboat, kayak, or chartered boat I highly recommend you consider making it part of your plans for summer 2009, if not before.

Resources:

Great Wass Island Preserve Guide
Jonesport, Maine
Coastal Cruises and Dive Downeast
Puffin Tours of Machias Seal Island
Water Walker Sea Kayak

Click the link below for an enlarged version of the trip slideshow:

Comments and questions can be sent to ray@touringkayaks.com

As both a kayak guide and an educator, I felt fortunate to be one of several hundred attendees at the Governor’s Conference on Youth and the Natural World at the Augusta last Thursday.

The gist of the conference was this: (1) young people today don’t spend enough time outdoors; (2) correcting this problem will have important benefits to young people and is likely crucial to the survival of our society.

Governor Baldacci introduced the conference and spoke of his own recent experiences paddling the Allagash and climbing Mt. Katahdin with his son. “Believe me, if I can do it, anyone an do it.” he stated, possibly alluding to the fact that he does not consider himself an outdoorsman or one who pays much attention to his level of physical fitness.

Larry Selzer, President of The Conservation Fund and a leader of the national take-it-outside movement, described the current situation (unhealthy kids, unhealthy environment), as well as proposed solutions that range from parents spending more outside with their kids to redesigning schools as a means of “bringing nature to kids.”

Among the factoids Selzer provided were the following: On the increasing popularity of computers and gaming technology: “The most common injury in children 8 – 15 is no longer broken bones but repetitive motion disorder.”

On over-medication of kids: “Children who have exposure to nature for [even] 10 minutes a day need less medication.”

Selzer mentioned the biophilia hypothesis, which states that we are all biologically wired as hunter / gatherers and therefore need at least occasional immersion in the natural world to be physically and psychologically healthy.

An additional concern of Selzer and groups such as The Conservation Fund (of which he is director) is that it is unlikely the next generation will be stewards of the natural environment if spending time in nature has not been an important part of their lives. And the problem could even get worse, as projections indicate that by 2050, 85% of Americans will live in cities.

Selzer and others at the conference, including David Hales, College of the Atlantic President, and Mitchell Thomashow, Unity College President, spoke of the need to include environmental literacy as a goal for public education. (Designers of the new Maine Learning Results, are you listening?) Several groups, including the Maine Environmental Education Network, are working on identifying the benchmarks of this new type of literacy.

According to Mitch Thomashow, the purpose of education needs to be expanded to be something that not only “gets people to think about how one learns, but also how one lives.”

“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.” –Arundhati Roy

Resources:

Campaign for Environmental Literacy

Maine Environmental Education Organization

Take-it-Outside.org

Children and Nature Network

No Child Left Inside Coalition