Category Archives: Hiking

Girls Weekend Out

July 24, 2012   Hiking, Maine, Maine Outdoors, Nature, Outdoors, Wildlife in Maine

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Girls Weekend Out, 2012. We were here. Not much happened. I’d never seen mosquitoes that fly in wind that bends over birch trees or in 87* temps until the weekend. They were horrible. We’re outdoorswomen. Throw on some repellent and go, but because of mosquitoes that didn’t care about DEET, we stayed in a lot more than usual. Looking down the barrel of a shotgun to find mosquitoes perched on the site is disturbing.

I saw the hind quarter of deer leaping into the woods one morning. A flying squirrel late Saturday night had us pointing flashlights at the ceiling and wondering if he was going to fly around the cabin for us. He was in the ceiling and after an hour of running back and forth, left through an opening four feet above my head. He was back Sunday night but I was sleeping downstairs so he didn’t keep me awake as long.

The satellite dish is deceptive. It doesn’t work. I don’t know if it ever worked. I crave peace and quiet so lack of satellite tv is a blessing. No television or cell phone, not even the radio. I’m content with the show outside, complete with bird songs, cracking branches as wildlife moves through the woods, and the occasional unknown noise that keeps me guessing about what else is sharing my space.

We tried to shoot clays but stopped when half of the clays broke upon launch. We checked them carefully, they weren’t cracked. I need to figure out what’s wrong and how to fix it so that we can get back to practicing.

I’m at my desk this morning with a story to write for Lancaster Farming, an introduction for Bangor Daily News and a first blog for BDN. I should also write a column. This morning, what I’d really like to do, is sit on the steps at camp and enjoy Mother Nature’s show.

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My Word of the Year for 2012

December 30, 2011   Hiking, Maine Outdoors, Nature, Outdoor Women, Outdoors

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Do you read Tobi-Dawne’s blog? I confess to having fallen behind on blogs in 2011. When I pulled up Google Reader and saw hundreds of unread entries I got overwhelmed and stop reading. I realize now I missed a lot by not keeping up with Tobi-Dawne. She’s crunchy, she’s energetic and she’s a lot of fun to read. She inspired this entry by asking what our word for 2012 will be.

My word for 2012 is Outdoors. I spent so much time outdoors as a market farmer that I stopped enjoying being outside. Being outdoors meant work most of the time. That changed a bit in 2011 as I stepped back from market farming and into writing. Being an outdoors and agriculture writer gives me ample opportunity to make being outdoors more fun in the coming year.

This year I will:

  • Spend more time fishing. I’m going to learn how to fly fish and take up fishing for brookies.
  • Sleep in a tent without being eaten by a bear. Hopefully no moose get the idea to stomp on me while I’m out there. “Camping” has always been in a camp with solid walls and doors. I’m not a fan of tents but I’m going to learn to be ok in them. I might even buy one.
  • Kayak more. I took a kayaking class at BOW last summer. Joanna, my instructor, was awesome. She gets 100% of the credit for my love of kayaking. When I’m out there I hear her saying “feet to seat” and remember proper paddling.
  • Hunt. I hunted a lot in 2011 and will at least match the amount of time in 2012.
  • White water raft the West Branch of the Penobscot River. The Crib Works scares me but I’m doing it.
  • Plant more flowers.
  • Plant Christmas trees. I’ve ordered a dozen Colorado Blue Spruce and I’ll transplant balsam fir from our woodlot.
  • Plant fruit trees. I’ll probably have to replace the apricot trees I planted last spring. I’ll do that and add pears and/or plums.
  • Prune the apple trees this winter.
  • Maybe I’ll climb Mt Katahdin. I said I’d never do it. I’ve been to Chimney Pond. One look at Knife’s Edge from Chimney Pond was enough for me to know I wasn’t going further. At the time I was terrified of heights. Kirk kept telling me I had to see the view from the top…so I flew over Katahdin in a chartered plane. Maybe this year I’ll climb. Maybe.
  • Take more photos. Taylor and I are going to paint the 15′ x 30′ livingroom. I have a lot of wall space to fill. Rather than rehanging the pictures I’ve taken down I’ll replace them with our outdoor photography.
  • Spend time in my tree stand while writing about the outdoors.
  • Hike. I’ll spend more time hiking in 2012.

What will you be doing outdoors in 2012?

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Baxter State Park

July 20, 2011   Hiking, Nature, Outdoors

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White water rafters on the West Branch of the Penobscot River

What a beautiful day! I spent the day up north with Melissa, my sister. We drove out the Golden Road in search of moose and other photo ops.

The weather was perfect – not hot but warm and breezy. Melissa got a little sunburn. We brought a picnic lunch and ate at Cribworks, also on the West Branch.

Crib Works on the West Branch of the Penobscot River

Melissa saw Mathew, a friend of hers, at the south gate of Baxter State Park. He’s a ranger there. We’re completely jealous of his job. When we grow up we want to be park rangers at Baxter State Park. We’d get him fired if we could have his job. Just kidding! I can’t imagine anything could get Mathew fired. He knows that park upside down and backward and obviously loves his job. When I said we were going to Ledge Falls, a natural water slide, he said every vehicle that had gone through the gate in the 20 minutes he’d been standing there were going to the falls. “What are the odds of getting into the parking lot to go to Sandy Stream Pond?” The parking lot fills up quickly. If you want to be sure to get in you have to pay $5 to reserve a spot. If you don’t show up by 7 am you lose your spot even though you paid for it. I love BSP but really? Lose your paid-for spot? That sucks. We lucked out. A moose pass had just been turned in. A moose pass gives you three hours from the time you leave the gatehouse until you have to be back. You lose nearly an hour in driving and stopping at an outhouse before hitting the trail.

Two bull moose in Sandy Stream Pond, Baxter State Park

The boardwalk at Sandy Stream Pond is 4/10 mile from the parking lot. It’s an easy hike. Melissa spotted the bull moose on the left in the shadows at the far side of the pond. Not long after we got there we heard a grunt coming from the woods on the opposite shore. The bull in the water immediately moved away from the second moose when it appeared at the edge of the pond. It took a while for the first moose to relax before they were this close together. The darker moose in the back is very thin. You can see his ribs and lack of muscle tone. They’re two or three years old.

We left SSP and drove nearly an hour to Ledge Falls. It was 5:30 pm by the time we got there so we didn’t slide. We will next time. We’re planning to go back soon with a group of friends and kids to spend another day in the park.

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