The changing leaves are an ever present reminder that it’s getting colder and our time in Maine is (hopefully not too quickly) coming to a close. Since it seems like Mother Nature will be encouraging our voyage south sometime soon, we recently sat down to make a list of the things that we “absolutely have to see” in Maine before we leave. Strange as it may sound, even this minor amount of planning tends to throw off our cruising style, and we’ve noticed that it’s still just more of a guideline – and not really a rule.

In this general area, we’d picked out three towns we wanted to visit: Belfast, Searsport and Bucksport, each with something unique to offer visitors and all within only several hours of each other. However, the changing leaves were accompanied last week by changing winds as well, and very dramatic changes. Like N at 12 knots changing to SW with gusts of 35. Seemingly every 6 hours. Which makes it a little hard to plan…

When we pulled away from the town dock in Castine Tuesday afternoon, the weather forecast and strong gusts encouraged us to plan a short move to a protected cove across the river from town to anchor for the night. But once we got out on the water, the sun was shining and our spirits were high, so we decided to ignore the chilly gusts and head for Belfast instead. A few hours later, we had the hook down and were on our way to a quick exploration of town before dark. The cruising guide didn’t have a whole lot to say about the small town of Belfast, so we weren’t sure what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised. In addition to being a great town for visiting boaters, with  diesel, water, propane, laundromat and grocery all close-by, we got the impression that this small town of just under 7,000 residents is a really vibrant and involved year-round community. Numerous community bulletin boards were filled with flyers announcing events, meetings, classes, forums and various goings-on. Unique handcrafted benches/sculptures dot the streets and parks and unique shops, (including the oldest shoe store in the US!,) artists’ galleries and trendy restaurants line historic  Maine Street.  In fact, we later found out that Belfast was listed as one of  Budget Travel’s’Top 10 Coolest Small Towns in the US and one of USA Today’s Top Ten Culturally Cool Towns in the US. After a brief look around, we decided we were going to enjoy our time in Belfast.

Good thing, because the next day’s look at the weather didn’t give us confidence in our plans to move anytime soon. Scattered rain, constantly shifting and strong winds and general uncertainty filled the forecast for the next few days. Even though Searsport and Bucksport were each only a short distance away, the task of planning moves that either allowed us to sail or kept us from motoring dead into strong, gusty winds and to have a comfortable, protected anchorage once we reached our destination turned out to be an unsolvable puzzle last week. Not that our anchorage in Belfast was perfect. When the wind shifted around to the south, moving in the opposite direction of the current from the river, we would  have an extremely bumpy few hours. Eventually things would calm down and the river would return to a calm, glassy surface. And then the wind would build again from another direction…  So it went for our stay in Belfast – bundling up in our foulies in an attempt to stay dry on an exciting dinghy ride to town… returning at sunset on a peaceful, idyllic river. Or vice-versa – we never knew! So we decided to get to know more about Belfast.

Like Castine, Belfast has a self-guided historical walking tour, available at the Belfast Historical Society. We picked up a map, noting that the Historical Society would be open on Friday and Saturday (unfortunately it wasn’t), and began our tour of the town. Belfast has a rich history as a manufacturing and ship-building town, and we enjoyed the tour. The map guided us through the site of old shoe factories, shipyards, theatres, circus visits, historical houses and Perry’s Nut House (apparently a must-see Maine tourist attraction in the 1930’s and still open today, however, it does not make our must-see list.)  Afterwards, we browsed in some of the shops, finding many unique items, may of which were hand-crafted in Maine or nearby. Conklin’s Maine Merchantile was one of our favorites, featuring authentic Maine goods from companies the owner knew personally. Chase’s Daily was another particularly cool place. It’s a trendy but unpretentious (and unpretentiously priced) farm to table restaurant, open for breakfast and lunch, with a produce shop in the back. We enjoyed browsing the purple and white carrots, fresh turnips and local greens, but it took some willpower to get out of there without buying one of their delicious-looking cookies. We decided to come back later to supplement our grocery shopping.

As late afternoon approached, we went to Front Street Pub, which was having a buy-one get one 1/2 off burger special. And $3 locally brewed pints. And free pool. Great! So we went in and had a big night (okay, early evening) on the town. Neither Brad nor I have played pool in probably 10 years, so the evening’s recreation was ugly, but fun. Confident in his ability (or my lack therof) Brad wagered a bet: if he won, we would get another round of beer, if I won, we would try the Israeli couscous we’d seen in the bulk section of the local co-op grocery. Each sufficiently motivated, it turned out to be a pretty fair contest, but in the end Brad won. I didn’t cry over couscous into my beer, though. We played a few more rounds and had a great time.

Although it didn’t seem possible, the next day (Thursday), the winds were even stronger, keeping us on the boat for most of the day, still trying to solve the puzzle of where to go next and when, reading and getting some things done on the boat. By afternoon, the winds had abated and we decided to head into town. We’d walked past Marshall Wharf Brewery the day before and knew it was open Thursday through Saturday, so we decided to check it out. They have only been in business about 5 years, but have an impressive list of beers. Sara was really friendly and offered us samples of their current brews, all of which were very good. They have a “Pemaquid Oyster Stout” that’s actually brewed with oysters, i.e. they toss two dozen oysters – shells and all – into the boil! It was really good, and didn’t taste oyster-y in case you were wondering. From there, we hiked up the hill to Hannaford Supermarket to do some grocery shopping.

Friday, morning, we visited the weekly Farmers Market, bought some fresh veggies from “Chase’s Daily” and filled propane. Then we headed back to the boat to prepare to head to the dock for diesel and water. The gusty winds were building (up to 30), but we really needed to get into the dock. It was a little tight, but Brad took us in without incident, and the assistant harbormaster grabbed our lines and thanked us for coming in properly. He said some people come in downwind and downcurrent, and he has to help them when they become pinned on the docks and the other boats. After a lengthy visit, we are now filled to the brim with diesel, water and gas for the dinghy.

The winds now behind us, we then took a short but very chilly trip over to Searsport. There were freeze warnings for Friday night, but we stayed warm and toasty, and we enjoyed exploring Searsport over the weekend. Unfortunately we wouldn’t make it to Bucksport, we decided there were other places that we want to see before our time runs out.

We awoke Sunday and we moved a little closer to the town of Castine after the strong winds abated. Sabrina went ashore and I got a chance to work on some things on the boat and catch the Cleveland Browns game on CBS (they lost.) Monday we went in early to take the walking tour provided by the Chamber of Commerce, (a map that takes visitors on a self-guided tour of the historical sites of the town). It was truly a Chamber of Commerce day – warm sunshine, gentle breeze, and beautiful fall colors. It was Columbus Day, so most of the students from Maine Maritime Academy were home on break.  We followed the map, walking out to the lighthouse at Dyce Head and past the historic homes and markers listed on the map. Castine is the site of the failed “Penobscot Expedition,” the worst U.S. Naval defeat until Pearl Harbor, the loss that effectively ended Paul Revere’s military career. The British constructed Ft. George before the battle, and now that location serves a dual purpose as both a historic site and the town’s athletic fields.

We continued walking through the tree lined streets, eventually arriving at the building for the Castine Historical Society. We were pleasantly surprised to find the door open, and decided to check it out. The docent explained that currently they had a large exhibit dedicated to Douglas MacMillan, the schooner Bowdoin, and Bowdoin’s service in WWII. Sabrina and I found this rather serendipitous, having been intrigued by MacMillan’s life when we learned about it at the Pilgrim Museum in Provincetown, his birthplace. Now we were learning more about the schooner that carried him on his journeys and also served in WWII as an arctic active duty vessel. After viewing the exhibit we realized that Bowdoin is currently a teaching vessel for the Maine Maritime Academy, and can be seen in the harbor!

The Castine Historical Society also has a great multimedia exhibit pertaining to the Penobscot Expedition and the disgrace that met the military commanders when they returned to Boston. There’s a diorama showing the locations of the British and American forces as the siege proceeded, and how the American commanders failed to properly coordinate and engage the British.

Back at the harbor front we quickly located Bowdoin. Unfortunately, because of the holiday there was no one to take us aboard. We were able to take a great tour of the training ship the “State of Maine.” Our tour was led by Dylan, a sophomore at Maine Maritime Academy. He took us through the bridge, the main decks, the engine room, the galley, and even showed us a cabin that was currently in use by one of his fellow students. To accustom the freshmen to life aboard, the students use the 500’ ship as a dormitory while it is in dock. Dylan also sailed over the summer to Curacao and the Caribbean, spending a summer at sea as an integral portion of his course work.

Tuesday morning we took Joint Venture into the Castine Town Dock to see if we could get a quick tour of Bowdoin before we left. We ended up getting a fantastic tour by the 1^st Mate! He showed us through the Bowdoin, answering all of our questions and filling us in on the construction and future refit for the aging wooden boat. During MacMillan’s expeditions, the Bowdoin had spent an entire winter stuck in the ice in the arctic. Contemplating how the crew had existed in that bitter cold while touring the boat was awe-inspiring. Currently Bowdoin is used as a training vessel, and captain, mate, cook and up to 16 students could sail on the 88’ boat when she sails north to Nova Scotia for the summers.

We had come ashore in Castine expecting to find a sleepy little town closing down for the winter, but the history of the town, the working ships of the Academy, the tree-lined streets, and the gorgeous homes made it one of our favorite places here in Maine.

Saturday we awoke to calm weather and I was surprised to hear that our weather zone had a “Small Craft Advisory” issued. Stranger still were the lobstermen conversing on the VHF, planning to head back to port, saying the lobsters could wait another day. In hindsight, we probably should have listened to NOAA and the locals.

We left our dead calm anchorage under cloudy skies, planning to sail through the Deer Isle Thoroughfare. 10 minutes later we had made a 180 degree turn, buffeted by 25 knot winds on the nose that were screaming through the tight passage of the Thoroughfare. We decided to head east across Jericho Bay, now fully understanding why there was a “Small Craft Advisory.” If we thought that dodging lobster buoys in calm weather was fun, we had a blast dodging them in 2-4 foot waves! And it was right about that time that the fog descended….

Before we left Maryland, our friends Jay and Tanya told us a story about their time in Maine, one day while they were sailing they heard a shaky VHF call from a boater come across the radio, saying something like ‘I don’t know where I am, the fog just came down, I don’t know where I’m headed, I can’t see anything…’ etc. The downeast-ly response that filled the silence? A salty voice answered, “If you’re sca-yerd, SAY you’re sca-yerd.” Now, Sabrina and I weren’t scared, but now I can see where the shaky voice was coming from.

We had already prepared for fog, our radar was running (and we knew how to read it,) we had our signal bell and foghorn on deck, and we had planned ahead for what we should do. When fog takes your ability to see, you should rely more on your other senses. We were already sailing with the engine off, so we craned our necks and listened for the diesel engines of the lobster boats in the area. I also noticed that you can locate the upwind boats by smell alone. I measured visibility at less than a quarter mile, so even though I’d have a radar hit, it was still entertaining every time a lobster boat would suddenly appear, seemingly right on top of us.  All in all, we enjoyed our foray into the fog. As we reasoned it, we couldn’t come to Maine without seeing what all the fuss was about.

We entered Eggemoggin Reach and shortly thereafter we sailed out of the fog. The sun was out and we stared at the beautiful houses and islands that line Penobscot Bay. The stately manors peaking through the pines and brightly colored trees were gorgeous.

We’d mapped out some anchorages at the end of the Reach, but there was no shelter from the winds, so we continued on to Smith Cove near the town of Castine.  Late in the day we finally arrived, and found a touring schooner already anchored there, they must have know that this was the place to find a quiet anchorage. Smith Cove wasn’t where we had planned to end up, but it was protected, and it was near the town of Castine, a destination on our list.

Our last day on Mt. Desert Island was Wednesday, October 3^rd. Sabrina did laundry while I washed the boat and filled our water tanks (in shorts and a t-shirt as I mentioned previously.) Upon departure we had big plans, but we only made it back to Little Cranberry Island. After two weeks of cramming as much as we could possibly cram into our time on MDI, and we were TIRED. Thursday we had another short day, continuing east through the Casco Passage to Buckle Harbor by Swans Island.

Since we’ve been cruising we’ve coined some phrases aboard Joint Venture. After sunset, I might respond to Sabrina that it’s simply “dark out,” but when there’s no moon out, and the stars are clouded over, we call it “dark-dark.” (Okay, I didn’t say they were creative phrases.) On Thursday night at Buckle Harbor I headed into the cockpit to check the anchor around 9:00 and called down to Sabrina that it was “dark-dark-dark-dark-dark-Dark.” We had left behind the lights of MDI on Wednesday and a thick fog arrived after sunset, fully enveloping the boat.

While I could hear the dinghy lightly slapping the waves behind the boat, I couldn’t see it on its 15′ painter without the help of a flashlight. When I flipped the flashlight on to check on things, it was like driving in a snowstorm with the high beams on. The fog illuminated everything, it was almost like being underwater on a night dive, beads of water reflecting the light wherever it shined.

We were struggling with a lot of rain in the forecast, so Friday was another short day. We ended up dropping the anchor between Bold Island and Devil Island, where the chief attraction is… “Hell’s Half Acre.” Contrary to its name, this tiny island is beautiful and is a public island. Campers are encouraged, tent platforms are provided, and ‘Welcome’ signs dictate the rules of use. We beached the dinghy and explored the half acre, enjoying our walk ashore after a couple days of rainy weather on the boat.

We dinghied around the various islands at high tide and beached the dinghy on a few smaller island/rocks nearby. We briefly thought about taking Nermal ashore so he could run around a 200 sq.ft. island without getting lost, but we figured the dinghy ride might freak him out.

After a few hours of exploring we headed back to our secure anchorage. I was happy that Friday night was only dark-dark.

As I said yesterday, we’ve decided that it’s time to leave Mt. Desert Island and start exploring the rest of the Maine coast as we head south. Last night when we pulled of our hiking boots (which are really running shoes, we don’t have hiking boots on the boat) we had climbed 18 of the 24 peaks in Acadia, including every summit east of Somes Sound.

We carried the Spot and you can see the geographical location of 15 of the summits recorded below. Unfortunately we didn’t have the Spot with us when we climbed the Beehive, we didn’t find the trail to Huguenot Head, and for some reason the Day Mountain mark didn’t go through. Overall we covered over 30 miles (including 10 yesterday) and if you add our 18 summits it equals 17,108 feet! While we enjoyed the climbs, to put that in perspective that total is only good for the 4th highest mountain in the USA, between Mt. Foraker and Mt. Bona (had to google that one….)

I’ve numbered the photos of the summits to match the Spot locations if you want to see the summit marker at each location: 

Yesterday our cruising friends Dave and Jess left JV and headed back to Canada. We had a great visit with them, catching up, hearing about adjusting to life after cruising, and discussing how our adventures have changed our outlooks on life. They brought some delicious Canadian treats, and I’m sure Jess should hold the title for best lobster roll in both countries. It was raining while they were here, disrupting our plans for a nice hike, but we were still able to tour Acadia by car.  We marveled at the rushing torrents of water that were cascading down the various mountains and how the park seemed like was a completely different place from just two days earlier. We strolled through Bar Harbor looking in some of the galleries and shops and ended our day with a second night of delicious lobster, with Sabrina and I learning some new tips from our friends across the border. Despite the weather, it was a great weekend.

While we were hanging out, Jess mentioned that she knew we would make it to Maine because our blog always said “Headed North” throughout New England. That reminded me, and unfortunately tomorrow I’ll have to switch it to say “Headed South.” Mt. Desert Island seems to be a fitting place to end our trip north and start working our way leisurely south. (Leisurely until the first snow hits at least!)

We love MDI, but the time has come to leave, and Wednesday we’ll be pulling out of Southwest Harbor. This will mean that we won’t reach the summit of every one of Acadia’s peaks, but that will give us one more reason to return in the future. Follow along today via our Spot to see how many summits we actually reach.

In addition, since the calendar just turned to October we’ve had to come to terms with how far south we think we’ll make it this winter. While our original plan had us leaving Norfolk in November headed for the Caribbean, we can’t, won’t,  don’t want to leave Maine this early. We want to follow the leaves south as they turn, something that seems perfectly in tune with the speed we want to move.

Therefore, we’ve decided that we’ll spend this winter in the Bahamas. We’re hoping this allows more friends to visit us and more time for us to reconnect with cruising friends and explore the things we missed last winter. Looking at photos from the Bahamas reminds us of the crystal clear water, the friendly people, and the deserted islands.

The hiking paths here in Acadia National Park are not too different from the Bahamas. While at first glance they all seem similar, once you start to experience them you notice something unique and different, and it makes you want to discover more.

Yesterday we climbed five peaks, including Sargent Mountain the second highest peak in the park. We totaled 9.3 miles over extremely rough terrain and crossed the halfway mark, so far reaching 13 of the 24 summits. Unfortunately we didn’t finish our hike before the forecasted afternoon rain showers began. We ended up hiking in a light rain for the last mile and a half around Jordan Pond on relatively smooth terrain to catch the last bus back to Bar Harbor. The leaves are really starting to change, and we hope the rain and wind doesn’t knock too many down before we can enjoy their beautiful colors.

Our hike took us through some more distant areas of the park, and we scared up three game birds that I originally thought were Ptarmigans. I researched it this morning, finding out that the ptarmigan is extremely rare in Maine, and we most likely saw the Spruce Grouse which is still pretty rare. Either way, it was really cool to get off the “beaten path” and encounter some trails with fewer people on them. I forgot to mention yesterday that we saw Peregrine Falcons from both the Precipice Trail and the Jordan’s Cliff trail. The Park is actively supporting their reintroduction to the cliffs in Acadia. You can read more about what the Park is doing here.

Today the wind is howling from the east, making Southwest Harbor (exposed to the east) very rough. It’s starting to moderate and it’s supposed to die down by this afternoon. We’re hoping this is true because our friends Dave and Jess should be arriving about 3:00 to spend a couple days aboard. Hopefully the rain dissipates and we can enjoy the park while they’re here.

[The photos below are from our hikes on Thursday and Friday. Note that the photos on the Precipice and Jordan Cliffs trails were taken at safe spots, I wasn’t thinking about taking photos at the scariest parts of the trails!]

Yesterday we crossed off one of our goals, completing the Jordan Cliffs Trail and the Precipice Trail to finish up all of the “ladder” trails in the park. While we can’t pick a favorite, we developed some awards to give out:

• Most Beautiful “Ladder” Trail without an actual ladder – Homans Path (0.3 miles)
• Most Likely to send you to the ER – Beehive Trail (0.6 miles)
• Best Use of the Phrase “Don’t Look Down!” – Precipice Trail (0.9 miles)
• Best Overlook to get your heart racing – Jordan Cliffs Trail (1.2 miles)
• Most likely trail to be taken gain – Ladder Trail (0.4 miles)

[Click here if you missed yesterday’s epic post with 60 photos.]

Blog followers may have noticed that we tend to set up random goals when we arrive to someplace new. You may remember we were running out of time at Warderick Wells in the Bahamas so we decided to do all the trails on the island in one day.  That was after we toured almost every snorkel site in the lower Exumas Park. More recently, we did every ranger-led hike in Boston because we found the historical perspective they provided fascinating. Briefly we thought about seeing every light-house on the East Coast (maybe next time…)

So what do you think our plan is here in Acadia? Home to 26 mountains..?

Yep, after getting a taste of hiking with my father, we’ve decided we’re going to climb each one of the mountains that has a path to the summit. 2 of the 26 mountains don’t have paths, so that leaves 24 peaks (and don’t worry, we’ll be climbing Cadillac Mountain again since we drove a car to the top of it the first time.) To those that might wonder why we’ve decided to do such a thing, George Mallory famously responded to the question of why he wanted to climb Mt. Everest with the response, “Because it’s there.”

I’ve created a spreadsheet [insert engineer joke here] that divides the peaks by regions, allowing us to summit several in a single day. After I dropped my dad at his rental car on Tuesday, we caught the bus to the trail head for Gorham Mountain (Elev. 525) and then picked up Dorr Mountain (Elev. 1270) in the afternoon.

In addition, our trail guide lists paths by “Easy, Moderate, Strenuous, or Ladder” and a side goal is to finish every path listed as a “Ladder.”  (Only three of those remain.) We climbed Dorr Mountain via the aptly named “Ladder Trail” and then took a side trip on the “Homan’s Path” which was very steep and marked with an “L” for ladder, but we didn’t encounter an actual ladder on it. While the views from the summits are breathtaking, the true joy in the hikes is discovering the hidden secrets on the trails. We enjoy experiencing the craftmanship and art that went into the creation of the paths as they wind past ponds, over creeks, and up cliffs. The amount of work that went into constructing the granite stairways in the sides of the mountains is mind-boggling, and apparently that construction took place before Acadia became a National Park.

Yesterday it was raining and windy so we rested, cleaned, and did laundry. We also found out that our friends Dave and Jess from S/V Kianda will be crossing the border to join us for the weekend! Awesome!

Today we’re hopping on the Island Explorer bus to a trailhead, eager to see what lies ahead for us around the next turn. Follow along on our hiking adventures, we’re carrying the Spot with us. The tracks only pick up when there’s a break in the leaves, but we’re sending a special message from the top of the peaks. Look for those messages, there’s two on the page already.