Mud Hole at Great Wass Island, ME July 11-13, 2012
⇚ Saturday, July 14, 2012 / Stephanie / Uncategorized ⇛
Another secluded anchorage downeast, what's not to celebrate?!
We popped open the bubbly (thanks to Christy and Steve for providing this cheer!) and feasted once again on fresh mussels and...clams!
The water inside Mud Hole was eerily still, the boat barely moved through the night. We peeked outside before bed and marveled at the clear sky lit with thousands of stars. There were fish jumping all around the boat, otherwise, not a sound. It was too chilly to spend much time stargazing. We bundled up and slept very well during our nights at Mud Hole. And the best part was in the morning there were NO lobster boats to wake us. There were pots, but I'm not convinced anyone was checking on them because I didn't see or hear a lobster boat during our entire stay at this anchorage.
We started our day by exploring Mud Hole via kayak. I'm proud to share that I am fully self-sufficient with the kayak after only two weeks of living aboard Rode Trip. The kayak is also my preferred method of transportation to/from shore vs the dinghy which is much more strenuous to paddle and maneuver. I can now get the kayak into and out of the water from the deck of Rode Trip. I can also get into and out of the kayak without use of the ladder, as well as in and out on rocky shorelines, and scrambling down from seaweed covered cliffs. My stronger, but quite possibly less limber husband was very impressed!
Although it sounds quite literally like a mud hole, this cove was very spacious. Rode Trip had plenty of room among the likely abandoned lobster pots. There were also clam cars in the cove; shallow boxes floated in the water to reseed clams. In the corner of the cove was a dilapidated house. This was interesting because it was actually portrayed on the chart in the guidebook as a shipwreck...possibly a prior house boat?
Soaring overhead not only in the cove but along our travels throughout the day were bald eagles. What a sight! (Though a bit camera shy.)
Great Wass Island is owned by the Nature Conservancy. We were able to tie the kayaks to a nearby cliff, conveniently a previous visitor had left a rope there for the taking, and scramble up the cliff which at the top led right to a Conservancy maintained trail.
We started our hike very near Point 4 "Your are Here" on the map, and continued along to Little Cape Point Trail to loop our way back via the point. Thank goodness it was low tide or we may have had trouble getting around the point.
Great Wass has an abundance of Jack Pines. We learned from the Conservancy guide that this location is the southernmost limit for these trees in Maine. Jack Pines are considered fire-dependent requiring heat of fire to open their cones for reproduction. But the trees on Great Wass are thriving and fortunately for Great Wass no forest fires are necessary!
We hiked through a bog and had a close encounter with carnivorous Pitcher Plants!
I had never seen such an intriguing plant! They were proving to be good fly hunters.
We reached the beach! It was loaded with tide pools.
But no critters, only this lonely little crab.
Trail markers were hard to spot as we rounded the point. We made our way back to Mud Hole Trail and back to our now floating kayaks (still tied to the tree, no worries!)
Can any of our nature fans identify this flora/fungi? It looked like a carpet of snow...not surprising given the cooler temperatures downeast.
Our additional info about the Conservancy was found here: http://www.virtualbirder.com/vbirder/onLoc/onLocDirs/DOWNEAST/bg/GWI.html
We popped open the bubbly (thanks to Christy and Steve for providing this cheer!) and feasted once again on fresh mussels and...clams!
The water inside Mud Hole was eerily still, the boat barely moved through the night. We peeked outside before bed and marveled at the clear sky lit with thousands of stars. There were fish jumping all around the boat, otherwise, not a sound. It was too chilly to spend much time stargazing. We bundled up and slept very well during our nights at Mud Hole. And the best part was in the morning there were NO lobster boats to wake us. There were pots, but I'm not convinced anyone was checking on them because I didn't see or hear a lobster boat during our entire stay at this anchorage.
We started our day by exploring Mud Hole via kayak. I'm proud to share that I am fully self-sufficient with the kayak after only two weeks of living aboard Rode Trip. The kayak is also my preferred method of transportation to/from shore vs the dinghy which is much more strenuous to paddle and maneuver. I can now get the kayak into and out of the water from the deck of Rode Trip. I can also get into and out of the kayak without use of the ladder, as well as in and out on rocky shorelines, and scrambling down from seaweed covered cliffs. My stronger, but quite possibly less limber husband was very impressed!
Although it sounds quite literally like a mud hole, this cove was very spacious. Rode Trip had plenty of room among the likely abandoned lobster pots. There were also clam cars in the cove; shallow boxes floated in the water to reseed clams. In the corner of the cove was a dilapidated house. This was interesting because it was actually portrayed on the chart in the guidebook as a shipwreck...possibly a prior house boat?
Soaring overhead not only in the cove but along our travels throughout the day were bald eagles. What a sight! (Though a bit camera shy.)
Great Wass Island is owned by the Nature Conservancy. We were able to tie the kayaks to a nearby cliff, conveniently a previous visitor had left a rope there for the taking, and scramble up the cliff which at the top led right to a Conservancy maintained trail.
We started our hike very near Point 4 "Your are Here" on the map, and continued along to Little Cape Point Trail to loop our way back via the point. Thank goodness it was low tide or we may have had trouble getting around the point.
Great Wass has an abundance of Jack Pines. We learned from the Conservancy guide that this location is the southernmost limit for these trees in Maine. Jack Pines are considered fire-dependent requiring heat of fire to open their cones for reproduction. But the trees on Great Wass are thriving and fortunately for Great Wass no forest fires are necessary!
We hiked through a bog and had a close encounter with carnivorous Pitcher Plants!
I had never seen such an intriguing plant! They were proving to be good fly hunters.
We reached the beach! It was loaded with tide pools.
But no critters, only this lonely little crab.
Trail markers were hard to spot as we rounded the point. We made our way back to Mud Hole Trail and back to our now floating kayaks (still tied to the tree, no worries!)
Can any of our nature fans identify this flora/fungi? It looked like a carpet of snow...not surprising given the cooler temperatures downeast.
Our additional info about the Conservancy was found here: http://www.virtualbirder.com/vbirder/onLoc/onLocDirs/DOWNEAST/bg/GWI.html4 Comments
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From stephanie on Jul 15, 2012
Hi Sue - so nice to receive you and your husband's comments! Please keep following and keep the recommendadtions coming! We've heard many good reviews and encouragement to travel toward Nova Scotia, however we are southbound (or westbound not entirely clear to me) as we have visits along the coast and two weddings to attend farther south this fall. -
From stephanie on Jul 15, 2012
No allergies! Even on the hiking trails allergies haven't been a probelm, though we are fully stocked with benedryl just in case! -
From Sue McGown on Jul 14, 2012
Hi!! I love reading your blog and seeing the pics. My husband Grey and I are good friends of Mark Sundstrom & he told us of your adventure.Mark would be proud of your kyaking skills. I look forward to following your journey. I spent summers till I got married in Maine and love the little harbors all up the coast. looks like your route will take you to Nova Scotia and that is great! A lot like Maine but with fewer people but it looks like overcrowding is not a problem in Mud Hole.All along the northeast coast of Nova Scotia is spectacular.Keep blogging and we wish you well and hope the weather is good too. Get out your woolies!!! Sue -
From Grandma on Jul 14, 2012
It is great to travel along with you on this grand adventure. Are you away from land enough to notice improvement in allergies?