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This summer I participated in a backpacking trip in the Nez Perce National Forest along the Selway River. Beth’s Grandmother and her siblings had grown up in the wilderness at Selway Lodge, and her Mother (Elna) had spent several summers working in the Nez Perce wilderness. Her uncle had also spend the better part of 40 years as a hunting guide there as well. Needless to say, there is a history for the family in the area. I was very happy to be invited on this trip, which included Beth, her mother and father (Otto), and myself.

Monday morning we woke at sunrise, around 4:30. After a quick, light breakfast we piled into Beth’s Grandmother’s car and took the 45 minute drive to the trail-head. When we arrived around 6:00, it was still very cool and damp out. It was an excellent time to be hiking so we wasted no time getting started. By 9:00 we had gone about 5 miles and had discarded our warm layers and pants legs; it was warming quickly. Before we even stopped for lunch, we had already reached the spot where we originally intented to camp. It was good that we were making quick time on the first day, because the next two days were forcasted to have temperatures reaching into the 90’s.

The trail was relatively flat, with very few difficult areas. The river was high and we saw a small group of rafters floating down the river, loaded with what appeared to be scientific equipment. It was amazing how clear the water was. In calm spots you could easily see to the bottom, even in deep and narrow areas. The sky was perfectly clear, and the day was warm. We stopped often for water, and made a stop for lunch around 1:00. By that time we had traveled over 12 miles. Again, we were making very good time for the first day. We chose our camping spot for the evening (another 5 miles down the trail) and after our break continued on.

The mountains on either side of the river became steeper at this point, and in one spot the trail migrated as high as 600 to 800 feet above the river. Still, the trail remained relatively easy, though you would not want to trip and fall; it was a very steep slope down the trail. I was surprised how dry it was. The remains more or less on the south-facing side of the Selway river, so there is little protection from the sun, and with the slopes being so steep, there is no purchase for pools of water. Small streams or creeks would cross the trail periodically, and the vegetation would be noticeable more lush and green in their immediate vicinity. These were excellent sources of water; there was no need to treat it for drinking. Oh, and there were absolutely no mosquitoes.

By about 4:00 we had reached a nice flat open area by the river that looked to be an excellent place to set up camp. Plus we were pretty tired from having been up since 4:30am and hiking 17 miles. There was a large group of rafters camped on a sand bar on the opposite side of the river, but there was nobody else in camping spot we had chosen. It was very quiet and peaceful. After setting up camp, eating dinner, and cleaning up there was some time before sunset to set by the river and take it easy. We left the rain sheet off of our tent (no chance of rain) to see the stars and let air flow around us while we slept. Being exhausted, we went to bed not long after sunset.

The second morning was another an early start. Sunrise; by 4:30 we were up and having breakfast. Not long after 5:00 we had our packs ready and were on the trail. Again, we knew it was going to be a hot day so we wanted to get as much of our hiking done as possible before it warmed up. The goal was to reach Moos Creek Ranger Station around noon-time and spend a little time there before continuing on. Beth’s mom had been stationed there for several summers when she worked in the Nez Perce National Forest during college. The trail and terrain was not significantly different from the day before, a little more step and rugged.

We reached Moose Creek around 11:00 and hiked along the air field to the far end where the ranger station was located. Although it may seem unlikely, there is an airfield at the wilderness Ranger Station and we saw a couple small planes land while we were there. People fly in in their personal airplanes, camp, and then fly out. Plane camping as opposed to car camping. The airstrip is also used by the Forest Service to supply the ranger station. The ‘compound’ around the ranger station consisted of the Ranger Station building itself(it’s on the national registry of historic places), 2 large cabins, a large bunk house, several smaller 2-person bunkhouses, and a sizable horse and mule corral with a barn. We saw more people here than the entire time on the trail. There were trail crew and other workers staying at the Ranger station, as well as a Ranger who managed the Station. A group of rafters who had camped by the river and made the walk up also passed through. We spent about an hour and a half at the Moose Creek Station, including some time eating our lunch, and got back on the trail.

By this time the temperature had risen into the 90’s. This is also where the trail took a turn due south, so there was very little shelter from the sun. This was by far the hottest part of the trail and it also became noticeably more difficult. It was steeper on either side of the trail and more steep spots and loose rock. There was also very little shelter from the Sun. About every mile or so the trail would turn inward away from the river to cross a stream or creek. We took breaks here, getting cold water and cooling off in the shade. Some breaks were longer than others. A couple times I went as far to remove my shirt, soak it in the creek, wring it out and put it back on before heading back out on the trail. This kept me very cool, until my shirt dried out (which was quickly). Trees also appeared much more sporadically; for awhile there was only a patch of shade every 300 feet or so. Other than that it was hiking in the direct sun in 90-degree heat. This was certainly the hottest section of trail of the entire hike.

Camping spots were much more sparse as well due to the more rugged terrain. We finally reached our camping site for the second night, Rattlesnake Bar (fortunately we did not see a single rattlesnake the entire trip). A trail crew was camping there as well, but they had not yet returned from their work site (they were fixing a washed-out bridge we passed just before getting to the campsite). This was right by the river, and I went for a swim before doing anything else. It was the most refreshing swim I had had in a very long time. The heat and 14 miles of hiking had really worn us out, much more-so than the previous day. After picking camping spots and setting up tents, it was time for dinner, which tasted much better than the night before despite being the same re-hydrated meals as the night before.

While we were cleaning up camp one of the trail crew stopped by to let us know a bear was hanging out across the river, knocking rocks down the slope into the river. Beth and I walked over to where they were watching nearby. The bear was across the river (about 30 feet across) and about 50 feet up the slope. It was the north side so the trees were thicker, but we still caught a few glimpses of him popping unto openings between trees. The bear was a cinnamon colored Black Bear, not a Grizzly (Grizzlies are not known to be present in this part of the wilderness). After about 10 minutes of bumping around in the woods, the bear roamed up the slope and was out of site.

We made sure to hang our food in a tree before going turning in for the evening.

Once again we made an early start on the 3rd day, quickly having breakfast, picking up camp, and hitting the trail by 5:30. It was a cool morning once again, but we know that would not last. There was nearly a 40 degree temperature difference between afternoon and night time temperatures. The goal today was to reach Selway Lodge where Beth’s grandmother hand grown up and where much of her childhood was spent. Her great Grandfather had constructed the original lodge at the location, which is still in use as the main house on the property. There was a lot of condensation this morning, and after walking through an overgrown section of trail I was wet from the waste down. Fortunately by this happened the sun was higher in the sky and it was beginning to warm up. The terrain was starting to be less extreme at this point, and we crossed many flat, open areas before and after crossing Bear Creek.

We reached Selway Lodge much earlier than we had originally anticipated. Beth’s mother had made arrangements with the caretakers of the lodge for a visit, so there was some concern about our early arrival. In any event, we crossed the bridge over the Selway and Beth’s mom entered the gate to the lodge to see if anyone was around. We waited outside. A few minutes Elan returned with the caretaker and we were invited in.

We left our packs outside the grounds and were lead to the porch in front of the lodge. We had a nice discussion with the caretaker and his wife before we were shown around the lodge. Most of the buildings had been fixed up on the inside, and power was provided the buildings by an impressive solar system on the south-facing roof of the barn. Horses grazed outside the fence in the pasture / airstrip. There was also an impressive gravity-feed water system that was fed by a creek up-hill from the lodge. The caretaker was also very good in explaining the history of the place and current happenings around the lodge. Overall it was very impressive and I’m glad we were invited in to see.

After departing the lodge and thanking the caretakers for their hospitality, we left or packs by the trail and took a short detour to a grove of Cedar trees about 2 miles from the Lodge that the caretakers had recommended. Since we were only a mile from the airstrip where we would be camping that night, we decided it would be a nice way to spend the remainder of the afternoon. I took off my hiking boots to give my feet a break and hiked in and out in my Tevas. The Cedar grove was right along the creek and very pretty It was a much wetter and heavily forested than most of the trail we had hiked previously. The creek and the narrow strip of flat land around it created a cooler, damper microcosm. It was very pretty.

We returned and picked up our packs and hiked the last mile to our final campsite at Shearer Air Strip. A plane had been arranged to land the following morning, pick us up, and take us back to the relative civilization of Grangeville, Idaho. Our campsite was right next to a bend in the river, about a mile from where the airplane would be picking us up the next morning. Considering we had hiked 45 miles in 3 days, I was none the worse for wear. I was tired, no doubt, but I had no sore muscles or joints. My feet on the other hand were swollen, and my left big toe had swollen up and the toenail had turned purple. Yikes – Too much time in those hot boots.

We woke up a little later than prior days, maybe around 5:30. The plane was scheduled to arrive at 8:00, and the pilot had said he wouldn’t be waiting long if we were not waiting; the winds that are brought on by late-morning sun make flying a small plane difficult. We wanted to make sure we were waiting when the plane arrived, so we ate breakfast and packed quickly. We walked the mile to the airfield and were waiting for the plane to arrive by 7:40. The plane arrived just after 8:00. The pilot was very particular about wight distribution, and seats were assigned based on body weight. Are packs were placed in the tale, and we centered the plane according to our assignments. The interior of the plane was not much larger than a mid-sized sedan.

It took less than 10 minutes to load the plane and climb into our seats before we the engine was fired up and we were bumping up the a slope at the end of the airfield for takeoff. At the top of the airfield, the pilot gunned the engine, turned down the airfield and we were on our way. The plane was in the air in about 10 seconds. Despite the size of the plan and the nature of dirt airfield (it was really just a mowed spot in a forest meadow) it was the smoothest takeoff you could imagine. It was a pleasant flight back and the pilot took the time to point out landmarks as we passed back over the mountains we had just hiked through. We covered the distance of our 3-day, 45-mile hike in a scenic 15 minutes.

It only took 30 minutes and we were landing at the small (but paved) municipal airport in Grangeville. Although it was nice to be back and having a big breakfast at the HiLltop Cafe, it was very satisfying to have hiked that distance and enjoyed the remoteness of the wilderness. There are few opportunities on the East Coast to be as easily away from the influence of humans, so this was a special experience for me.

1-29-10: Today we traveled back to San Jose in preparation for our departure home. We woke up early (5:30) to catch the Direct Bus back to San Jose. This was much less expensive than the van service we took on the way in. The bus ride from Montezuma to San Jose only cost about $12.

The first bus picked us up around 6:30 at the bus stop in the village, then took us to the ferry terminal near Paquera. This trip took well over an hour because the bus made several stops along the way to pick up additional passengers. The roads, as mentioned before, were also not very good. At the ferry terminal, the bus dropped us off and we all walked on the ferry to Puntarenas. This ferry was smaller than the one we had taken in, but the ride took about the same amount of time (one hour). After departing the ferry on the Puntarenas side, we boarded a larger, nicer bus. It had air conditioning, but no bathroom (I did not drink any water during the bus trip). The final leg of the bus ride back to San Jose took about 2 and a half hours, and we arrived at the Coca Cola bus station in down-town San Jose around 1:30.

The Coca Cola bus station is a very busy place, and in a bad part of town. However, if you’re aware of what’s going on around you and keep an eye on your things, you shouldn’t have any problems. We walked about 8 blocks back to the Best Western (a cab would have been too complicated with 7 people). The rest of the afternoon we relaxed at the hotel drinking water and beer, and eating food (we didn’t eat anything but a few snacks the entire day.) Everyone went to bed pretty early because we all had early flight in the morning, and needed extra time to get through security.

1-30-10: This was officially the last day in Costa Rica. It was a very early day; we got up at 4:30 to get the 5:00 shuttle to the airport. After arriving at the airport we paid or $26 exit fee and made our way through security; this took about an hour and a half. Then we boarded the plan, and made our way to Miami. We had a 4 hour layover in Miami, but about half of that time was spent getting in through customs, then back in through security. We met a really nice and interesting guy at the Sam Adams pub near our departing terminal; he bough us a beer and told us some interesting stories about his travels around the world doing development work.

The flight to Logan was uneventful, but we arrived early. This allowed us to catch an earlier bus back to Portland; instead of getting home at 1:30 am, we would get back 2 hours earlier. This was a nice set of events. Our bus driver back to Portland was very funny. There was no snow when we arrived back in Portland, due to all the rain that had been received the previous Monday. This was good, because we didn’t have to dig Beth’s car out of the snow. Arrived back in Hallowell around 11:30, and went to bed almost immediately, tired after a long day of travel.

Up around 7:00. The itinerary for the day was to take a boat trip out to Isla Tortuga for snorkeling swimming and sight seeing. Had some coffee at the hotel, then headed down the hill for some breakfast. I had a delicious meal of fried eggs with an aromatic tomato sauce, cheese, and a freshly made facasha.

We purchased a tour from Montezuma Expeditions. They would take us on a fast boat to Isla Tortuga, take us snorkeling, feed us lunch, give us some time to hang out on the beach, then take us back to Montezuma. Everyone getting on the boat for the tour met at the office in town around 9:15. Then we all walked down to the beach, got on the boat, and were off by 9:30. It was a moderately windy day, so there was a lot of chop on the 1 hour trip out to the island, but it was not unpleasant. The boat dropped the lunch cooks off on Isla Tortuga beach, and took the rest of us to a reef close by to go snorkeling.


I did not have much success with the snorkel but, the flippers were great. Water kept getting into the nose seal and air tube, plus it was my first time snorkeling so it was a little claustrophobic. I ditched the goggles and snorkel on the boat and went back out for a swim with the flippers. After that, I got back on the boat and took some photographs of the scenery while everyone was in the water and there was room to move around.

After snorkeling, the boat took the group back to the island for lunch. The beach on Isal Tortuga was perfect; whit coral sands, turquoise waters, nested in a grove of palm trees. Lunch was good; fish, red sauce, grilled potatoes and beer (cerveza). After lunch we had a couple hours to explore the beach and do some swimming. I took a lot of photographs, then went swimming, and then swimming again. The crew called us back to the boat when it was time to go and everyone got back on for the trip back to Montezuma. The wind had died down by late afternoon when we headed back so the ride back only took about 45 minutes.



After arriving back in Montezuma and getting off the boat we went to the market for some water, beer, and food. Then, back to the hotel for some rest and re-hydration. A half dozen or so White Faced Capuchin Monkeys were hanging around the hotel grounds. The stuck around for about an hour and I got some good photographs; they were not afraid to get within 10 feet of us.

We prepared and consumed a really nice dinner at the hotel. Cheese, bread, olives, fruit. We passed plates around the table and shared bottles of wine. There were a lot of guests in the common area that night, so we stayed up socializing with them before going to bed.

Had a nice breakfast at the hotel, then jumped on the local bus to begin the trip to Santa Teresa. The plan was to hang out on the beach, watch the surfers, have some lunch, do some swimming, and watch the sunset (the beach faces west across the Pacific). We got on the bus at the bust stop in Montezuma, then switched over to a larger bus in the interior town of Cobano. After about an hour on the 2nd bus, we entered the town of Santa Teresa, and the bus dropped us off in front of the path leading to the beach.

The waves and currents at the beach were very strong; small children would have trouble in this water. The surfers were out about 300 feet from the shore where the waves coming off the Pacific were breaking. We swam, relaxed in the shade, had beer and food. I turned pink as a cooked lobster. The sunset was quite spectacular; the sun turned bright orange before dipping below the ocean.

We left fairly quickly after the sun went down to walk and find some food in town. We walked along the main (well, the only) road through town. The dust was quite bad. Winter is the dry season in Costa Rica and none of the roads are paved. I had a delicious meal of marinated strip-steak with french fries made from plantains (maybe the best french fries I’ve ever had). After dinner we got a Tourismo van (essentially a taxi – there were 8 of us heading back) to take us back to Montezuma. The van ride back was only about $5 per person all the way back to Montezuma. Went to bed pretty soon after we got back to the hotel.

I was a little foggy this morning on account of the beach party the night before (too much wine). Walked to town for a delicious breakfast burrito and fresh fruit juice at one of the cafes in the village. After that, I had to go back to the hotel and sleep for another couple hours; I felt much better after the nap.

I stuck around the hotel for the rest of the afternoon, writing notes about the vacation so far and taking a few pictures. Generally taking it easy, with no shirt on, wearing flip-flops. The daytime temperature was in the 90s the entire time. Later in the afternoon I went for a walk down the shore away from town with Beth and her dad. The shore in the opposite direction from the beach was very rock, and large waves crashed into them created a lot of sea spray. The rock in the area is all volcanic; dark and jagged.

We walked down to town for dinner at restaurant that would be having the final playoff football game on a giant projection screen (Saints vs. Vikings). I had a really delicious meal: Tropical Chicken. It was a piece of grilled chicken with a whole lot of fresh fruit and a fruit sauce. Watermelon, pineapple, etc. The saints won the game and will be going to the Super Bowl against the Colts.

After dinner we bought some beers at the grocery and sat along the street. There were street performers. Drummers, guitarists, people throwing flaming batons. Early to bed.

I felt better in the morning. With all the traveling complete, this was the true start of the vacation.

We had a simple breakfast of fresh fruit and bread, purchased at the grocery in town. Walked into town to get some water to re-hydrate myself. After that, we changed into our beach clothes and headed to the beach for some sun and surf. The ocean was as warm as bath water. Waves were rolling in and breaking close to shore, knocking me under water a couple times when I was not paying attention. Beth and her Father stayed in the water for a solid 2 hours; I was in and out during our time at the beach. I spent more time in the water than I have since I was a child. I loved it.

Before leaving the beach Beth and I went for a short walk farther down the beach, then we all had a beer and some snacks at a little cantine that was right along the beach. After that we made our way back to the hotel through town. The street was lined with vendors and their tables displaying arts and crafts for sale. Lots of hand-made jewelery.

Later in the evening we had cocktails and made dinner back at the hotel, which had a nice shared kitchen for the guests to use. We were invited to a beach party by one of the workers at the hotel. Several other guests also came along, and we all shared a van down the road to the party (it was a couple miles away). There was a DJ, a bonfire on the beach, and lots of drinking at the party. The beach was very pretty at night. After a few hours, everyone piled back into the van and headed back to town on the bumpy dirt road.

1-21-10: This was the travel day from Maine. Beth and I took her car to Portland, parked and took a bus to Logan Airport. Boarded an airplane to Houston, then changed planes and continued on to San Jose, Costa Rica. Arrived at San Jose International around 10:30 pm. Beth’s sister Hadley and her friend Allena had already arrived from the west coast of the US. We waited for Beth’s parents to arrive outside the airport. It was pleasantly warm; maybe in the mid-70s. After Beth’s parent’s (Elna and Otto) arrived we took the hotel shuttle to the Best Western in central San Jose. After checking in, we got a cab (van) to takes us to a place for some food and beer. San Jose was not an inviting place at night. All the shops and store fronts at the street level were closed and covered with iron gates. There were prostitutes on various street corners and there was hardly any traffic (no people on foot, cars, or otherwise). After eating, the van took us back to the hotel and we all went to bed.

1-22-10: I woke up early, around 7:30, excited to do some exploring in San Jose. After some breakfast, I walked up to the upper balconies of the hotel ( it was a 4-floor building) to see the view of the city and the surrounding mountains. It was quite spectacular. San Jose is like nothing you would ever see in North America. Tin roofs, concrete buildings, narrow streets, no big cars. Next, we took a trip out into the streets. This being mys first time in the city, I left my camera behind. The reading I had done about the city indicated petty crime, such as pick-pocketing, was coming so I was not comfortable taking it out into the streets. The city was loaded with people during the day, a stark contrast to the night before. All the stores were open, selling shoes, bread, to leather goods, designer jeans, and many other things I probably didn’t see. The sidewalks were very narrow, only wide enough for two people to pass on a side, and the streets were all one lane, and loaded with taxis, vans, and delivery trucks. On the sidewalk vendors were selling fresh avocados, news papers, fruit, and lottery tickets.

Two blocks from the Best Western was the central market of San Jose. This was a large airplane hanger -like structure packed with…everything. It was full of vendors. Fresh meats, vegetables, fruits, leather goods, souvenirs, spices, herbs.. If you wanted a prepared meal there were plenty of tiny little food stalls where you could pull up a stool and get something to eat. Think of it as an ad-hoc supermarket. If your local grocery store were made up of 100 different independent vendors, each specializing in a certain product, it might be like the San Jose central market.

The van we rented to Montezuma arrived a little after 1:30 pm.. The van was nice because you could open the window and take pictures of the countryside. The ride down to the Pacific coast consisted of a lot of mountains and steep switch-back roads. Some of the corners were a little harry; no guard rails, lots of other traffic, and long tips to the bottom. But our driver was good, and so was his van. We reached Puntarenas around 4:30. The van dropped us off and we walked on the ferry that would take us across the Golfo deNicoya to the Nacoya peninsula. The ferry ride took about an hour, and was timed perfectly, as it allowed for a spectacular sunset.



After dark, the ferry arrived and we got into another van that would take us the rest of the way to Montezuma. It took about an hour over dirt and (possibly) paved roads. The van dropped us off right in front of our hotel around 8:00. After checking in at the Luna Lena, we dropped our stuff off and walked down the hill into town to get something to eat. I’m not sure if it was the water or the heat, but I did not feel well and headed back up to the hotel after dinner and went to bed.

I spent his past weekend in Baxter State Park. This was a trip to spend a couple of night camps camping with friends, and hike to Baxter Peak—Maine’s highest elevation—at the top of Katahdin.

Friday afternoon we stuffed my car with gear and the bodies of the five people making the trip, and headed up to the Park from Augusta. After three hours of travel, we finally arrived at the park gate to check in. At this time we were informed that the trails at the top of Katahdin were closed due to the presence of snow and ice. (I was not able to see this clearly on the drive in because the top of the mountain was obscured in clouds). Although it was only the first weekend of October, cold air coming down from Canada and moisture moving up the East Coast had combined to create sleet, snow, and freezing rain at elevations above about 4,000 feet. We were not discouraged, however, as most of the Park’s remaining mountain trails were still open, leaving many options for the next two days.

On Saturday morning we made our way to Sentinel Mountain. From the top there are views of Katahdin, Mt. OJI, and Doubletop Mountain on the northern side, and views of the North Branch of the Penobscot from the South side. It was cool and damp that day, and we were caught in a couple light showers. After, we headed back to the campsite for hot drinks and a shorter walk to Little Abol Falls. After dark we enjoyed a camp fire for a couple hours.

Sunday morning was clear and cool. A Perfect day for hiking, and we decided to hike up to Chimney Pond. It was a just over three miles from Roaring Brook to Chimney Pond. As we made our way up, the peaks began appearing through the trees, and the snow and ice was very obviously present. Before we started the hike I had suggested we should go up anyway, at least until it became to treacherous. Fortunately, the others were able to convince me why this was a bad idea. When we arrived at Chimney Pond, which is almost completely surrounded by the mountain, the ice-coated peaks, slopes, and cliffs encompassed almost the entire field of vision. This was a very spectacular view.

After stopping for a very chilly lunch (the wind was blowing down off the mountain), we made our way back down by way of Blueberry Knoll. There was a brief shower of sleet, which was brief enough at 10 minutes to be exciting, but not bad enough to make us hurry back down the trail. I spent about 15 minutes at Blueberry Knoll, completely alone, viewing my surroundings. It was probably one of the most relaxing experiences I’ve had in many months.

We finally made it back to my car around 3:30, and began the 3 hour drive home, which seemed very tedious. Although there was a feeling of melancholy when we arrived home, the satisfaction of having made this trip and seeing some beautiful scenery was the dominant emotion.

I’m looking forward to doing this again next year!

I returned the other day from my vacation to Oregon. I spent a week there, saw the cities of Eugene and Portland, as well as mountains, the coast, and the Columbia River Gorge.

Oregon is a very scenic and beautiful place. I hope to return there again some day.

I’ve published photographs from the trip here:
Oregon 2008

The other weekend I went out to Monhegan island for a day with Beth. It was an hour boat ride out to the island, on a very foggy, choppy day. Because of the fog, there wasn’t much to see on the ride out. Once we arrived in the island, however, the fog was not as noticeable, and made much of the scenery quite spectacular. After leaving the boat, we walked into the village, where we found a cafe to have a cup of tea, and check the map to decide where we wanted to go. Since the return boat would be leaving in 5 hours, having a reasonably good plan for what we wanted to do in that time was essential.

Monhegan village is a very unique place. The largest buildings in the village are the two hotels, and there are several B&Bs and rental cottages as well. There are also a few places to eat and several art galleries. The homes of the year-round residents, all 70 people, and private summer homes make up the majority of buildings in and round the village. Besides that, there’s one of everything: One store, one school, one church, one fire truck, a small public library, and a lighthouse. The island is also entirely privately owned, so, with the exception of the town dock, there are no public amenities like restrooms or parks. There are plenty of trails that circle the island and provide access to the uninhabited parts of the island, leading to points of interest. There are also a couple miles of narrow dirt road that run through the village, and park benches by the lighthouse. There are no cars on the island, but the locals and island business use old trucks to haul traps, equipment, and gear from one place to another.

After tea, we headed out of the village for the trails that lead through Cathedral Woods to the ocean-facing side of the island. Tens of thousands of years of ocean waves have carved steep cliffs into this side of the island. The walk is not terribly difficult, and the views are well worth the time and effort it takes to get to the far side of the island. The trails are not well marked, so we got off track a couple times, but in general it’s not easy to get lost on an island. The shore trail eventually looped back to the village, where we walked up to the lighthouse and did a little more exploring around the village. There was enough time to head down to Lobster Cove as well, where there are rusted remains of an old tug-boat washed up on shore.

On our way back to the village from Lobster Cove, the fog started to clear and the sun came out. This was nice; it went from being damp and cool and warm and sunny in a matter of minutes. We grabbed a beer from the dock-side market, and sat in the grass in front of the Island Inn, watching the ferry unload. Finally it was time to climb aboard and head back to the mainland. As the boat pulled away from the island, it entered dense fog once again, and the harbor and village houses slowly disappeared into the mist.

This is a trip I would recommend to anyone, as the island is small enough to explore in a day and has plenty of things to see. If it’s not foggy, the ride to and from the island is very scenic. A round trip boat ride costs $30 per person from Port Clyde, though other boat services leave from Boothbay Harbor and Round Pond during the tourist season. Once out there, your only way to get around is on foot, which considering the island is only 1.7 miles end-to-end, is not an unreasonable proposition for most people. Purchasing a map of the island (reasonably priced at $1) when you pick up your boat ticket is essential if this is your first time to the island and you’re not staying the night.

Highlights:
- The steep, rocky cliffs on the South-East (ocean-facing) side of the island.
- Monhegan Village.
- The tug-boat wreck near lobster cove.
- Having a beer on the ferry ride home.

Some of my better photographs are below, but more are available to the public on my flickr:
Monhegn Island Photo Set

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