Circumnavigating Mount Kineo

   About 15 years ago, I looked at a map and thought "Huh, Mount Kineo (one of Maine's geographic wonders) is less than a thumbs width (about 3/4 mile) from a launch site.  We could do that."

A map at the launch area

   And so we packed up a Naturebound canoe, a Wilderness Systems Cape Horn kayak, two small kids, a bunch of paddles and life jackets and headed for Rockwood, a tiny town on the western shore of Moosehead Lake.  When we got there the wind was blowing and large white-capped waves were funneling through the squeeze point in the big lake.  It didn't take but a glance to see that there was no way this particular set of paddlers and boats was going to make it to Kineo.
  Instead of attempting the crossing, we paddled into Barrows Cove and explored there.

  Then a few weeks ago, while paddling on Mathew's Cove in Moosehead Lake, I saw Mt. Kineo in the distance and thought, "This would have been the perfect day to do that paddle."  It was a still day, and, unlike years ago, even if the wind picked up we had seaworthy kayaks and spray skirts.  But the day was more than half over, and there was work to get to at home.  

   This Friday was another calm day, so we packed up our Current Designs Sirocco and Wilderness Systems Zephyr, spray skirts, life jackets, paddles and assorted gear and headed once again to Rockwood.

   At the launch we discovered a dozen or so hikers hoping to catch the Kineo shuttle, a pontoon boat which makes the crossing about hourly in season. 

  But we didn't have to wait, we could take right off for Kineo.

One the way there!

   Mount Kineo has hosted a huge resort hotel between 1848 through 1938.  Presently, it's home to some lovely, grand cottages, a golf course (with a restaurant open to all), and a fairly large structure which was merely the employee housing for the old hotel.

The employee housing is the palest building

   We paddled into shallow waters of Frog Pond(actually a bay), admiring the views.

Mark paddles by a shallow area in Frog Pond.

  At the back of that bay is the narrow causeway which connects Kineo with land.  Kineo is not an island, but a penninsula.

Boats beside the causeway

  On the North Bay side of Kineo the mount is revealed in full splendor.  The top is about 760 feet (45 sea kayak lengths) from lake level.  The sheer cliff must be at least 700 feet straight up and portions are concave.

It's hard to capture how grand it was:
The cliff alone against the sky:

A concave section with Mark for scale.

Can you even see my tiny yellow boat in this photo?

We did not know it at the time, but that small bay below the cliff is nearly 250 feet deep.

  Mt. Kineo is composed of rhyolite, a form of flint.  Flint from the mountain is found throughout New England and beyond, showing its value as a trade item to Native Americans.   A few pictures of the rock face close up:

A cedar clings to the cliff

Rocks at the base

  We stopped for lunch at Hardscrabble Point, a backcountry camp site with picnic tables, fire ring, pit toilet and space for several tents.  These sites are first-come, first-served and shortly after we left, we passed a dozen canoes headed there for the night.

At the campsite

   The rest of the paddle was upwind in choppy water, enlivened by views of hikers on the shoreline trail or heading up the hill. 

   Now you might think finally getting to Kineo,  sans two children would be a "Cats in the Cradle"  event. 
  But it wasn't, because that misadventure was not the end of paddling with our kids.  First one child then the other grew into individual kayaks.  Our trips shifted from short paddles on lakes and streams to short paddles on the sea, to visiting Ironbound and Isle au Haut.  Along the way we explored lighthouses and forts, sea caves and islands.  We've paddled with whales, dolphins, seals, alligators, manatees, and much more.  There were also non-kayak adventures: biking, hiking, museums, attractions, family, friends, school, scouts etc.  The years have gone by in a flash, but they were traded for some wonderful memories and two incredible adults with their own lives and interests.  
   Instead of being melancholy, we were thankful we'd had the opportunity to see another Maine marvel and looking ahead to our next adventure.

More information:  Hiking Mount Kineo
                             Backcountry Camping: Maine Department of Agriculture Conservation and Forestry
                             Mount Kineo Golf Course, Shuttle and Restaurant

Summary:  Launch:  Paved, about thirty spaces, half trailer length.  Pit Toilets.  Distance, 7.8 miles, about 3 hours with 3 stops.  Moosehead Lake is a part of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail. 

Greenville (another community on Moosehead Lake) Police on ATV patrol

Castine: Smith Cove with a side visit to a regatta

Here are four highlights of a late July sea kayaking trip at Castine harbor, Maine.

Not much of Middle Ground was showing

The first highlight was arriving at low tide, which put us ten feet closer to the bottom.  Sea stars, crabs and other under water life was clearly visibly, as was Middle Ground, a high spot in the center of a deep channel.

   Our second highlight was visiting the wreck of the Gardiner G Deering on a foggy morning.  A sister ship, the Carroll A Deering was found off Cape Hadaras in 1921 with its sails set and crew missing. The Ghost Ship of the Outer Banks  tells its tale.

Paddling through the inside, seeing more beams below water

   But the Gardiner G Deering met a more prosaic ending.  Built in 1903 and used in the timber trade, it was simply abandoned in the 1930's when shipping via sailing ships was no longer competitive.  After being abandoned, the double hulled vessel was sometimes as a dwelling until the upper levels were burned on July Fourth in the 1940's. 

Nice detail of the iron bars

   Seventy years later, pieces of the Gardiner Deerings double hull's strong timbers remain, intriguing visitors. 

Mill Pond Island (At some tides), taken from the top of the dam

Our third highlight was the charming tide mill pond at the end of Smith Cove, complete with its own island.

Coming up on it at low tide, I could see the dam exterior was just small rocks.  It looked like a simple do it yourself project: build a dam from nearby rock and have free power provided by tides.  But from the top, seeing the 10-15 foot width, made it apparent that this was no simple task, but represented hundreds of hours stacking rocks, not to mention designing the actual mill mechanisms.  This dam once hosted  a saw mill and a grist mill capable of grinding one hundred bushels a day;  it could operate 16 of 24 hours in the day. However, by the time an of  1868 Hydrographic Survey, it was idle.

The current dam, falls to the right

  "Free power" has long intrigued Mainers.  Winnegance, on the Bath river was site of the most tide mills in Maine.  In this issue of the Tide Mill Times, John Goff talks of growing up along the Kennebec River and discovering its history in tide mills. 

And our fourth highlight:    As we came back to the main channel we noticed many sailboats heading out the Bagaduce River to Penobscot Bay.  I wondered for a moment if they might be reenacting great paintings of the Penobscot Expedition Naval disaster (with a retreating cloud bank filling in for flames) which took place July 24-August 12 1779. 

Penobscot Expedition by Dominic Serres

Our view heading out

  But it turns out it was a more festive event, for which many boats and even the sun appeared - the fifteenth Castine Classic Yacht Race, a 19.6 mile race and the first of three day races.  The other two races are the Camden Classic Yacht Race and the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta. Shortly before noon cannon shots began to be fired in the vicinity of the harbor buoy, signalling the start of the event. 

Milling about by the Harbor Buoy (to the left)  Dyces Head is in the background.

Taking off

Several boats in action

Summary:  Launch 9AM from the Castine Town Dock.  Town Facility flush toilets nearby, three hour parking only. (Parking available on lots and side streets in town.)  Low about 9:20 AM, finish about 12:30 PM, down Smith Cove and back, out to Holbrook Island for lunch.
 Castine Kayak operates tours in Castine Harbor.  When we arrived we met a woman who was excited to be heading out on a morning tour.  And when we got back, she was even happier, as she just signed up for a second afternoon tour.   A pretty neat review...

Keep Calm and Kayak On

This is a neat little variant of the “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster, available at this Esty site.  I’ve found myself attracted to it because recently life seems extra stressful.

   This is a picture of:

          o   A tiny snapping turtle found floating in the Penobscot
        o   A medium sized slug
        o   A kayak deck
        o   A metaphor for a slow start to the kayaking season.

Pushaw Stream to Mud Pond, or maybe Perch…

Paddling among the trees; it must be Spring!