Monday, April 19, 2021
Middle Ground Campground, Third Machias Lake, Machias River Public Reserved Land
Saturday, April 17, 2021
Wayward Yurt, Hidden Valley Nature Center (Jefferson)
Sunday, April 11, 2021
Park Loop Road, Acadia National Park
Sunday, April 4, 2021
Halfmile Pond Trail, Amherst Community Forest
After spending Easter morning with my kids, I went for a solo hike at the Amherst Community Forest.
I parked at the first pull-off on the road leading to Halfmile Pond and walked 1/2 mile to the trailhead. The road was muddy so I was glad to have made that decision.
The trail from the road is short but steep and leads down to the shoreline of Halfmile Pond. The shoreline provides excellent views of a nearby mountain. The trail continues along the shore until reaching the outlet on the south end of the pond.
As I stood admiring the view an otter climbed onto the ice carrying a fish. I watched for two minutes as the otter worked on eating the fish and then climbed back into the water.
Here is a map of my hike.
Saturday, April 3, 2021
Hike for the Homeless, Bangor City Forest
Thursday, April 1, 2021
Hart Farm/Fields Pond
Sunday, March 28, 2021
Penobscot Experimental Forest (Bradley)
The Penobscot Experimental Forest (PEF) consists of approximately 3,800 acres in Bradley and Eddington owned by the University of Maine and co-managed with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). The PEF was created in 1950 through a unique agreement between the USFS and several forestry products companies. The land was subsequently donated by the companies to UMaine, which manages it with USFS primarily for research and education.
I hiked three miles at the PEF this morning, starting out at a small parking lot on Government Road at a locked gate just past the Maine Forest and Logging Museum. Although not overly scenic in a traditional sense, this is an interesting place to walk in that it provides an opportunity to view forests in different stages of development. The forest also provides excellent wildlife habitat.
Here is a map of today's hike from the parking area to Blackman Stream.
Saturday, March 27, 2021
Meadow Brook Preserve and Swan Lake State Park (Swanville)
My sons and I went on two hikes in Swanville today. Here is a map of our hikes.
We started at Meadow Brook Preserve, a 372 acre wooded preserve managed by the Coastal Mountains Land Trust. We took the Hauk-Fry trail (2 miles total), a well marked trail traversing through woodlands, occasionally over log walkways, leading out to views of Meadow Brook and the Hurd's Pond watershed. The trail was easy to follow and an easy walk. At the end of the trail there is a picnic table overlooking Meadow Brook with views of a large beaver lodge. A small section of the trail crosses the brook to the opposite shoreline; however, due to the recent warm temperatures and snow melt, the trail was underwater and impassable.
We next visited Swan Lake State Park. Best known for its lakefront beach, the park in the winter provides solitude and a chance to walk along the shore of Swan Lake without crowds. The front gate of the park was closed, so the roundtrip distance from the road to the shoreline and around the park totaled 1.7 miles.