Earlier this month, MITA member Chuck Domenie contacted us with a great bit of news: together with his friend and fellow MITA member Sandra Townsend, he’d be kayaking from Canada to New Hampshire along the Maine Island Trail, collecting surface water samples for the Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation (ASC) and their marine microplastics study. He sent in the following blog post for us to share with other members. Please enjoy, send your wishes for safe travels, and pop over to the ASC website for more information!
Paddling With a Purpose, by Chuck Domenie
Almost four years ago to this date, Sandra and I were on our first paddling trip together. Green Mountain College, where we both graduated from, was running a fall break sea kayaking trip to Casco Bay, Maine. Over those 4 days we both caught a taste of what it was like to explore the Maine coast by sea kayak. Four years later, we are packing our Wilderness System Tempests in Eastport, Maine, and getting ready to embark on a month-long journey to paddle the coast, from Canada to New Hampshire.
Sandra Townsend spends her summers glacier and sea kayak guiding for Matanuska Ice Climbing Adventures / Exposure Alaska in Glacier View, Alaska. She spends her winters in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, tuning skis and dropping knees. I spent this past summer guiding / instructing both standup paddling and kayaking full-time for Eastern Mountain Sports Schools. Both of us have a strong passion for the outdoors, particularly its conservation and to play in it.
The idea for this trip started back in June. I sent a text message to Sandra that read, “call me when you get a chance, I have an idea!” One month later, Sandra emailed me a receipt from the Maine Island Trail Association (MITA) showing she became a member and our idea was slowly becoming a reality. Throughout the remainder of the summer, Sandra and I communicated via phone and email, working out dates, gear and all the other gritty details you need to spend a month out on the water. Finally, on September 17th, I drove to Logan Airport in Boston, MA, and we spent the next week and a half gathering gear, planning routes and visiting friends.
This morning we are finalizing our float plan and packing our boats. We launch from Sandra’s family cabin on Deep Cove in Eastport at 11am. Along our journey of 250+ miles, we will be collecting surface water samples for Adventurers and Scientist for Conservation (ASC) and their Marine Microplastics Project. To learn more about the Marine Microplastics Project please visit the Adventurers and Scientist for Conservation website, www.adventureandscience.org.
We look forward to sharing our trip along the way. Keep an eye out for photos and stories on the Eastern Mountain Sports Facebook page, blog and Instagram. You can also visit both the ASC and MITA webpages and blogs where are story will be shared. We owe much thanks to our folks and friends, Eastern Mountain Sports, Eastern Mountain Sports Schools and the Green Mountain College Adventure Programming Office. This trip would not be possible without any of them.
MITA has partnered with Chimani, a Maine-based app developer, to produce a smartphone app for virtual exploration of the Maine Island Trail. With the 200+ sites and resources of the Trail just a few taps away, the coast of Maine is now in the palm of your hand.
Explore the Trail virtually through fully interactive and scalable NOAA charts, pin your favorite sites to your MyTrail folder, add comments to island listings, RSVP to events with a single tap, and more. For a fuller description of the app’s features, click here.
The app is available for FREE download in the Apple App Store and on Google Play starting today. While anyone can view basic information and certain public island listings, only current MITA members can unlock the app’s full features to view privately-owned islands and other members-only perks. By activating membership with an email address, we’ll send new or renewing members their own unique unlock code for full access.
MITA member Andrew Found sends us this video collection of his memories from the coast. With boat show season coming to a close and launch season still a small ways off, he writes “mud season can make boat chores just a bit challenging, so why not open up the photo album and reminisce about your favorite cruises?”
Thanks Andrew! Now we’re pining for the season to REALLY begin…
Since Rising Tide Brewing Company’s Maine Island Trail Ale is due to be released in a few short weeks, I hope sharing this recipe will help build excitement for the beer, as well as getting back out on the Trail! (Just for the record, I don’t believe that camping out of my kayak means I have to eat like I’m roughing it!). I’ve made this recipe using a Dutch oven, over a camp stove, and in my home. This is a meal I recommend planning for the first night of a trip…
Maine Island Trail Ale Mussels
Mitch Darrow’s Maine Island Trail Ale Mussels…with the glorious Ale itself. MITAle returns to shelves this May…now in cans and 12oz bottles!
2 1/2 pounds mussels
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 shallots
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
2 cups Maine Island Trail Ale
1 bunch fresh basil
1 bunch fresh thyme
1/2 cup parsley
1 roasted red pepper, sliced
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (additional, see end of recipe)
1 baguette
Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic; cook until transparent, approximately 3 minutes. Add bay leaves, thyme (whole), and beer. Bring mixture to a boil.
Add mussels, then cover. Cook, shaking the pan often, until mussels open (approximately 5-6 minutes). Discard any mussels that fail to open. Using a slotted spoon, transfer mussels to a large bowl, reserving liquid in pan. Sprinkle 1/4 cup parsley over the mussels. Remove and discard bay leaves and thyme. Add basil and red peppers, and return liquid to low heat; stir in cream and remaining 1/4 cup parsley. Cook to napé (a sauce that is napé will coat the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through the sauce will remain clear even as the spoon is turned around). Stir in the butter, and then pour over the mussels. Serve with baguette.
Bon apétit, and remember that Maine Island Trail Ale returns for a second summer this May, starting with an Official Release at the Small Boaters’ Film Fest & Silent Auction, held May 1 at the Hannaford Hall, USM Campus, on 88 Bedford Street in Portland. Click here for tickets and info!
MITA members Michael and Rebecca Daugherty enjoy the classic Maine Island Trail experience as they embark on a journey to Steves Island from Stonington, Maine. Repeat to yourself while watching: Spring is only days away…
New MITA member Nathan Steinbauer shared his video, Isle, following a kayaking trip along the Deer Isle portion of the Maine Island Trail last summer. Check it out and rekindle some memories of the wild island experience…
Relive the highlights of MITA’s 25th Anniversary season. Here’s a slideshow of log book quotes from island visitors, facts about our work, and recent photos of the Trail. For more info, as always, visit www.mita.org. Here’s to another quarter century of island access and stewardship!
A few years ago my cousin Linwood suggested I join the Maine Island Trail Association (MITA). The Maine Island Trail (MIT) is a 375-mile chain of over 200 wild islands along the coast of Maine. The MIT is a must do for any outdoor enthusiast.
The Planning Phase
Kayaking and camping on islands in the Atlantic Ocean is not something one does on a whim. Who would like to go with me? When do we go? Where do we put-in? Where do we park the car for three days? Which islands do we camp on? Do we need fire permits? Do we need campsite reservations?
I invited my regular camping and paddling buddies, and Dundee was the sole positive responder. Dundee and I selected Stonington on Deer Island as our put-in because it offered a plethora of islands close to shore for our maiden trip. I emailed the office of MITA (membership@mita.org), and Eliza quickly responded answering my questions about island fire permits (more info in the online guide and hard copy guidebook); and camp site reservations (there is no need for camp reservations on any of the islands – a MITA member has access to all sites on the trail, at any time, unless the guide descriptions indicate otherwise). The Deer Isle overview page of the guide has a list of put-ins available, and we selected Old Quarry Ocean Adventures with parking and launch facilities at a discount for MITA members.
Linwood sent emails on maps for nautical navigation charts. He cautioned us to plan transits from the islands and mainland using a favorable following tide flow. Tides can be 2 to 4 knots in some of those channel passages, and if we end up bucking the tidal flow, we won’t make much headway toward our destination and may run out of energy and/or daylight.
We need to carry compasses, relevant guides and charts, the MITA guidebook, and a plastic water resistant nautical chart.
He sent us tide charts as tide knowledge is critical for camp sites and campfires, since the fires must be below the high tide line. The velocity of flow is maximum at mid-tide and slackens toward either end, reaching null at the direction change. In the Stonington areas the tide will run about 12 feet (give or take the phase of the moon effects). We needed to remember to drag our kayaks a boat length or two up the beach landing area for high tide. When the tide rises 12 plus feet, we do not want to find our transportation has gone out to sea.
Packing our kayaks for our three day paddle meant tough decisions on what to bring and what to leave. My wife Cathy thought we would never pack the gear we had readied, but indeed we managed without sinking our kayaks.
I sent emails to friends to follow our progress on their email with Google Maps (the app is called Where’s My Droid). I also downloaded an app called My Tracks to follow our island trail paddle.
Day 1 – Wednesday
We registered our itinerary with Old Quarry (Hells Half Acre Island on Wednesday night and Steves Island on Thursday night with a 4 pm return on Friday). The Old Quarry staff were extremely accommodating with information on islands to camp (e.g. “too buggy”, “be careful of lobster boats when crossing channels and between islands”, etc).
We had a smooth put-in at Old Quarry, and with a smooth paddle we were at Hells Half Acre island in just over thirty minutes. We were in awe of the island and the view of the bay. We took a walk about this two acre island, and located a nice spot on the east end of the island and pitched our tents on two wooded platforms.
Our initial plan was to save a camping spot by pitching our tent, and then doing some paddling to other islands. However, we were in awe of this paradise, and after some adult beverages, we decide to cool it for the night right where we were. This proved to be the right decision as shortly after we landed a three mast schooner with five sails full, tacked into our harbor. It was a magnificent sight.
Dundee was chief chef for this evening’s dinner. We made a campfire below the high water line, and he proceeded to prepare beans and franks. Fabulous meal.
The sunset was dreamlike on this beautiful summer evening with a gentle breeze.
Day 2 – Thursday
On Wednesday night we went to sleep surrounded by beautiful islands with clear skies and overhead stars. We awoke Thursday morning on an island in the middle of the ocean! We were completely engulfed in pea soup fog!
We had a lazy breakfast hoping the fog would clear. It did not.
At 10 am we decided to use our map and compass skills, and find out way to Steves Island. Dundee’s skills included a nautical map and compass.
I felt comfortable with Dundee leading the way, but I must admit it was a weird feeling paddling into soup fog and hoping to find our next marker island to know we were on course to Steves Island.
It took us about an hour to get to Steves from Hells Half Acre, as we meandered between a few islands enjoying this surreal experience of fog paddling. We could see about thirty feet ahead, so when we located an island, we paddled around it so take in the pleasure of the rocky coast of Maine.
When we found Steves Island, we were met by a couple, Taylor and Catherine, who had spent the prior night there, and because of being fog bound today, they intended to spend another day on Steves trusting that Friday’s sun would burn away the fog.
We found a delightful campsite to pitch our tents. We toured this rock bound island, with balsam trees in the middle. Of course with the fog, our views off the island were essentially nil. We could hear lobster boats, but did not see them.
During the day four kayakers in beautiful hand-made sea kayaks found the island for lunch. Interestingly, I knew one of the kayakers, so it was fun talking old times. They had all the appropriate navigation equipment, and after lunch left to make their way back to their campsite at another MITA Island.
Given we were now friends with Taylor and Catherine, we invited them to join us for Steves Island fresh mussels and pre-dinner Hors D’Oeuvres.
(Video note: Always check your MITA Guide to make sure whether building a fire is permitted on each island, how to obtain a fire permit if necessary, and how to stay safe! For more info on how to enjoy wild islands responsibly by using Leave No Trace ethics, click here.)
Day 3 – Friday
We awoke at 5:30 am Friday hearing the lobster boats get an early start. The fog was lifting and we knew the day would be clear. Around 9 am we began to be surrounded by islands, as indeed they appeared on our map.
At 10 am we started a gentle paddle back to our Old Quarry take-out via Crotch Island and Stonington. We left Steves Island with wonderful memories of ocean muscles and new and old friends. Crotch used to be a stone quarry, and was loaded with monstrous granite cut stones. We paddled along the shorefront of Stonington harbor, and around 1 pm we pulled into our take-out.
We reported our return at the Old Quarry Ocean Adventures office, and after buying three freshly caught Maine lobsters, we headed home to New Hampshire.
Shared Learning
My Droid Incredible ran out of power in less than 7 hours after its full charge, so my expectations for Where’s my Droid, and My Tracks was a big negative (although some friends used GPS My DROID on day one and it worked great. Thereafter with no battery…)
Always bring a water resistant nautical map and compass – and certainly know how to use it BEFORE you go.
Almost four years ago to this date, Sandra and I were on our first paddling trip together. Green Mountain College, where we both graduated from, was running a fall break sea kayaking trip to Casco Bay, Maine. Over those 4 days we both caught a taste of what it was like to explore the Maine coast by sea kayak. Four years later, we are packing our Wilderness System Tempests in Eastport, Maine, and getting ready to embark on a month-long journey to paddle the coast, from Canada to New Hampshire.
Tales of the Trail 