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4th Annual Saddleback Island Retreat, Stonington Archipelago, July 13-16


PeterB

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This was our  4th NSPN trip to Saddleback Island, hopefully now an NSPN tradition which provides the opportunity for great paddling and lodging  in what has long been one of the best paddling areas anywhere . This  trip was anchored at the  rustic cabin owned by The Maine Coast Heritage Trust on lovely Saddleback Island at the edge of the Stonington  archipelago.
We lucked out with mostly fabulous summer weather, lots of sun and comfortable summer heat , with  a few bits of fog to make paddling a bit interesting at times. Seas were generally very tame, winds generally mild- in the 5 kt. Range,  so  the weekend lent itself to  relaxed paddling & exploring.  Trip mileage each day was in the 15-17 NM range. 

This year our group  was a bit smaller  than in past years , since communication with  MCHT beforehand  had better clarified their intended use of the cabin and grounds, which prefers a limit of eight persons.   So after a couple of cancellations and additions, we ended up a group of six and then, seven, with the arrival of George, a brand new NSPN member who had just finished signing up, Paypal-ing etc.  in time to join us  on Saddleback right  around dusk on the first day. 

So,  on Friday six of us converged on Old Quarry Adventures Campground near Stonington,  loaded up and set off in two groups for Saddleback around midday: three of us- Pablo, Yong, and myself -  launched around 12:30, with Gary, Dave  and Paul following about an hour later. We all made the short easy trip to Saddleback ,  unloaded and settled into the cabin, after which some of us took a late  afternoon spin around the island before settling into what is a Saddleback birthright:  hanging out on the porch or inside, or on the rocks,  and enjoying dinner and conversation. 

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On Saturday, two ideas for paddling trips  emerged, so we formed into two groups. Both departing around 9 AM.  Gary and Paul set off for a 2+ mile crossing of Jericho Bay  to Marshall Island, and spent some time exploring the island’s trails and its  abandoned overgrown airstrip before returning to Saddleback . Marshall has the distinction of being the largest uninhabited island in the east coast, and its beauty, remoteness, beaches  and network of trails make it a place that every paddler I know wants to return to. Gary and Paul returned from Saddleback  with reports of a “ fantabulous”  day.   

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The rest of us- Pablo, George, Yong, Dave  and I- paddled across and  down to explore the east side of  Isle au Haut. My other forays to Isle au Haut have been circumnavigations , which leave little time for exploration, so our goal was to more leisurely explore the east side of IAH, especially York Island,  a goal which was handsomely realized.  We had lunch on Doliver , a tiny MITA island (“ it’s tennis court size and rock, with one tree and a sign”)  in the shadow of York Island .  After lunch we rounded York Island  and, after a stop at the northeast corner of IAH, Yong and Dave elected to return straight to Saddleback, and George, Pablo and I continued on along the north coast of IAH,  slithered into the Isle au Haut Thoroughfare to the  little village of Isle au Haut ,where he had a stroll and visited the General Store for ice cream bars and ginger ale before returning to Saddleback. 

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On Sunday we all paddled together for the traditional “nickel tour” of  the Stonington islands: a few of our number had not had the pleasure of exploring this area  before. We wound our way slowly through the islands and at a juncture  on the edge of Wreck island we decided to cross Merchants Row to visit Harbor Island , one of the area’s  favorite camping islands. We then crossed  Merchants Row back to Steves Island, and had lunch there.

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As we were departing Steve’s, a  conversation with some other paddlers revealed that the Fisherman’s Festival in downtown Stonington (only 1.5 nm away) was winding down in a few hours,  so we  promptly changed our route and filtered into Stonington to enjoy the last of the festivites there, which included a cod fish relay race, (children stumbling about  in yellow fishermans overalls lugging a giant slippery cod)  and  yummy grilled shark steaks.  After the festivities, Dave and Paul returned to Saddleback and the rest of us detoured around Crotch Island with its formidable granite quarry equipment  and  cascading piles of granite blocks: Crotch  Island appears to have been the epicenter  of Stoningtons famous granite industry of the previous century. 
Granite, and  geology in general,  becomes  an inevitable theme of any trip to  this rocky area, and George , it turned out , was a geologist with formidable knowledge of   the area's geology which he could ably translate into laymans terms , so the trip turned partly into a highly appreciated  geological tutorial of  the area.

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Monday morning   it was pack up , tidy up and close  the cabin,  and paddle back to Old Quarry, with the added luxury of showers ($5) at the campgrounds  before hitting the road for the long drive back home.  I suppose it’s the sign of a great trip when you’re already thinking about next year’s , so  by that or most any other yardstick, this weekend was a success.

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Edited by PeterB
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Gary;

Did not relent in Stonington until Wed. morning.  We were in Vinalhaven Monday morning and thought it would lift, but it did not.  Fog toyed with us. We waited till near noon  and then did crossing to Stonington in about 400 M visibility max.  to beat weather.  Not exactly fun.

OTOH,  Wed. afternoon till Sat was great with nice 3' swell on the outside to light up cliffs.

Ed Lawson

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