PeterB Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Our Downeast Retreat based out of Mount Desert Island turned out to be grand time * This year, some 20 NSPN'ers gathered in Bar Harbor for four days of sea kayaking and on-land togetherness. This is the third year of having this event on the weekend after Labor Day , and with many repeat participants and a now familiar location , we have pretty much established a good format for doing things here together. We hit almost all of the intended paddling hot spots in the area over the course of four days, : Some paddlers actually began to filter into Bar Harbor earlier in the week. By Wednesday before our "formal" start on Friday , there were already a handful paddlers in Bar Harbor, paddling with Nate Hanson of Pinniped Kayak with Carl Ladd, enjoying an ocean skills class on Wednesday along the rocks and ledges of MDI's eastern coast, and on Friday, for the second year, some 11 of us gathered for a moving water jamboree in the boisterous tidal currents of Sullivan Reversing Falls . By Friday night, most of us we were assembled on Mount Desert Island , with most staying at the LLangolan Inn near Hadley Point, some at the nearby Hadley Point campground, and yet a few more staying elsewhere on or off the island. On Friday night some of us ventured into Bar Harbor and were led by Mike to a good Italian restaurant , while others stayed at the LLangolan, rested (Sullivan Falls was quite a workout) and dined on the impressive stores of food supplies that had been assembled there. LLangolan has indeed become our MDI base of operations and home away from home while on Mount Desert Island . Friday Day 1. On Friday we formed two groups : 10 of us committed to a one-way trip along the east coast of MDI. We dropped off a few cars in Bar Harbor, then caravan'd down to Seal Harbor, where we set off for a journey along the spectacular east side of Mount Desert , about 13 miles up to to Bar Harbor; there we retrieved parked cars while Pru, Bob and Beth continued on another 6.5 miles to Hadley Point, where we picked them up them after retrieving cars down in Seal Harbor. This trip involved a bit of logistics, but was all worth it as we had a lovely tour along a ceaselessly lovely rocky cliffy coastline , in a nice meaty 2-3 foot sea state and in improving weather. On our return to Bar Harbor , we intersected with the other group returning from their tour of the Porcupines off of Bar Harbor, with reports of what sounded like a day every bit as enjoyable as ours Once we were back on land , a number of folks had a hankering for seafood , and set off for Thurstons Lobster Pound in Bass Harbor, while the rest of us languished in the barn ,behind the cottages at LLangolan, continuing to diminish the cottage food supplies. Saturday Day 2 Saturday was a perfect sunny mild day with calm seas so we had the option of paddling most anywhere, so we divided into three groups: two explored the Cranberries from Seal Harbor , and the third group toured the Porcupines and Ironbound Island , Group Ironbound set off from the sand bar in Bar Harbor, filtered out of the harbor and past Bald Porcupine island, then crossed to Ironbounds , on the other side of Frenchmans Bay. Ironbound is that "one step beyond" the Porcupines, sort of the Valhalla of Frenchmans Bay cliffside paddling. The group had a fun time among the ledges, cliffs, and rock gardens along Ironbounds dramatic south point , and returned to Bar Harbor via Long, Burnt, and Sheep Porcupine islands. Cranberry Group One and Cranberry Group Two set off from Seal Harbor for the Cranberries . We in Cranberry Group One had a most pleasant amble, circling Great Cranberry, and stopping at Crow Island for a lunch and rest, then explored " the Pool", a curious inlet set into Great Cranberry, and finally , with grand view of the Hills of MDI for a our return journey, crossed back to Seal Harbor fem the eastern corner of Little Cranberry . Cranberry Group 2 circled Sutton and then Bakers island, crossed past Bunker ledge south of Little Cranberry back to MDI , and followed the coast back to Seal Harbor. back at LLangoln, we all gathered in the barn for our scheduled potluck, further decimating our seemingly inexhaustible supplies of food and drink. Sunday Day 3 ( if you noticed an asterisk in the first paragraph next to Downeast Retreat was a grand time", Heres why:) On Sunday both the weather, and our on-land fortunes took a turn for the worse when John Monroe ,who had taken the day off from paddling to hike the Precipice Trails on MDI trails , took a sliding fall and broke his left ankle on their return to the trailhead, Fortunately he was in the company of Dan, Beth and Mike, all of whom are trained in winderness first aid , so they splinted and bundled John ,and ultimately he has able to be walked off the trail with the assistance of park rangers ,and was taken first to Mount Desert Hospital, where his injury was confirmed as a broken ankle, then taken by ambulance to Ellsworth,where he was operated on and casted. The experience was sobering for all of us as John's was a pretty unspectacular fall that could have happened to any one of us.This in turn revived the recently popular truism that "more kayak injuries occur on land":, , , Johns the experience was doubly painful as he was due to fly to the Grand Canyon for a hiking trip that would finish off his month long cross country journey that had begun in June . Back at Langolan, we sorted his belongings , Bob and Shari ferried Johns car, boats and gear back to Massachusetts, and Mike and Betsy, who were staying on at Langolan through the week, assumed the role of of Johns companions and valets, driving him back home to Massachusetts later in the week. For the rest of us, the water turned out to be the safer place to be. Four of us braved the worsening forecast and toured Bartlett sound, but, after a thunder squall that drove us off the water and into into the woods on Bartlett island for about 1/2 hour we were pleasantly surprised to discover improving conditions; the sun came out, the 20 kt winds, forecast for most of the day,diminished , and we had an nice ambling tour amidst islands and seaweed gardens for the rest of the day. The others had used this crummy weather day to practice and paddle in the fresh water at Long Pond, before the lightning squall that chased us off Bartlett sound prodded them off the water and back to LLangolan. ON our way back to Llangolan, Bob and I, still in our gear, drove past Long Pond on the way back to LLangolan and had the treat of washing off by lurching fully dressed right into the pond and freshening up . Monday Day 4 BY Monday, many were heading back home or had already left, and a remaining group of six of us used the last day to do the nickel tour of the Porcupines, jumping from one island to the next, stopping for lunch at the far end of Long Porcupine, and returning the way we came. Along Long Porcupine, we paddled past some enticing ledges that we made a note of, vowing to return next year for some more involved play and landing drills. Speaking of next year: this year's gathering was evidently a success, as by the time we had all left, we had all eight cottages and some of the rooms at LLangolan reserved for next year. I'm thinking of staying on a few days to combine some hiking with paddling next year. Mount Desert Island and Bar Harbor were busier this year than years past, perhaps due to the NationalPark centennial, or maybe because the area is just a good place to be at this time of year, something we all could readily agree with. It was indeed a perfect pace to gather and paddle with a prefect group of people at a perfect time of the year. Thanks Jane and Nick and Pru for photos in this report. Some are mine but they weren't very good. More photos welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prudenceb Posted October 14, 2016 Share Posted October 14, 2016 Thanks, Peter, for your trip report! And for relieving me of the pleasant chore... But, knowing me, you know I can't NOT respond with some photos and text of my own! Here goes: This is some of the motley crew indicating that we have indeed figured out where everyone is going for the day and how they're going to get there. This was, by the way, no easy task! But you can see that the boys are pleased and confident about the the plan! Preparing to launch at Seal Harbor for the coastal day from there to Bar Harbor (and beyond, for three of us!) Our esteemed president, all dressed up and ready to go! This is the coastal group (minus me, of course, who - as always - is behind the camera) posing before launch. It was a really wonderful day in all respects. Very foggy as we drove from Llangolin (at north end of island) to the south (Seal Cove, where we were launching). But the fog started to break up the farther south we went, until, as you can see in photos above, it was fog free at the launch. However, once we started paddling, heading north once again, there was a fog bank ahead of us. Really pretty! Peter enjoying some of the wavy action by the rocks. There was a lovely stream of frothy water that formed a road along which we paddled... You don't have to go to Baja - or Wales - or Scotland for caves! There are some along the coastline, accessible when the waves and tide are favorable. Lotsa cruise ships. In his report, Peter had us all ending at Bar Harbor one Day One. Not true! Bob, Beth and I soldiered on, another seven miles to Hadley Point. I have no idea why I was so stupid as to do this! It was a pretty dull coastline, although I'd heard about The Ovens and never seen them. So this is The Ovens. Nice, but....seven miles?? And I'd also heard that there were keyholes. Well, there was one. This is it. Nice. But...seven miles?? This rock formation seemed ready to eat the land beyond... We finally reached Hadley Point as the sun was heading down. I was having a shoulder pain that made me unwilling to even lift up my camera to take a pictures of the very welcome sight of Joe Berkovitz waiting there to help us with boats and to transport us back to our digs. In appreciation of that, the photo below is from the beginning of Day Two, when some of us went out to Ironbound. It was a lovely calm day to start, and here's Joe, in all his reflected glory... I didn't take many pictures on Day 2 because I was too busy having fun. But it sure is a beautiful coastline! At lunch at the end of Ironbound after we'd spent the entire morning playing in the rocks, a few of us paused to do a little bit of island art... On the way back, these pleated cliffs were extremely pleasing... Day 3, infamous Day 3... when some of us rather foolishly went out on the water - when thunderstorms were forecast; others rather foolishly went hiking - and sh*t happened; and some were smart enough to go shopping and gallery watching and lunching at the Asticou Inn, where the group was safely inside when the skies opened and caught the rest of us outside... I was in the fresh water group at Long Pond, with which I am very familiar from years spent visiting relatives with a small rough cabin on the lake. I've paddled its shores many many times, and knew that if it thundered as forecast, it would be very easy to get off the water anywhere around the lake. It was foggy and overcast, and quite windy. But it made for a sober but rather handsome grey palette... We went into a calmer area on the west side of Northern Neck, where there was some evidence of seasonal changes to come... We decided to head back when it was getting closer to the time that the storms were forecast. The launch at Long Pond (where Peter et al did their gear cleaning after their paddle near Bartlett Island) has a nice sandy area, and my group - Joe, Judy and I - stopped to practice some rolls. We discovered that we were not alone! Just as we were getting out of the water, the predicted storm arrived - with a bang and a deluge. Ducks huddled on the dock. Completely soaked, we loaded the boats onto the cars. Just as we finished, almost as quickly as it had arrived, the storm departed, leaving calm water and clearing skies. After such a lovely day, it was truly distressing to return to the Llangolin to hear about others' adventures and to find that John had what turned out to be a tib-fib fracture. So glad he was with a competent group - and that because he was carrying a pack to prepare for the Grand Canyon trip - there was plenty of gear to keep him warm and splint him up. Other than this, and that many of us had to leave the next morning, it was another really terrific NSPN Bar Harbor Retreat. Llangolin is now fully booked by us for next year, but there's the Hadley Point campground right around the corner, and some people have extra fold-outs etc in their cottages that might be available. I would encourage anyone who hasn't yet had the pleasure of paddling with us the weekend after Labor Day to consider doing so next year. It's really a special event. Many thanks to Peter for coming up with the idea and making it all happen! And thanks to all my paddling and dining companions as well! pru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share Posted October 17, 2016 Awesome pictures, Pru, (I seem to lack the gift for taking good- on -the -water photos; yours are fabulous ) Thanks. In his report, Peter had us all ending at Bar Harbor one Day One. Not true! Bob, Beth and I soldiered on, another seven miles to Hadley Point. Hey thats not true! I duly mentioned the leg from Bar Harbor to Hadley point both in the trip report and in the map of Day1. Heres a bonus photo by Nick, which I was reluctant to include for obvious reasons . Nick suggested that this it have a competition for best caption: mine would be: "Peter's snarling, squinty- eyed, incomprehensible beach briefing elicits only vacant stares of disbelief." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katherine Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 Funny! We should use that on the website :-)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcotton Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 Great trip report and photos! Thanks Peter ( and Pru for your wonderful photos!). It was a wonderful weekend. One correction - Friday, Day 1 group 2 went around the Porcipines and also Ironbound where we encountered some big slow swells (several sets of 4-5 feet swells) along with some lively conditions. Very funny photo...the deadpan expressions next to Peters is a riot! Janice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gcosloy Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 I wish I were there and in reading Peter and Pru's recollections I could only think of how wonderful it was for you all and how sad for all of us who weren't there. If Shakespeare had something to say about this he might have said the following:We few, we happy few, we band of brothers and sisters;For they to-day that Paddles with usShall be our siblings; be they ne'er so vile,This day shall gentle their conditions:And gentlefolk in Massachussetts now a-bedShall think themselves accursed they were not here,And hold their humanity cheap whiles any speaksThat paddled with us upon this week past Labor day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EEL Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 It is a wonderful time for paddling on MDI and has always been a great weekend paddling with NSPN folks. I am looking forward to next year and perhaps trying new places to visit such as the island chain from MDI to Swain's. Ed Lawsojn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hazard Posted December 25, 2016 Share Posted December 25, 2016 I just read this report through again. Sounds like most everyone had a great time. I hope John is completely recovered from his broken leg by now! Yesterday morning I ventured out on the Gulf off Yankeetown, FL, with a few fellow Greenland stickers for a serene (flat calm) 10 mile paddle. Merry Christmas, everyone! Hope to paddle with you all next summer! Cheers, Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prudenceb Posted December 26, 2016 Share Posted December 26, 2016 Merry Christmas, Rob! Definitely next summer! pru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BethS Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 Merry Christmas to all, and Happy New Year! We will do it all again in 2017! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.