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A
Week Under the Stars - Paddling/Camping the Islands of
Maine
A
Collaborative Report
*
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE
WEDNESDAY
 The
plan for Wednesday was to move camp further from the mainland to
Wheat
Island
, just off
Isle au Haut
. After breakfasting on
bagels Doug, Ron, and Steven shot back over to Old Ocean Quarry to
drop off trash and unneeded gear, and to replenish our water supply.
One would think
that we would be getting better at storing our gear in the boats as
the week went on, we gained experience, and the food supply
diminished. For some,
reason, this never seemed to be the case.
However, every item finally found a spot and we began the
journey to
Wheat
Island
… our new home for the remainder of the week.
[Insert GPS Log
and trip description – 4.5mi]
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ROUTE INFO - 4.5 miles |
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| - Start at Hells Half-Acre
- Round east side of Devil Island
- Split Spruce and Buckle
- West side of Ram Island
- Between Round and McGlatherly Islands
- East of Bills Island
- End at Wheat Island
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 The crossing from
McGlathery, past
Bills
Island
, and over to Wheat was in 2-3 foot chop coming at us from
10:00
. With loaded down boats and decks often awash, this leg required more
attention than any of those previously on the trip.
The landing on Wheat was also a little trickier than that of
Hell’s Half-Acre, since it was on a granite shelf that sloped
significantly.
 After camp was set
and a brief lunch had, we all went about relaxing in our own ways.
Some took naps, others read, while others explored the island.
A feeding seal stopped long enough to check out the motley crew
on the island. At low
tide, a crushed-shell spit was revealed and we were able to cross over
to another small neighboring island of granite and shells.
About this time, we were afforded another beautiful sunset
that, as viewed from the smaller neighboring island, lit up our island
with tints of gold and orange.
 Dinner of
Empanada’s was followed by another night of star-gazing on the
rocks, after-dinner drinks, and rounds of, “If you were stranded on
a desert island…” (ex. which one album would you want to have with
you?). Nelson broke out
his radio and, although the choice of stations was few, was able to
find some great classic rock. The
volume was kept just audible so as to enhance the mood without
overshadowing the sounds of the night.
 [Chip]
“This was by far the toughest paddle of the trip for me even
though it was the shortest. The loaded boat and heavy winds made this
one a bear. The crossing from McGlathery's to Wheat was the killer.
The pain left right after Doug brought out the Bushmills to celebrate
another island conquered. Good stuff.
I liked the set up at Hell's Half Acre but Wheat was more remote and
had some nice features. There was a little beach area that the poly
boaters were not allowed to use. We had to land on the rocks. The
beach was reserved for the fiberglass "Mary" boaters. There
was a cool spit that opened up access to a small island at low tide.
Awesome rock formations and shell beach.
We all found a spot to pitch our tents and we were back in
business. Each stop got a little easier as far as setting up camp.
The empanada's for dinner really hit the spot and soon became a hot
topic of conversation. There seem to be some extra filling left over.
Some had empanada quesadillas the next day as well as Empanada
roll-ups. OK, it was mostly John. He even carried around the bowl with
the Empanada filling in his boat.
Dish washing on Wheat was a real chore. It seems as though each meal
was at low tide and we would have to walk 1/2 a mile to find a spot to
get to the water and find some scrubbing material. (sand and broken
shells). I know, shut up and scrub.
I had another good night sleep after star gazing, music and a couple
of beers.”
[Nelson]
“I was a little bummed
when we left Hell's Half Acre. I liked the cozy feel this island
provided and hoped we were moving to something as good or better. But
I learned that each island holds something new and different for us;
where one aspect of an island may not be as good as the last, another
aspect exceeds the last. It all balances.
The thing I liked about
Wheat
Island
was that except for the last
day we never needed to cook under the circus fly. Doug set up his
kitchen out on the rocks and looked so at home there that you'd swear
he's been living here for years. After dinner, Doug’s kitchen would
transform into our living room, planetarium and bar all wrapped into
one. We could only get a few radio stations on Wheat but we seemed to
have found the perfect one to complement our surroundings and enhance
our post dinner hypnotic state.”
 [John]
“The rough crossing was my
favorite paddle of the trip. I had spent the morning carefully packing
my boat, she was balanced well, and I didn't have 40lbs of water to
bog me down. The
Chatham
danced across that rough water,
well maybe not danced, but it was pretty sweet. She stayed where I put
her, and just kinda snaked her way through the waves, beautiful rough
water boat she is. Shotgunning the two beers Nelson had dropped while
loading up the boats earlier probably hadn't hurt either...
We arrived on the island, Doug beaming, producing his bottle and his
proclamation "John! we've reached another island, time for a
drink!" How could I argue with that??”
 [Steven]
“This was my favorite
of the two island campsites. The
tiny meadow that Nelson, John, and I pitched our tents on looked like
something out of an REI catalog (all respect due to LL Bean and
EMS
…
but, we DID have two REI employees in our crew).
From this spot we could see across to Burnt and
Pell
Islands
,
and had a great view of the sunset.”
THURSDAY
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