TRIP #5, 2014--As Far East As...

As Far East As We Can Go
"It's another lovely day in Maine," said Andy, peeking out the window at 7:30 a.m., but at 7:00, when he first got up, the parking lot was bathed in fog. That was my clue to get moving.
"What do people do for a living in Clifton, Maine?" Andy mused, as we drove east on Route #9.  "I guess they could work in Bangor.  It's drivable, but it's too far from the coast to fish."
Just then we passed a lake called Chemo Pond and a large campground. "I know what one of them does," I joked.  "Runs the Chemo Pond Campground."
"Don't be a wise-beep," he snarled, grinning sarcastically.

Low tide attracts clammers and uncovers beachfront.

We stopped by the roadside along Route #191 in Whiting to get some pictures of low tide.  "This area has incredible tides," said Andy  "It's not like the Bay of Fundy, but the tides here are still pretty extreme."
In Cutler four men were out clamming.  We parked near the road and walked down to the water's edge. Low tide had exposed millions of rounded rocks of all sizes.  "How in the world did they drive out there and what a way to make a living!" marveled Andy.
Across the water rose the steel towers of naval communications.  Restricted. Authorized personnel only! read one sign. "I think that's a submarine communications station," explained Andy.

From the local library in Cutler,
we can see the whole harbor.

We parked at the library in Cutler and admired the panoramic view of the bay.  "You would have a better view if you drive back a mile and head out Destiny Bay Road," suggested a white-haired gentleman as he left the library. We followed his advice, but at low tide, our view from above was better.

Quoddy Lighthouse warns ships of dangerous cliffs and ledges.

The Lighthouse and Quoddy Head State Park marks the easternmost point of land in the continental United States.  Here, the major industry for many years was the catching and canning of herring.
We walked the one-mile High Point Trail to an overlook and listened to the steady blast of the fog horn in the distance and the clanging of a buoy bell near the foot of the cliff face.  The pamphlet called this easy walk the Coast Guard Trail with its view of the Quoddy Narrows. But regardless, the wet forest path offered some scenic views of the rugged coastline and offshore islands.

Quoddy Lighthouse marks the
easternmost point of the U.S.

Inside the West Quoddy Head Light Museum, we learned that this lighthouse, built in 1808, warned mariners of Quoddy's dangerous cliffs, ledges and Sail Rock.  Among the first to use a fog bell and later a steam-powered foghorn, this lighthouse greatly reduced shipwrecks in such a foggy area, even as shipping increased.  The current red and white tower was constructed in 1858. Automated in 1988, the light still shines through its original third-order Fresnel lens. Hamilton Cove Preserve, a part of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, protected the Hamilton Cove and its surrounding beach, cliffs, and meadows.  Before we headed toward the water, we carefully read the hunting restrictions.  Two weeks until the first season opens.  We were relatively safe, even without orange. 
Low tide gave us beach access.  "This will come up really fast once it starts to come in," said Andy.
"It's already turned, but it's going to rise ten feet. You can tell by all the seaweed-covered boulders that are currently exposed."

Andy poses at Green Point on the Coastal Trail.

The pamphlet said that whales and harbor seals could be seen offshore, but with the tide out, we didn't see any.

Spectacular views along the Coastal
Trail reveal sheer cliffs and
dangerous rocks.

Where Hamilton Brook emptied into the Cove, owner Benjamin Hamilton once operated a mill that cut lumber to build several ships in an adjoining shipyard.  We spotted one small boat far out in the Cove, probably a lobster man checking pods.The 1.23--acre preserve embodies Maine's remote and wild terrain with 1.5 shoreline miles of cobble beaches, sheer cliffs and rocky promontories.

Before the tide comes in, the Hamilton Cove Preserve
gives us access to the ocean.

Later in the day we returned to Quoddy Head State Park, acres purchased by the state of Maine in 1962, to hike the Coastal Trail.  It offered sweeping views of Grand Manan Island with its towering cliffs.

Far in the distance the shores of Grand
Manan Island rise from the water.

Strong tidal currents between West Quoddy Head and Campobello Island drive what is said to be the largest whirlpool in the Western Hemisphere.  We hiked along the Coastal Trail for a mile out beyond Green Point, impressed by the 80-foot cliffs of gabbro, a dark coarse-grained rock that started out as molten magma millions of years ago.  Gulliver's Hole, a narrow chasm formed  by erosion of a vertical fault in the gabbro, moaned like a snowing giant.

Late in the day the sun casts long
shadows as we hike the Coastal Trail.

As the sun slipped behind the trees after 5:00
p.m., the temperatures dropped dramatically.  Shallow-rooted white spruce and balsam fir swayed as the breeze picked up.  Because the peninsula is surrounded by cold water, the park has extreme oceanic climate conditions with cool temperatures and lots of wind and fog.  "I think it's time to head back," I told Andy, as I stumbled over trees roots.  "I will be a very unhappy camper if I have to navigate back along this trail in the dark!"  That was enough of a hint.  We retraced the trail back to the parking lot.
The evening was cold--a see-your-breath-kind of cold.  But we stepped outside and walked down the street anyway, away from the motel light, to see the Milky Way, a distant ribbon of white across the sky overhead.