Remembering A Late-Summer Day

A Hike through the Park It wasn’t quite 7.00am yet but first daylight filtered through the curtains. It made me aware of that we probably would have a sunny day, as otherwise it would be much darker with an overcast sky. Now, nothing gets me out of bed like a clear sunny day. Under circumstances like that, I just can’t find any peace under the covers anymore.                        From Campobello’s Fall Harvest sale At 10.00am I decided to make use of all this sunshine, grabbed the NIKON and Molly and took the van out to the park. No tourist had called - so I knew I had the day off. We went into the park’s natural area and parked at a place called FOX FARM. It is an open grassy area where there once was a fox farm. First I followed the main road towards Cranberry Point, but then I took the small hiking trail which goes parallel with the beach. I had a great view of Lubec with the International Bridge spanning across the Narrows. A last greeting from summer There were wet spots and small bridges over narrow creeks, lots of leaves on the ground and old withering mushrooms standing out of green mossy forest soil. The air had taken up all the smells of fall and forest and mixed with the salty ingredients from the sea. Molly was keeping herself a 30ft ahead of me and whenever I stopped to take a picture she stopped as well looking back as to say ”are you coming?” Yes, I was coming after her and since we were out of reach from the northerly wind I got pretty warm in my sweater and my jacket. Soon enough I had tied my jacket around my waist and was carrying the sweater across my shoulders. I had never been on this trail before, so it turned out to be a great discovery tour. Despite the fact that park personnel had kept this trail open and even fitted it with walking planks I doubt that many hikers had come along here during this summer. Everything looked very pristine out here. After being on the trail for about 1km I found a wooden bench where I sat down enjoying one of the most beautiful sceneries one can find around these parts. What a natural treasure we have here! A range mark stating the international boundary of Canada But I had to move on and then the trail came out to the road again, following it for a while, then led straight back into the woods again.  A sign said 1.3km to Fox Farm. So I trudged on between tall spruce and beech trees. Underway I caught glimpses of “Upper Duck Pond” which is really too shallow to stay flooded under low tide. It turns into a huge mud flat and the upper end is a salt marsh, a paradise for birds in the summer as many predators can’t get out there. Lubec and Campobello with connecting International bridge When I finally saw a lot of light appearing between the trees ahead, I understood that I had come to the end of the trail at Fox Farm and sure enough soon I could see our white van standing beside the road. The Lubec Light – commonly called “SPARKPLUG” Needless to say I could really feel my legs and it was just great to be able to sit down behind the wheel again. The total length of the hike was approx. 3.5km, (2 miles) not too much, but due to the varied terrain an almost 2 hour Sunday morning adventure. Upper Duck Pond View from Cranberry Point to the Gulf of Maine with Grand Manan in the background