Index
Northwestern Wilderness Of Maine
Personal Essays
Exploring The Shore
Traveling on snowshoes through the wilderness was easy during the long winter months, especially when the weather was well below zero degrees fahrenheit and the snow was deep. Although winter seemed to last forever, we were greeted by the warm weather the same time each year.
Treating the snowshoes and placing them in storage was no means the end of exploring the wilderness. Looking back into history you will find the native american used three means of transportation in the wilderness. He made a pair of soft leather moccasins from a deer hide and used them all year long. He crafted a pair of snow shoes from tree branches and deer hide. He finally created a canoe from a wooden frame and covered it with birch bark.
The canoes my dad let me use were made of aluminum, or wooden frames covered with canvas or fiberglass. I enjoyed using the fiberglass canoe because it was very short and light. I learned to paddle it as quiet as I imaged a Mohawk Indian paddled.
It was fun to paddle up a stream as far as you could go. Bug repellant is a must if you are enticed to explore streams.
The wilderness has many lakes interconnected by rivers and streams. Most of the lakes contain several islands. A canoe is a perfect means of exploring the shoreline of the various lakes and islands.
There are a variety of shorelines in the wilderness. You may be surprised how many sandy beaches are scattered about, or swampy wetlands, but my favorite shoreline is made up of various stone cliffs
Stone cliffs will give you endless hours of enjoyment. Some are a habitat for large trees that will amaze you when you become aware of the limited soil cover they are growing in. Some cliffs offer a variety of mosses to investigate. Clear fresh water springs of all sizes and shapes will draw you back again, so keep a map handy.
The next time you vacation in the wilderness, leave all of the noisy things behind and explore the shore while paddling a canoe as you imagined a Mohawk Indian traveled in his birch bark canoe. You will be dumbfounded by all of the unfamiliar sounds the wilderness has to offer, and don't forget to photograph the animals you sneak up on.
