Last evening I decided to make a quick run up to the top of Mt. Battie overlooking Camden Harbor. Mt Battie is one of a group of mountains called the Camden Hills and has some large granite ledges that you can stand on that provide magnificent views of Penobscot Bay. On a clear day, and Thursday was clear, you can see Mt Desert and out into the Gulf of Maine. It's wonderful. This is a view to the east. In the distance you can see Mt Desert as a bump on the horizon.
The run up to the summit is of moderate difficulty. I was wearing a pair of old running shoes so scrambling over rocks on the trail, which gets quite steep near the summit, was a bit difficult as my traction was a little unsure. With good hiking shoes it would have been easier. I wanted to make the run up and back quickly as I didn't have much time and it was getting late in the day. By pushing I was able to make it to the summit in about 30 min which isn't bad for a "sort of old guy". Trust me when I say that I was pushing hard and sweating plenty. However, it was worth it as you can see. This shot of the village is often used in tourism brochures as it's one of the most scenic vistas in Maine.
Zooming in shows how tightly packed the boats are in the inner harbor. You can also see why the outer harbor can be bumpy with that "Camden Roll thing". It's pretty exposed. Pandora is the boat at the closest point on the second row from the left. She looks really tiny from here. When people say that 43' is big, I always say that the size of Pandora has to do with how close to the dock she is. When you are close to something hard she seems big, when out of sight of land, so small... Or, better put in the Breton Fisherman's prayer, "Oh God, thy sea is so great and my boat is so small".
Sweating and getting my heart rate back to normal took a bit but I was able to sit and enjoy the late day view. What a spot.
After a short rest at the top I was able to make it back to help Brenda retrieve the laundry, take a shower and get ready for a visit from our friends off of another SAGA 43 who had spent the last two summers sailing in Nova Scotia and just returned to the states. After listening to the talk about their trip I am not so sure that it would be for us. It's very remote and you can go for many days without seeing another boat. I am way to social for that, I expect.
The inner harbor is a great spot to watch the boats go by. Some aren't so small in spite of the tight space they come in for to see and be seen. This on, in particular, caught my eye. What a magnificent vessel. It passed very close as you can see.
Here's a better view as she passed. She's large and quite unique. Grey isn't a color that you see often on yachts and it really works here. I'll be that she can really move. Her home port is Camden but I haven't seen her before. Really impressive.
It's Friday and I hope to get out early today for short run over to one of the islands, perhaps Perry Creek, one of our favorite spots. The weather forecast calls for a good breeze this afternoon along with a 50/50 chance of showers. I'll take those odds. TGIF!!!
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