Trip To Cutler, ME
I wanted to get an early start from Baxter State Park to the Cutler Coast Public Reserved Land. This is an area with various levels of hiking and beautiful views of the coast.
North Woods Trading Post: Departure on a dreary day!
As I was packing the last items into the car, something stung or bit my right ear. I quickly grabbed the Benadryl and covered the area, but my ear became noticeably swollen (Big Ear – a good trail name).
On my way to Cutler, ME, I had “Avoid Highways” turned on in Google Maps. This worked too well in a sense. I was directed to numerous roads that at points were just barely passable. I thought, wouldn’t it be nice to have a selection “Avoid Dirt Roads” which could be prioritized over “Avoid Highways”. I digress!
The drive to Cutler, ME from Baxter is about a 3 hour drive, with “Dirt Roads” enabled. The rain was very heavy most of the way. I was hoping that the weather would clear the closer I got to Cutler.
View for most of the trip…
I parked at the Northernmost entrance to the park. There was a momentary lull in the weather. At this point a family emerged from the forest. The man, had a huge backpack with all types of camping gear hanging from every side. The Woman had a 16-month-old baby on her back (someone asked how old the baby was). She had gear hanging of of her pack as well. The each wore a front pack as well. There were three other kids ranging in ages from four to ten, I’d say. Each was carrying backpacks. They told the woman taking their trail photo that they had spent the last 5 days camping. They were soaked and everyone was smiling. The baby had a homemade poncho to keep the water off. I wish I had taken a photo.
It was 12:30 pm and I was deciding which trail to take when the sky opened once again. Ironically, in the middle of nowhere, I had full bars LTE on my phone. I decided not to go for a three hour hike in the rain and fog. I setup the hotspot on my phone and connected my MacBook to start searching for a campsite nearby. The only site in the vicinity that took credit cards was across the Canadian border near Welshpool on an island Northeast of Lubrec.
There’s a bridge connecting Lubrec to the island with a border control office on both sides. There were 10 cars in front of me and they weren’t moving. Eventually, it was my turn to cross. I had read that I needed a passport and proof of COVID vaccinations. I handed both to the officer. He took the documents and asked if I had setup the ArriveCan app on my cell phone. I had not. He told me he would give me a one-day exemption to camp on the Island. They confiscated my eggs and wanted to see my bear spray container. Small bear spray containers aren’t permitted because they can be concealed and used as a weapon. My containers were well above the restricted limits. There were other questions about firewood, weapons, drugs, exotic animals, plants, fireworks, pets, etc. They let me through!!
When I crossed the border and connected to another cell tower, not only did my service improve but the time jump forward an hour. I was in a new timezone.
I decided not to setup my tent because it was still raining. The mosquito count was also very high and for some reason they were attracted to my swollen ear. I pulled out the mosquito net to protect my head. I made dinner, cleaned out the car, and then did a little writing. I was asleep by 9:30 pm. Doing any posting in the confines of the car is difficult.