Marshall Island Trail Dedication

MCHT members coming ashore on Marshall Island

I was so grateful to be a part of Maine Coast Heritage Trust's Marshall Island Trail Dedication trip on August 15. What a great day we had! Check out our picture notebook for some fun memories.

Our boat full of MCHT members headed out on a beautiful, crisp sunny day that soon took us deep into a fog bank that descends so often on the bays. A pod of harbor porpoises escorted us for a ways, we saw lots of seabirds. David MacDonald, MCHT's Director of Land Protection shared stories about the islands we passed - including Buckle Island, the very first project of MCHT's 40-year history.

As luck would have it, Marshall beckoned us from the fog, bathed in warm sunlight. As we came into Sand Cove, it was fun to see people who had come in their own boats - two had kayaked from Seal Harbor, starting out at 8 that morning! We braved the surf and stormed the beach in small boat loads, nearly losing one of the lunch coolers in the surge!

We went to Marshall to celebrate the fifth anniversary of its conservation, to thank all the members and donors who made the preserve possible, and to explore the 10 miles of new trails that have been marked this year. Our new president Paul Gallay welcomed and thanked everyone, David told about the various conservation efforts over several years, and Board member Forrest Berkley, who was instrumental in protecting the island, gave very emotional remarks about why that special place was so important to him and his family. Finally, our steward for the island, Terry Towne, told us about the island and the rugged trails we would be exploring. With that we were ready to head out.

We were treated to winding trails on deep moss, weaving among the trees and rocks, clearings filling in with sweet-smelling ferns, open expanses of rocky shores giving way to vast seascapes. I was thrilled to get to Boxam Cove- I've heard so much about the beach at Sand Cove, but I found Boxam even more impressive.

One of our group, John Rivers, brought along his camera with a huge zoom lens and took lots of pictures . He has already set up a slide show on his Flickr site.

Many of you also brought cameras and have your own stories to share - We want to hear them! Please tell us about your experience that day! Share your photos, too. You could win a free trip next year if you enter our photo contest.