For this trip I went into Carroll Inlet, and stopped at two USFS docks there, Shelter Cove and Shoal Cove.
See this map segment that shows the general route.
There were light NW winds.
This is the first trip I have made using the Delorme InReach.
I had tracking turned on and wife Lisa at home was able to track my progress on the website.
Pretty cool.
We also exchanged several text messages while I was underway using the InReach Bluetooth link to my iPad. Turns out my data plan on the InReach has a limit on the number of text messages allowed per month - Who knew?
On the way I dropped my 3 shrimp pots near Hume Island. Had not set here before, but it was on the way and the depths looked good so decided to give it a shot.
Arrived at the Shelter Cove USFS dock at about 11:15 AM. No one else was there.
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| Faraway at the Shelter Cove USFS dock |
It is about 26 nm from my home port in Bar Harbor North to this dock.
Had a good lunch on board.
About 1:15 PM I geared up and walked up the road. I took my trout fishing gear in hopes of being able to fish a little in the small lake that is up the road a mile or so.
The USFS has a presence here, even though they have no buildings per se. They keep some vehicles here for use on the logging roads. Looks like the USFS had a good year, as there are new Suburbans posted all over the place now. Someone told me they have switched from Forest Service green to white to save money. Apparently the green was a custom color which added to the cost of the vehicles.
The road was bare gravel in most places, but in others had snow up to 18" deep.
I did not have ice cleats or snow shoes with me so this much snow really slowed me down.
I made it as far as the first lake, but it was iced up too much to do any fishing. There was a little bit of open water near the outlet, but I didn't bust my way down there.
Someday I'll have to figure out the name of this lake, if it has one. I have gotten trout here on previous trips, in better (warmer) weather.
There is a memorial on a big rock just over looking this lake. I assume that there was some type of accident during construction of the road and that a life was lost.
Carroll Inlet can be quite beautiful on a good day looking north from the log sort yard.
Got back to the boat at about 3:30 PM, with just enough daylight left to prep my two crab pots and set them out in front of the dock in about 100' of water. I have done very well here in the past.
I took another short walk just before dark over to the log sort yard that overlooks the cove.
I can't imagine a more peaceful, serene place to spend the night.
I was back to the boat by 5 PM, just as it was getting dark.
Dinner this evening consisted of tenderloin steaks cooked on the Foreman Grill, boiled potatoes, and salad. (Did I mention that I don't do survival trips?)
Had a quiet pleasant evening on board. Played some guitar, called Lisa on the sat phone, and watched the movie "7 Psychopaths" on my iPad.
Sacked out about 10 PM with light rain falling.
Sunday morning I was up about 7 AM. Had a breakfast of pancakes.
Pulled out at 9 AM in overcast, cool, calm conditions.
Pulled the crab pots, yielding 1 lonely crab, just legal, but I pitched him anyway.
I ran slowly South towards Shoal Cove.
Went past the USFS dock nearer the entrance to Shoal Cove proper, and dropped the crab pots again. Then doubled back and went to the dock.
The USCG used to have a big LORAN station here. I toured it many years ago. Of course anyone who is a mariner knows that LORAN has now been replaced by GPS as a navigational system, so the LORAN station has been shut down. The USCG has their own small dock across from the USFS dock that they used when this was an active LORAN station site.
This is Faraway tied to the Shoal Cove dock. In the woods above you can just see the presence of some buildings. The USFS has a big "camp" up there, with a big main building, some garages and sheds. I should have gotten some pics but at the time did not know that I would be doing a Blog.
About 12:30 PM, after lunch, I put on full rain gear and rubber boots and headed up the logging road. It was raining heavily by this time. It is a steep climb and not really much to see along the way. At times I stopped to rest and wondered what I was doing here.
I made it up as far as huge log sort yard. I explored the yard, which was full of old and abandoned equipment. Raining much too hard for pictures. Turned around here and headed back.
When I got back to the boat the rain had slacked enough that I experimented with a couple of shots of myself using the tripod and the timer on the camera.
Dinner this evening consisted of hamburgers grilled on the Foreman Grill. We use the Foreman Grill a lot on board because we don't have an oven.
Worked on photos for most of the evening, along with some guitar work.
Hit the sack about 10 PM with heavy rain and some wind.
Monday - up at 7 AM.
Fired up right away and pulled out.
Pot 1 had 3 undersized Dungeness and 2 small Tanner crabs (at least I think they are Tanners.)
Pot 2 had 1 undersized and 2 legal Dungeness in it - Yahoo.
Had breakfast underway.
Pulled the shrimp pots, yielding a meager 62 shrimp. I usually get more than 100, and sometimes more than 150, so this was a lower than normal haul, but at least worth the effort.
There were lots of Stripers with green eggs.
On the way home, just passing Mt Point was hailed by the USCG Cutter Chandalar. They informed me that they would be boarding me for a safety inspection. I wish I had snapped a pic of the boarding party that came over in an inflatable raft. There were 6 big guys, fully decked out in Gumby suits, complete with radios, and all kinds of other equipment. They were so loaded down with gear that they could barely move.
Only two came on board. Fortunately I had noticed that my flares were expiring and had gotten new flares the day before I left on this trip. The only minor violation they found was that one bulb in my mast light was burned out. I did not know that it had two bulbs in it. They did not cite me for this. The guy said that judging from the condition of the rest of the boat he knew that I would repair it right away when I got back to port.
I received a "Good as Gold" report. They call it that because it is on Gold paper and there are no violations noted. If I get hailed for another safety boarding within a year I can just refer them to this boarding and they will pass me by.
In the stall about 12:30 PM.
Total trip mileage about 55.6 nm.
Another successful safe and enjoyable boat trip in the books.
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