SUMMARY:

This will be an exciting several days on the wild, spectacular and undiscovered Downeast Coast of Maine. For our two full days, Sat. (7/19) and Sun. (7/20), we'll experience two of the most scenic hikes on this undiscovered part of the coast. On Sat. (7/19), we'll hike on the remote and unspoiled Great Wass Island, a preserve of the Nature Conservancy that extends out into the Atlantic. This 5-mile hike will take us across spectacular rocky headland shores with open ocean views and through rare maritime forests with stunted coastal jackpines and heaths with weird carnivorous plants such as sundews and pitcher plants.  On Sun. (7/20),  we'll do two shorter hikes.  In the morning, we'll hike 3 miles through the breathtaking Western Head Preserve in Cutler featuring a dramatic cliff walk on a stretch of the wild Bold Coast.  In the afternoon, we'll head up the coast a bit and hike (2.5 miles) the spectacular Boot Head Preserve with its awesome high and jagged cliffs covered with soaring spruce trees with views of the whole stretch of wild coastline and looming Grand Manan Island beyond. 

Driving directions to the location and spot to meet at:

We'll meet at my house in Machiasport, which is located on Machias Bay. The goal is to meet there at 6:00 pm on Fri., July 18th. The house is located at 264 Port Road (Rt. 92), Machiasport, ME.  You can get there via your GPS, but here are the directions: Take I-95 North through Maine to Bangor. In Bangor, take Exit 182A to merge into I-395E toward US 1A/Bangor/ME-9/Brewer. Take Exit 6A for Rt. 1A East, toward Route 1/Ellsworth/Bar Harbor. Take Route 1A for 25 miles to Ellsworth. In Ellsworth, take a left onto Rt. 1 North. Take Rt. 1 North for 58 miles to Machias. In Machias, take a right at the bottom of College Hill (before crossing the bridge over the Machias River) onto Rt. 92 (Ames Ave.). Take Rt. 92 for 3.3 miles to my house, on the left at #264 Port Road (Rt. 92) in Machiasport.