Hiking Maine | Gilsland Farm Audubon Center in Falmouth

Hiking in Maine

So, summer got away from us a little bit. We were so focused on getting our girls ready to leave the nest, that there was little time left over for blogging. On the plus side, I now know all about VISA requirements for Sweden and how to vacuum seal a comforter so it will fit in a suitcase.

Even with all the chaos, we did find a little time here and there to fit in some summer adventures (more coming on those soon) and keep up with our weekly hikes (well, for the most part).

As we approached the drop off date to bring our youngest to college for her Freshman year, we headed out for a later afternoon hike and she decided to join us. Our girls aren’t big on hiking, so it was a nice to have her decide to come along with us for this one.

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Hiking Maine | Trek along the Bold Coast in Cutler

Sometimes the timing of a hike impacts the end result and even the most beautiful of spots ends up feeling like more of a challenge and a little less fun than expected. After a day spent getting up close with the Puffins of Machias Seal Island, we were more tired than we realized and underestimated the difficulty of the hike we had planned to Cutler to explore the Bold Coast.

It didn’t help that we left our go bag in the car and didn’t have any bug spray to ward off the mosquitoes that were coming out as the day was winding down especially as the first mile of the trail is through the woods without any ocean breezes to keep them at bay.

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Hiking Maine | Hirundo Wildlife Refuge Trail

Spring hikes can be beautiful but challenging.  As soon as you pause, you are swarmed with mosquitoes. While the bug spray keeps the biting at bay, it is still distracting to have hundreds of mosquitoes buzzing around your face as you’re trying to take a sip of water. The mosquitoes are especially thick in forest hikes with nearby water sources.

So, of course, this past weekend we decided to head to the Hirundo Wildlife Refuge. The trail we picked starts off near a stagnant pond before heading deeper into the woods and then turning along a stream. No surprise the mosquitoes were bad but at least the views were beautiful.

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Hiking Maine | A Visit to a Salt Marsh at Cutts Island Trail

As winter was winding down, we headed south to the Cutts Island Trail which is part of the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge. It is a short, two-mile circular hike by a salt marsh.

The first part of the trail follows along Chauncey Creek and was easy to maneuver. It is not a strenuous hike. It leads to beautiful views of the marsh. Somehow, even though it’s a loop trail we did struggle to stay on the return part of the trail.

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