Remnants of the Gilded Age at Brave Boat Harbor
Kittery Point, Maine — I dip my paddle in the water, push the kayak into the channel, and glide away from the causeway. I’m paddling into the marsh, heading out […]
Island living, Adirondack style
In July, an opportunity arose to camp with a friend for several nights on a quarter-acre island on Middle Saranac Lake in New York’s Adirondack Park. My friend warned me […]
Skulls of history in a forgotten tomb
Where was he, the most noteworthy man who ever called my town home? Back and forth I wandered, searching. Where was the life-sized portrait of Sir William Pepperrell? At the […]
Presidential aspirations: You can’t always get what you want
I have long held Presidential aspirations — that is, to complete the Presidential traverse hike across the highest peaks of New England including Mount Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison. I […]
Beautiful desolation at Lake Aloha
“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations […]
One hike, many discoveries: A plane crash, a fire tower and stone-age couches
Would we find the plane crash? That was the motivating question as I hit the road early one morning in late June with three middle-school boys. More than 40 years […]
Three generations, ten springs of exploring Cape Cod
For ten years now, I’ve made a spring pilgrimage to Cape Cod with my son and mother, for a few nights over the April spring vacation week or on a weekend […]
Three Hills for Mother’s Day
I have long wanted to hike to Third Hill, the far outpost of York, Maine’s rangy Mount Agamenticus. Third Hill has a reputation for being challenging to find. I’ve known […]
Snowmageddon 2015? Remembering the winter of 1716-17
By December, five feet of snow blanketed the ground. Although temperatures were not bitterly cold, the snow kept falling, with several storms in January. By early February, some drifts rose […]
A different kind of Groundhog Day: The Candlemas Massacre
On January 24, on the morning after Candlemas Day, 1692, the town of York, Maine was burned to the ground by a band of 150 Abenaki Indians. Between 40 and […]