From November until early April (Patriot’s Day to be exact), we Mainers tend to be immersed in shades of grey: Grey clothes, grey landscape, grey, grey, grey. This is part of the reason that when the first croci and daffodils show up we tend to be struck with Spring Fever. When Winter lasts 10 months out of the year (okay, a gross exaggeration) when the first shoots of green appear, it’s no-holds barred “Get Out and Do!!”
And believe you me, I “did” today! I went out to one of my favorite places in Southern Maine, Powell Point Preserve. With suburbia growing around Portland, it’s tough to remember that there are some incredible places to take just a simple walk in the woods: and all within a twenty minute drive.
Powell Point is managed by the Freeport Conservation Trust, and it’s a pretty incredible piece of property. Here are some pictures from my walk today:
Heading up the trail
Part of the reason why it's worth the walk
The real reason it's worth it
The best part of Powell Point is that when you walk out there, you can’t hear cars (although Lambert Rd is a stone’s throw from I-295), you can’t hear animals (outside of birds and squirrels that is), or any of the other sounds that society produces. There are some great trails in Portland, and Portland Trails does an incredible job with the upkeep of them, but sometimes it’s nice to run away to the woods and ignore the world.
I just wish there were more places where you could hike in Southern Maine that didn’t require driving more than half an hour. Disclaimer: the only places that I know about walking in the woods in Cumberland County are Bradbury Mountain, Pinelands and Powell Point. I would love it if people let me know of any other places where there are isolated, woodsy paths!
I hope you all are getting a chance to get out and enjoy the early spring weather – although the weather report for tomorrow is calling for the mid-80s. We suffer from grey about six months out of the year, we need to take advantage of green, warm and sun while we can.
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