Archive for the ‘Hiking’ Category

Just over two miles up the Coppermine Trail is Bridal Veil Falls, an 80 foot waterfall, whose upper flow, a 30-foot plunge resembles a bridal veil. The flow pools beneath the initial fall before flowing to the right into another small pool, and then making its final plunge over flat, polished granite to the stream below. The falls is best view from the small island that requires and a few easy rock hops to cross.

After a fourth-tenths of a mile walk along Coppermine Road the trail branches off to the left and begins its 2.1 mile trek. The total elevation gain is 1100 feet making for an easy walk. The yellow blazes were for the most part absent, but the path is easily followed.

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It was August of 2008 and my son Chris and I had just spent a week canoeing and hiking up in the Allagash. We had come down to the Greenville, Maine area for three days to get away from our own cooking, do some laundry, take a shower, get some gas for the truck and for the chance to sleep in a bed.

The hot shower was the best part. Trying to clean up in the lakes of northern Maine is problematic because of the leeches. According to the State of Maine DEP, “(Leeches are) a common nuisance to swimmers (often called bloodsuckers) they are flattened worm-like animals.  Most species feed on worms, snails, insect larvae and other small aquatic animals, but, a few species, if given the opportunity, will also feed on human blood. They are typically found in shallow, protected waters, concealed among aquatic plants or under stones, logs and other debris. They are attracted to water disturbance around docks and swimming areas. On hot summer days leeches are most active.”

In flowing water they were not a problem. In ponds and lakes, well, we had to shave them off with a hunting knife.

Leaving Greenville we headed north up the east side of Moosehead Lake. We had heard about a crash site about six miles into the woods on logging roads that ran east from the Beaver Cove area of the lake that we wanted to investigate.

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