Boats need to be used, and they tend to get even with you if they are not used.
Stuff starts breaking.
I wanted to get out to the Naha again for a couple of reasons.
One, it was the last place that Steven and I went to, and I knew it would be an intensely emotional experience for me.
And two, I wanted to scope out the trail for potential locations for a memorial plaque that I want to place along the trail in remembrance of Steven.
I left Bar Harbor about 9 AM on Friday and headed out.
Since I was alone I did not drop any pots along the way.
I can drop the shrimp pots pretty well when I am alone, but pulling them alone is another story.
Once I hook onto the pots and am in the process of pulling them on the back deck I cannot control the movements of the boat.
And if there is any wind or current at all, as there always is, the boat can get turned around and run over the lines, which is very much to be avoided.
On the way out there I discovered that the diesel furnace on the boat was not working.
I had had trouble with it on and off over the summer, but it was working the last time I was on board.
Unfortunately for this trip it was DOA.
I have a small electric space heater which I can run off the inverter on the low setting.
When the generator is running I can run the space heater on a little higher setting, so I was not entirely without heat.
But in no case could I let the space heater run all night.
Fortunately I have a very wonderful goose down quilt on the bunk that kept me toasty while in bed, but when I got up on Saturday morning it was 36 F inside the cabin!
It was already starting to get dark in the woods by 2:45 PM on Friday afternoon, so I had a lot of "cabin time" on this trip.
I filled the time by doing cross words, reading on my Kindle app, and running a marathon of
Law & Order" reruns.
I sat with that little space heater just a few inches from my feet, and the temp inside the cabin would hover between 48 and 50 F.
I did locate a potential spot for the memorial plaque, and now I must check in with the USFS to see what kind of rules they have on doing that sort of thing.
When I was on the way home on Saturday I went through a few areas where there was skim ice on the water.
It was so cold and so calm overnight that ice had started to form back in the quiet areas.
Here are some photos that I took on this solo trip:
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| I had the dock to myself on Friday |
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| Lots of foam coming down from the rapids |
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| Small "Bear Bread" fungus on the trees |
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| Some people keep skiffs on the lagoon so they can get up river |
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| Some of the skiffs are in better shape than others |
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| I think the trail is always wet, frosty, or covered with snow |
Most of them are covered in slime even when they are not icy.
And since they are usually not level they are very dangerous.
When I went up the trail on Saturday morning they were all covered in ice, and I did not have my ice cleats on, so I went very slowly and carefully.
Roosevelt Lagoon was intensely beautiful on Saturday morning when I walked up there.
I will surely miss this when we move south next Spring.
A couple of small boats came in early Saturday morning.
I watched the guys as they unloaded.
Looked like they were headed for fishing up on the river.
The Steelhead are in the river at this time of year.
My friends Ed and Linda Purvis built this "off the grid" homestead many years ago and just sold it less than a year ago.
It faces Naha Bay.
I swung by there and took a few photos to send to them.
They called their home "Freedom Point."
I made it safely back into the harbor in mid afternoon.
A few days after I got back I had the electrician look at the furnace.
He found a slightly burned connection on a splice going into the circuit breaker.
He replaced that and now the furnace is working once again.
