Fernalds Neck 2022

On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, my hiking buddy and I decided it was time to walk off all that holiday eating from the previous three days. We kept it local, and headed for Fernald’s Neck in Lincolnville. Whenever we walked in this preserve, we always travelled the trails in a clockwise direction. This time, I declared that we should shake things up a bit and take the Orange trail in the counter clockwise direction. It was interesting to discover that not only did things looked different when approached from another way, but the brain was more alert as well.

At this point in the year, there were not too many new discoveries to behold. Flowers were long gone, but the mushrooms had vanished as well. We did come across a beautiful orange jelly fungus, but alas, I had not paid enough attention to my camera settings and the pictures taken at a way to slow shutter speed were completely blurry.

Approaching a ledge around the midpoint of the loop, I noticed that during one particularly steep section, I had an easier time taking this segment in the uphill direction than when we took our usual route and cautiously came downhill. Continuing along the ledge, we came across a field of Reindeer Lichen. It was then that we heard movement in the woods beyond this field. We stood very still and were soon rewarded with a deer sighting. We must have disturbed him while he was enjoying his lunch.

We continued wandering through the woods, just enjoying the experience of being out in nature. It wasn’t long before the trail skirted the edge of Megunticook Lake. We found a spot near the water to enjoy our lunch while meditating on the water and the Camden Hills beyond the lake. Bad weather was predicted for that evening but for now I soaked in the beauty of the cloud formation above the hills.

Finished with our snack, we continued our journey past Balance Rock and on towards home. It was a great end to a long weekend.

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