The Great Wander of 2026
Day 9: June 1st, 2026
States Hiked: Maine (10 total so far)
Trails Hiked: Portland Head Light, Pemaquid Point, Marshall Point, Owl's Head
Distance Hiked: 1.7 miles, 2.4 miles, .3 miles, 1.0 miles
Elevation Gain: 105 ft., 112 ft., 7 ft., 56 ft.
Cumulative Wander: 65.3 miles
Duration: 39m, 47m, 9m, 22m
Once you give me an Adventure Lab that involves a special interest, it's gonna be very hard for me not to do it.
Even when the farthest stop is four hours away.
The Adventure Lab was Lighthouses of Maine, and while a wander is usually entirely random when it comes to locations, I was thrilled to know how many places along the coast I'd get to see, not to mention photograph.
I recognize that none of these hikes are particularly long or impressive, but you don't understand how long I had to drive just to get to them unless you've ever navigated Maine north of Portland...
Starting at the Portland Head Light was an easy choice, and I couldn't have picked a more beautiful day to do so. After seeing it in the distance from the breakwater the night ere, it looked like the postcard image of what one imagines when they think of a lighthouse. But, it was nice weather in June in Maine, so I didn't stick around too long after completing the stop for the Adventure Lab, though I managed to snap the above photo before heading out, and I think it might be the best photograph I've ever taken.
Pemaquid Point was next, and that park wasn't much less busy, though it look quite a while to get to. The person working the parking hut had a lovely conversation with me for several minutes in a thick New York accent, and it was delightful. The hiking situation, conversely, was not.
In order to even get the resemblance of a hike out of Pemaquid Point, I had to wander down the narrow-ass roads of the surrounding area with houses that brought the word "proletariat" to mind on a frequent basis. The lilacs were in bloom, which at least provided some additional joy to the adventure, but by 2.4 miles, it was either head to the next one or traverse down another remote road for not much payoff.
Marshall Point showed up as 13 miles away on the Adventure Lab app, but it showed that it would take 90 minutes to get there. Many of these are on remote inlets on the coast, which means heading the whole way back up them and then back out to the next, and unless one is directly on the 95, we're talking mostly two-lane roads that slow to 30mph through every town.
The extent of hiking possibilities at the remote ass Marshall Point were limited to a small jaunt through the woods that came back around to the parking lot, and I didn't even bother trying to extend that.
Owl's Head was at a state park, which seemed promising. The lighthouse has a long staircase to reach, and I watched a woman trying to back up her stroller and small child on it, all while Chad the Cargo Shorts Chody Rhodes stood there watching while not doing a damn thing. That's when I decided I'd seen enough for the day.
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