The Wrack
The Wrack is the Wells Reserve blog, our collective logbook on the web.
Little River Solitude
Posted by
| August 3, 2012
| Filed under: Program Activities
Sue Bickford and I had the pleasure of spending a couple of hours on the Little River yesterday with a group of six women visiting from Montreal, Maryland, Virginia, and New Hampshire. They all registered for our public kayaking program, piloted last summer with rental boats and new this year with a fleet of our own (thank you Old Town Canoe & Kayak, Betsy Stevens, and Mark Klys for your amazingly generous donations!). We paddled upstream amongst the salt marsh grasses and birds, and then enjoyed the shade provided by overhanging oaks, maples, and pines that provide a vital forested buffer zone along the river's edge. What a peaceful, lovely trip we had!
Kayaking on the Little River Estuary with certified Maine Guides will continue into September with the following program dates (pre-registration is required by calling 646-1555):
-
Tuesday, August 7 at 1pm -
Thursday, August 16 at 10am -
Monday, August 20 at 1pm -
Thursday, August 30 at 10am -
Wednesday, September 5 at 12pm -
Thursday, September 13 at 9am -
Monday, September 17 at 12pm
Four new Registered Maine Guides in Sea Kayaking
A big congratulations to Stephanie, Suzanne, Sue, and Nancy for passing the Registered Maine Guide Sea Kayak exam. Maine is one of the few states that requires outdoor guides to be licensed to maintain a quality of outdoor recreation for visitors, as well as to protect our natural resources when visiting wild spaces. It is one of the most difficult guide exams to pass. Usually, half of the people taking the test fail on their first try. Not these ladies! They will continue to hone their guide skills this summer during our kayaking programs.
Learning the Little River
I have been the Natural Resource Specialist here at the reserve for over a decade. I know the land well… or at least I thought I did.
This year, several of the staff here were certified to lead kayak trips up the Little River estuary, which forms the northern boundary of the reserve. I was one of the lucky one. This was a whole new place for me. I had seen it from the river banks countless times. But being ON the water of the river is a whole new experience. Being on the water with a small group of people is even better.
Their stories add to this story. Where they have traveled from, how they heard about this trip. What they would like to learn about this estuary.