Leslie and David's Wanderings: 12 August 2022 Paddling Eagle Lake

One paddle in Acadia was not enough! We headed back into the park with our kayaks again today. We decided to do Eagle Lake since we knew where the launching point was located. Once again, we got really lucky and were able to unload the kayaks and get a parking space for the Behemoth in the nearby parking lot. The launch was very busy with bike tours stopping for pictures, people launching kayaks and canoes and folks wander around getting in the way. We were so happy to get out on the water and away from the crowds! Eagle lake is much smaller than Long Pond, so we decided to paddle down one shore and back up the other. The weather was once again beautiful with temperatures around 70, partly cloudy skies, but a bit more of a breeze than the other day. A couple sitting in the rocks as we headed out pointed out that they had just seen an eagle flying across the lake. Leslie had seen it as well while David parked the truck. It was chasing a seagull across the water. So we kept our eyes peeled looking for it. The lake turned out to be longer than we thought and it felt like we were paddling against a current even though we had the wind to our back. So we cut across to the other shore about 3/4s of the way down the lake and headed back. Paddling against the wind, we felt like we were crawling. Actually, we think we could have crawled faster! It was a long slow paddle back up the lake and the wind seemed to pick up as we were about half way back. Leslie saw the eagle several times, but we never got a picture. By the time we made it back to the launching area, our arms and shoulders were pretty tired. In other words, a great day! Landing this time was easier as there was not as many people getting in the way. On the way home, we stopped at the Bar Harbor Winery for a last sampling of their wines and to stock up. After getting back to the Wanderer, we washed down the kayaks again and loaded all the gear back in the garage for the drive in the morning. We had reservations at the Jordon Pond House for dinner, but decided to cancel them since we did not feel like the drive back into the park. Instead we went to one of the lobster houses on Maine 3 just before you cross the bridge onto Desert Island. We had to get one more lobster roll before we left Maine. Although fresh, it was a bit over cooked and not as big or delicious as the ones we had gotten at Chipman’s. But it was still good and a great way to end our Maine visit.