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Country Store in Columbia Falls, 41

miles into the trail, a group of locals

surrounds me, shocked. “I can’t believe

you’re walking that old rail line,” says one.

“You’d ft right in around here, ’cause it

looks like you ain’t that smart.” Te thick

Down East accent makes it sound like

“smaahart,” and we share a chuckle.

Te day warms, and I hear water rush-

ing through culverts under the trail. At

the Columbia Falls headquarters of the

Downeast Salmon Federation, Executive

Director Dwayne Shaw tells me those

gurgling culverts aren’t carrying just

drainage from the trail. Tey are ancient

streams concealing a hidden treasure.

“Many of those streams are the spawn-

ing grounds for the endangered Atlantic

salmon,” he says. “Tey’re the last stand

for those fsh.”

For more than 20 years, this small

group has worked to conserve endangered

salmon and their habitat; they hope the

Sunrise Trail will bring awareness to the

cause. Jacob van de Sande, the federa-

tion’s education and hatchery manager,

explains the connection between fsh and

trail. “Outdoor activities lead to appre-

ciation and conservation of our natural

world,” he says. “Te more time you

spend outside, the more you want to take

care of every resource!”

Shaw and van de Sande’s infectious

optimism transforms my trail experience:

I’m not only appreciating the crystalline

beauty of the visible; I now am acutely

conscious of all the precious, hidden

natural resources the Sunrise Trail helps

protect.

At the 54-mile point, the trail plows

through Machias, where I pause for cof-

fee and pie at Helen’s Restaurant. Te

blueberry pie richly deserves its 2005

LIFE Magazine

recognition as the “Best

Blueberry Pie in America.” As I head

back to the pathway, sun glints of the

frozen glory of Machias Bay with such

intensity, I’m forced to squint behind

my sunglasses.

As I move on, the trail’s charac-

ter changes completely. Around the

61-mile point, near East Machias, the

rail-trail bends north and crosses a tres-

tle over a frozen river where lightning-

shaped fssures zigzag across the surface.

Te fnal 20 or so miles from here ofer

sweet, solitary bliss. Te trees are taller,

the wind harder and signs of human

habitation fainter. No sweet smell of

wood smoke or friendly cups of cofee,

but no rush of road noise either.

A mile from the end, there is a clear-

ing where I stand in silence. Wisps

of cloud race by in a winter blue sky

overhead. A brave bird chirps, and the

wind whistles through the leafess trees.

Te lengthening rays of the setting sun

warm my windburned face as day ends

on the Down East Sunrise Trail.

Seth Levy is a writer and consultant to non-

proft recreation and conservation organiza-

tions and outdoor industry companies. He lives

in Portland, Maine, with one pair of skis, three

working bicycles and several pairs of running

shoes. He plans to bike the Down East Sunrise

Trail again, in the warmth of the summer sun.

1

1A

1

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182

200

182

183

200

180 179

193

191

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214

192

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3

Map for reference only.

Not for navigation.

Mount Desert

Island

A T L A N T I

C

O C E A N

Machias

Bay

Rocky

Lake

Pennamaquan

Lake

Hadley

Lake

Tunk

Lake

Bar

Harbor

Hog

Bay

Gardner

Lake

acad i a

nat i ona l

par k

moo s ehorn

nat i ona l

wi l d l i f e

r e fuge

moo s ehorn

nat i ona l

wi l d l i f e

r e fuge

Parking

Down East

Sunrise Trail

Trailhead

Restrooms

Total trail length:

85 miles

Trail surface:

Crushed stone

map illustration by

daniellemarks.com

County line

hancock county

washington

county

canada

U. S.A.

Schoodic

Mountain

0 1 2 3 4

MI LES

M

A

I

N

E

To Bangor

MAINE

Ellsworth

Franklin

Sullivan

Cherryfield

Harrington

Machias

Whitneyville

East

Machias

Dennysville

Calais

Columbia

Falls

Unionville

Rd.

Washington

Junction Rd.

Tibbetstown

Rd.

Ayers

Junction

Rd.

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