This story was originally published in June 2022. “I smell the ocean,” my friend Kim said as she hiked behind me through a fern-filled forest. “I see the ocean,” I replied, glancing up at blue water that peeked through tree trunks ahead of us.
“Oh! I haven’t been looking up,” Kim said. “I’m trying not to trip on these roots.” It was a particularly root-filled trail.
Just a minute more of careful walking and we reached the Bold Coast of Cutler. There, atop towering cliffs, we looked out over a smooth expanse of water that stretched to the horizon, broken only by a few lobster buoys and the soft blue form of Canada’s Grand Manan Island. We were hiking in Cutler Coast Public Reserved Land, a state-owned swath of wilderness in eastern Maine.
The property covers 12,334 acres and includes about 4.5 miles of rocky coastline that overlooks the Bay of Fundy. The popular outdoor destination features more than 10 miles of hiking trails that lead to five backcountry tent sites.
I first visited Cutler Coast as a novice hiker in the early summer of 2009. At the time, I was visiting trails throughout the state to gather material to write a thesis for the University of Maine Honors College. My goal was to craft a creative nonfiction piece about the Maine outdoors in the style of John McPhee, one of my favorite writers.
The project turned out to be more personal and prophetic than I anticipated. It introduced me to the joys and health benefits of tromping through the wil.