Hike Back in Time

Dates: August 21

Exploration: Cornwall Nature Preserve, Paris, Maine

Station: 14 Bethel Outdoor Adventure & Campground

White-tailed deer in the Cornwall Nature Preserve

There were several places that were influential to my husband and me as children, places that helped us fall in love with the backcountry (or as we called it, “the woods”), and one place that we had in common was the Cornwall Nature Preserve. One morning, we returned to the nature preserve to reminisce.

Our favorite place in the preserve, the Enchanted Forest

Paul and I have an age difference, and we explored these woods in different years and under different circumstances. He lived across the street, and explored much of the preserve as a boy hiking and camping (among other things, I’d discover). Years later, I was a student at his mother’s riding stable, and I discovered the preserve from horseback.

What made today’s hike special was filling each other in on our childhood stories there. Here’s a few.

Coming down this hill (headed in the opposite direction), a root created a huge step. It doesn’t look like much in a photograph, but it felt like a lot on horseback. My friend, Heather, felt it the most when her saddle slide over Lady’s withers, and she found herself in the high, springtime stream. Heather emptied out her boots disgustedly saying, “Waterproofing your boots doesn’t help when the water is on the inside!” (That was my first ride with Heather in 1998—and we’re still friends!)

Paul’s love of boating began right there in the preserve in this pond. With an inflatable boat, he made his first sail. Momentarily, it popped.

Teenage trail riding shenanigans: Abby on Baby doing the limbo beneath a low tree circa 1999 (photographed by Heather riding Lady—no wet boots that ride!)

Ice House Trail: Pre-electricity, the stream was walled to create blocks of ice, which were used to perishable items in the ice house

The Main Trail of the preserve was wide and well maintained. For a teenager on horseback, it was a great place to speed. Along here, I pushed Baby into big canter.

And about here, she dumped me and ran home. The little old man we suddenly encountered is probably still wondering what the big deal had been, especially when the teenager when screaming down the trail after her horse, “BABY!”

What are your favorite childhood places? 

Orange Forest

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