We gave ourselves an extra couple of hours on Tuesday before voting…so we went to Anglers for fish and chips and then searched the phone for a hike that was close by in order to get some fresh air before the drizzle set in for two days.

It turns out that not even 5 minutes from the campground there’s a beautiful hiking trail maintained by the Coastal Mountain Land Trust that follows the Mill Brook. It’s accessed through the Village Cemetery on Mt Ephraim Rd just past Tozier’s Market. A hike along the water, an interesting cemetery and a convenient stop for dinner supplies…total score!

Park in the middle of the cemetery and look for the fire hydrant that marks the entrance to the trail. It’s an easy walk that follows the brook and its tributaries. It was perfect on this early March day and I can only imagine how delightful it would be to wander along on a warm summer’s day with a picnic in a backpack and plenty of time to splash in the crystal clear water.

I can think this hike would work for someone with moderate mobility issues as long as there were a couple of arms available to help if you wanted to get to actually climb into the stream. Maybe a rugged wheelchair could navigate the roots but the terrain is probably more suited for walking sticks.

When you return to your car, take some time to read and admire the beautiful stones that surround you in this Village Cemetery. Many are shifting and falling but all are beautiful and well worth your time.

Searsport cemeteries are filled with memorials that hint at the stories of the sea captains and their families in the 1800’s. Well travelled and prosperous, their ships traveled around the Cape of Good Horn. Soberingly, reading the stones in this little burial ground is a good reminder of how dangerous a mariner’s way of life was. Poor Minnie M was one month into her 10th year when she was buried at sea off teh coast of Philadelphia.

While reading the gravestones, this is the first time I’ve seen the word Emigravit on a stone…a bit of Googling informs this is a latin term for emigrate in the sense that Christians believed that Dollie emigrated this world to be in God’s world.

Hence in silence and in sorrow, toiling still with busy hand,

Like an emigrant he wandered, seeking for the Better Land.

Emigravit is the inscription on the tomb-stone where he lies;

Dead he is not, but departed, — for the artist never dies.

Nuremberg by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Searsport has seven cemeteries and twice as many hikes through land preserves and public trusts…stay tuned and I’ll share a few more. In the meantime, please work towards peace in any mode available to you and I’ll do the same. Love, Astrig