FIELD NOTES #9
ROCKPORT,
MAINE
Homey feeling, but so much smoke.
Dates
Aug 18 – Aug 25, 2026
Miles to camp
85
(1,717mi travelled so far)
Weather
60-75
Sunny
Symptom Score
16
(baseline: 23)
WOuld we return
Probably
How I Felt
During our stay my average score was 16, it seems very likely that my scores were impacted by all the campfire smoke in the campground. We did get a pretty steady breeze everyday, which probably helped. Overall, this was an encouraging result and our next stop should hopefully give us more confident results.
What We Did
The boys and I started our week in the Rockport/Rockland/Camden area with a hike up Mount Battie in the Camden State Park. The climb was short, rock, steep and technical – just how the boys like it. At the top we were rewarded with a great view of the ocean and an opportunity to climb the WW1 monument tower which sits on top of the mountain.
During our stay we took advantage of our campground’s beautiful space by the ocean to do home school time (it was also a great place to get away from all the nasty campfire smoke in the campground!). We also hiked the Rockland Breakwall an almost half mile long granite breakwall constructed in the late 1800’s with a lighthouse on the end. It made for a perfect after work picnic and then hike.
On the weekend Meg, the boys and I went to Owls Head Transportation museum, which was not as impressive as it’s admission fee would suggest. While they did have an impressive collection of cars, planes, motorcycles and early industrial age equipment it was not worth the $60 to see. What made it a bit more interesting was that we just so happened to visit it on a one of the two days a year they were holding their annual car auction. This gave us an opportunity to see the large collection of cars they were auctioning off and watch some of the action for awhile.
Afterwards we caught the Maine Book Festival at the Thomaston Public Library. Here the boys had fun exploring all of the book tents, hanging out in the children’s area, exploring the library and attending a presentation from a local naturalist about Maine mammals and the adaptions they have developed to survive.
On Sunday we hiked the Tablelands trail from Mount Battie to Mount Megunticook and back. It was extremely foggy all day which meant we couldn’t take in the mountain top views, but we did get several awesome “edge of the world” looking pictures. The hike was a very nice balance of rocky scramble and groomed wooded path hiking.
The top of Mount Megunticook was exactly the ecology that we are finding is great for reducing my MCAS symptoms, which got me thinking about soil types instead of elevation since Mount Megunticook is only 1,350ft tall. This thought actually paid off, because there are maps for that (sort of). It isn’t perfect, but I was able to build a stack of different maps to create a pretty decent view of where we might find areas that have shallow bedrock well-drained with conifer or mixed conifer land cover away from wetlands and marshes. Again, its not perfect, it’s not fully proven, but it is a start.
Our Favorite Moment
Hiking from the summit of Mount Battie to the Summit of Mount Megunticook during heavy fog. All the summits looked like you were at the edge of the world.
Observations
The Journey Continues
We are visiting 45 campgrounds in 300 days to find a place where our family thrives and my symptoms improve. Follow along as we share what we learn along the way
Graham Simplified
Scorecard
5 / 10
8 / 10
8 / 10
8 / 10
6 / 10
5 / 10
Probably
Overall
7
/ 10
- This area was not the rocky ground and conifer forest we were looking for, instead it was mostly maple, oak and dense sub-canopy. However, it did have the nearly constant breeze we hoped for. Oddly it was mostly off-shore, which is not the direction we were looking for.
- The terrible campfire smoke pretty much ruined our test for this location. It was so thick you could see it from the road driving in. Despite the terrible smoke I didn’t feel that terrible which is hopefully a good sign. Days we spent away from the campground had promising scores.
- This area felt homey. There is a noticeable sense of community, lots of families and family-oriented things to do.
- Things are easy to get to in this area, stores, services, attractions, etc. However traffic is difficult on Route 1, the only main road in the area.
- We did have a few things break down. The mini-fridge in the outdoor kitchen of the RV quit. Thankfully Wal-Mart had a decent replacement that only required minor demolition to fit. The truck’s exhaust broke apart between the muffler and the catalytic converter. I have it secured for now and an appointment at a muffler shop during our next campground stay. Our kitchen sink (made of plastic), cracked and the plumbing broke loose (incorrect wrong from the factory). Plumbing is fixed, sink is epoxy patched until we can get closer to a store that carries a replacement
Next we are headed to:
New Harbor, Maine
Hopefully a better test of coastal Maine sea breeze!
