[Journal entry for August 23, 2016; Devil’s Back, Harpswell Maine] I hike the Devil’s Back, a set of trails in a conservation area at the north end of Orr’s Island, a narrow peninsula between Long Cove and Gun Point Cove, bisected by Route 24. I first walked the trails on the west side of the peninsula, the side that faces Long Cove. It is a cigar-shaped loop that mostly follows the contour of the hill, except for descent and scent at the ends of the cigar. The trail is beneath conifer trees, but at one point descending down to a rocky ledge on the shore with a great view of Long Cove. I spotted a Great Blue Heron wading in the shallows. I then hiked a similar loop on the east side of the peninsula, the side facing Gun Point Cove. A large colony of Harbor Seals, fifty or more, were occupying a ledge in the middle of the cove, lounging in the sin, some upside-down, other sprawled on the bellies. I think maybe this is the same seal colony that Philip Abbott took Dallas and me by motorboat, back in 1977 (or at least is was nearby). 2:00.

Addendum. A few days later, Dallas and I launched Duck, our tandem kayak, into Harpswell Sound near the Moutain Road Bridge and paddled over to the seal colony. Alas, none were there.