Journals 2004, August

Mt. Battie is the "mountain" that overlooks Camden, and is part of the Camden Hills where folks have come to escape the heat of summers to the south for over a hundred years. The view from here inspired Edna St. Vincent Millay (who graduated from high school in Camden) to write the poem which launched her career, Renasence. The poem begins: "All I could see from where I stood Was three long mountains and a wood; I turned and looked the other way, And saw three islands in a bay. So with my eyes I traced the line Of the horizon, thin and fine, Straight around till I was come Back to where I'd started from; And all I saw from where I stood Was three long mountains and a wood." Nearly a century later, these words describe exactly the view from the top of Mt. Battie. On our first hike up to the summit, I took this photo of the low scrub---the autumn colors come early on the hilltops here. I wanted my August journal to celebrate the beauty of our new home town and state.

Sold through Ducktrap Bay Trading Company, Camden, Maine.