Mackworth one of new trail guide's local gems

By Deirdre Fleming, Portland Press Herald Writer

Copyright © 2002 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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Trail name: Mackworth Island Nearest town: Falmouth Region: Greater Portland Length: 1.25 mile loop Difficulty: Beginner Other: There is a parking lot on the right just past the sentry gate with room for about a dozen cars. No facilities. Dogs allowed as long as they are on a leash. Directions: From Route 295 in Portland, take Exit 9 North to Route 1 and cross the Martins Point Bridge. Take the third right on to Andrews Road to the causeway on to Mackworth. Stop at the guard house and turn right into the parking area. Maps: Get driving directions from MapQuest. View a topo map from Maptech MapServer.

The weekend of the Beach to Beacon Race in Portland, a conversation with a Maine high school track coach led to a curious discovery. He was talking about his daily runs around the Back Cove trail in Portland, which is the start and finish of the Maine Marathon and the chosen loop for many locals. But at 3.5 miles, it's not enough for some. And, as a distance runner, he looks for ways to add more miles.

He often heads out to Mackworth Island. He said it's the "carrot" he holds out to extend the length of his runs. One visit to the island shows why. Even on a hot day, it's the favorite mini loop of small groups of high school runners, as well as walkers and beachcombers.

There are many parks and beaches along Maine's coast, but where else can you sit or walk along the woods in a comfortable, continuous circle, looking out on the tide the entire time? Leave it to Gov. Percival Baxter to leave such a place behind.

The island that Baxter presented to the State of Maine in 1953, according to the Baxter School For the Deaf, is about a mile from Route 1 and connected to Falmouth by a causeway. Yet it seems more isolated than that. Its only fault is that the dirt loop around the 100-acre island's perimeter is just 1.4 miles, according to local runners. (The map lists it as 1.25 miles). But as an old Irish aunt used to say, "a little bit of everything is nice."

Mackworth's diminutive size is made up in the beauty and breadth of the woods there, the wildlife and the constant sea breeze. While it was a chance conversation that led to the discovery of the island's trails, other hidden jewels such as this are mapped out in Portland Trails' new Trail Guide, released earlier this month. The historical and natural information is interesting, but the map's the thing. The fold-up paper companion could become as commonplace as the ubiquitous Gazetteer.

However, while the map details where the suburban trails in Portland are and what activities are allowed on them (for instance, no biking on Mackworth), the map does not describe the magic in these places - few maps do. Mackworth, for one, is a mysterious place.

Baxter gave the island to the State of Maine, along with $625,000 for the construction of a bridge and causeway as well as a new school for the deaf.

The island, where the Baxter School For the Deaf located, is as well protected as Baxter State Park. There is a guard who lets you in - or turns you away if there is no room in the parking lot, which holds fewer than 20 cars. The true faithful don't care and even when the lot is half empty, some walk the causeway to the island.

Those who help maintain Mackworth also help protect it for the fairies. Aside from the fact the main dirt trail leads you in a continual circle, like any good fairy ring would, there is a place cleared and reserved for the wee people here.

A clearing in the forest opens into something of an outdoor workshop, where a sign invites you to build houses "small and hidden for the fairies." The instructions are c lear that yo u must only use natural material. Treating the island with care and respect, the sign promises, "helps the fairies coming back."

And where there are fairies, there are ghosts. Mainers love their dogs, and Gov. Baxter was no different. The commemorative shrine in the cemetery suggests his may still be wandering the island.

One of the smaller trails on the island leads to the enclosed plot, walled by stone and marked by a large boulder with the names of some of the 19 Irish setters who belonged to Baxter.

The inscription to his "lifelong friends and companions" and the names of dogs like Skip, Peke and Pat, leaves a sad feeling that Baxter lost so many, even though the good governor himself died 33 years ago.

Anyone who's had a dog and lost a dog, and many who come to the island have one or two, has a hidden place to remember those friends who were "affectionate, faithful and loyal."

But only if they abide by the rules.

One of the remarkable things about Mackworth is that everyone there does obey the law and the island rules. It's nearly another country in the curious communal cooperation visitors display there.

There is no trash in site, no dog droppings, no bicycles, no noisy groups. Other parks on the Portland Trail map have signs informing pet owners of the leash law, but in few places do most people obey it. On Mackworth, so far as five to six visits can tell, everyone does.

It's as if all who visit go to share the same sense of peace, and, in return, help maintain it as Gov. Baxter would have wanted.

Staff Writer Deirdre Fleming can be contacted at 791-6452 or at: dfleming@pressherald.com