Island Hopping 4: Isle au Haut

In summer, the daily boat to Isle au Haut is packed with kids and dogs, hikers and freight. Not so in September. As I write this, I’m sitting at the Black Dinah Chocolatiers Internet Cafe, having nibbled my way through a couple of selections and a cup of tea. That alone is reason to visit this lovely oasis about a 45-minute boat ride from Stonington.

Frankly, though, most folks come for the hiking. Isle au Haut is home to a remote section of Acadia National Park. On most mornings, a park ranger boards the boat in Stonington, passes out trail maps, points out highlights en route, and answers questions as the boat stops first at the town landing, then continues on to Duck Harbor. Also here are a handful of lean-to camping sites.

What an idea time of the year to hike. The temperatures are coolishly warm, or is that warmishly cool? A nice breeze keeps it that way. The trees are beginning to blush. And the trails are all but empty.

From Town Landing to the park is nearly 4 miles, so it’s smart to exit at the park for hiking only. But, if you want to visit the Isle au Haut General Store, see the tiny post office, visit Black Dinah for to-die-for truffles, or shop at the island’s lone souvenir store, The Urchin Shop (you can purchase all of local celebrity swordfishing captain-turned author Linda Greenlaw’s books here), then Town Landing it is.

Truth is, if you want a ride, it’s a safe hitch. Everyone slows down, waves, smiles or nods. it would be easy to request a ride on down the, even if that means hopping in a pick-up bed. Island cars aren’t fancy, but they do the job. But walking provides other pleasures, like watching the dragonflies dance and deer nibble on fallen apples in forgotten orchards.

Truly, there’s not much on Isle au Haut, and that’s what’s so appealing about it. You can hear yourself think and, if you’re lucky and in the right frame o’ mind, achieve Zen.

Chocolates fresh from the farm. Kinda.

Farm fresh is all the rage, with more and more chefs jumping on the farm-to-table wagon. Well, that’s not just limited to restaurant fare. Black Dinah Chocolatiers‘ Farm Market Collection is built on the same premise. “We highlight farms on the Blue Hill Peninsula,” Steve says, describing the ingredients Kate uses in creating the collection’s handcrafted truffles, all made with fresh cream, but without preservatives. “The rhubarb is about to be in, so well have those soon.” That gem blends fresh rhubarb with a touch of cloves and milk chocolate.

Other truffles in the farm collection have included:

• Downeast Sea Breeze, made with fresh and dried cranberries, cranberry vodka, and milk chocolate;

• Chevre and Nib, made with fresh chevre, bittersweet chocolate, and cocoa nibs;

• Maine Mint, combining chocolate mint with bittersweet chocolate;

• Tree to Sea Caramel, with Black Dinah’s own maple sytrup, caramel, bittersweet chocolate, and apple-smoked Maine sea salt (oh, my!).

And there’s also a nice range of fruit-infused truffles, including Wild Raspberry, Strawberry Balsamic, Blueberry Black Pepper, Northern Apple, and—an autumn classic—New England Pie Pumpkin.

Among the farms highlighted in these treats are: Carding Brook Farm, Brooklin; Four SEason Farm, Brooksville; Lazy C Farm, Penobscot; Stoneset Farm, Brookin; Sunset Acres Farm, Brooksville; and Pat & Mike’s Garden, Ellsworth.

The collection began when Steve returned to Isle au Haut from the Stonington Farmers Market with a case of raspberries from Carding Brook Farm. Raspberry truffles were created, and a zest for combining fresh local farm produce with chocolate was ignited.

Other intriguing chocolates that Steve brought to the Rockland Farmers Market were lavendar and ancho chile barks.

Black Dinah Chocolates are available at various Maine farmers markets, including Rockland and Stonington, as well as online, and at the cafe Steve and Kate operate on Isle au Haut (it’s an easy walk from the intown ferry dock, and well worth the effort).

All together now: MMMMMMMMM!

Chocolates! A Maine island! Maine island made chocolates!

While I’m on the topic of great finds in remote places (see Grand Lake Stream, below), let me introduce you to Kate and Steve Shaffer’s Black Dinah Chocolatiers. You can find these luscious truffles at the Stonington Farmers Market, held at the Community Center on Friday mornings (hint: this is a fabulous farmers market and one of the busiest in the state, so it’s wise to be there when it opens at 10 a.m.).

Better yet, go to Isle au Haut to visit the Black Dinah Cafe in person. Take the mailboat from Stonington, get off “downtown” (as opposed to the park, if you’re on that boat), then walk just shy of a mile to the shop/cafe. Besides the chocolates, there are muffins and other pastries for breakfast and two lunch choices:  biscuits with cheddar cheese, tomatoes, red onions and herbs or a schmmolie, a soft sandwich style bread stuffed with feta, artichokes, roasted red peppers and kalamata olives. Kate makes everything from scratch, using local and mostly organic ingredients. If by some weird chance you’ve schlepped your laptop over to the island, there’s even free Wifi here.

But about those hand-crafted truffles. They come in a lucky 13 varities, in milk chocolate, dark chocolate and caramels. Kate’s degree in English lit shows in the dark chocolate truffle “Gonne, Maude,” named for Yeats’ unrequited love.

Given that you’re on Isle au Haut, home to a remote section of Acadia National Park, go ahead, chow down. Then hike. If you time your boat trips, you can arrive intown, then walk or hike your way down to Duck Harbor boat ramp for the late afternoon boat. But don’t miss it. Besides the park’s five lean-to campsites, which require advance reservations, there only one inn on the island, the Inn at Isle au Haut, and that too requires advance notice (It’s pricey, but includes all meals and pick-up at the dock).