(suspenseful music) (panting) - Mario! Mark! Where are you? (tropical music) As you leave the coast of
Portland, Maine, behind, you don't have to travel
far to find adventure. And today, the crew and I are
going to explore an abandoned island that is home to one
incredible historic landmark. Located in Casco Bay, Hog
Island has been the home of Fort Gorges since 1858. Named after Sir Ferdinando
Gorges, this military stronghold entered into construction
shortly after the War of 1812. It was intended to be a
last line of defense against any potential invaders to
the city of Portland, Maine. The fort never saw battle
and was last active during World War
II, when it was used to store submarine mines. While in current times
it may be completely free of its armament,
there's always a chance that something
interesting can be found, especially by the
Brave Wilderness team. Woo! That was a nice row. Very calm water. (splashing) (dramatic music) Okay, I think I am
set and ready to go. Wow! Look at this. This feels like Indiana
Jones and the Temple of Doom. - [Mark] I think it
feels like Gladiator. - Whoa! This is epic! Are you not entertained? That's from the Gladiator right? - [Mark] I think so. (yells) Look at all those canon
forts, all those windows. - Yep. Every single one of
those would've been used to fight off invaders. Alright, let's start exploring. Now, I wonder if there's
any animals that live here. Look at this. Look at that. There's a small
bone right there. First artifact located. - [Mark] Bird bone. - Could be a bird bone. Could also be a
small mammal bone. You have to ask yourself,
how would a mammal get to an island like this? No idea. Maybe one that was
being carried by a bird and the bird dropped it
and it, somehow, survived? But I can't imagine it would
be able to reproduce and start a colony, but birds
could certainly be
found on this island. What is it? (clanking) - [Mario] It's a chain. - [Coyote] Whoa, whoa! Man, dude, this
looks like where they would've chained up King Kong. - [Mario] Oh, yeah. - [Coyote] Man, look at that! Wow, I wonder if this
is used to anchor down like a canon or something? - [Mario] Maybe. - Or a giant ape. You guys hear that? (suspenseful music) What was that? - [Mark] I think
it's just us here. Well, look at that. - [Mario] Whoa, over there. Is that a dungeon? - [Coyote] Whoa. - You got a flashlight? Perfect. - [Mark] I can't
see anything, guys. - [Mario] You're
good, you're good. We have to go up through there. - [Mark] Okay. - [Mario] Alright, we have
to go up through here. - [Coyote] That's scary. - Can you imagine
exploring this by yourself? That would be pretty scary. - [Mark] At night? - [Coyote] At night, yeah. That's crazy. Let's make a whole
track around this-- - [Mark] Okay. - [Coyote] And get
some B-roll shots. - [Mark] Oh, man, look
at these archways. It's cool. Brick arches. (sighs) - It's crazy. Can you imagine building
something like this? I'm always impressed by these
modern feats of mankind, building something like this. Look at the minerals
coming out of the brick and creating stalagmites
and stalactites. That's wild. Alright, guys, so
check this out! This is a canon port, right? So if I was a canon, I'd be set
up right here, in this area. - [Mark] Right along this. - And my barrel would be
stickin' right out of there. Oh, look, there's
a boat out there. So say that was an enemy
ship, through this port, I could, poof, shoot cannonballs
and try to sink the boat. Now, if that boat shot
back in this direction, obviously, this is
very thick stone, but you can see, it
looks like there may have been a wall here
at some point in time. I'm guessing this was
a secondary barrier,
that if, poof, this wall blew up, that this
would not give out, and then, of course, the inside of
the fort would be protected. That's pretty cool. Alright, let's keep
headin' this direction. (birds chirping) - [Mark] Coyote, is this a
secret passageway of any kind? - Uh, let's find out. Get my flashlight out here. - [Mark] I was thinkin' this
wall might, like, rotate, you know, like in the movies. - [Coyote] If I push
on the right stone? - [Mark] Yeah, is there like a - - [Coyote] Wow, look
at all this bird poop! (groans) - [Mark] Is there a
secret, like, password, like, "Open sesame", or... (grunts) How hilarious would that
be if that actually-- - Open sesame! - [Mario] You know what
happens in the movies right? - [Mark] What? - Someone just is like,
leaning backwards, tired, and then it goes through, and then the wall
starts to come down-- - [Coyote] Yep. - [Mario] Like Indiana Jones. - [Coyote] Don't do it, Mario. - [Mark] And then it's
like, where's Mario? Where'd he go? - Hey, Coyote! I don't know where Coyote is at. I don't know where Mark is at. I'm lost. I think the tide came in and
our kayaks got swept away. So here I am... Completely lost. - [Coyote] Mario! - [Mario] Guys! Guys! - [Mark] Hey! - Right here! - [Coyote] What? How did you do that? - I just went through, like,
this portal, this passage. - [Coyote] Whoa! - [Mark] Coyote! Coyote? (yells) - [Mario] Hey, right here! - Woo! That was crazy! - [Mark] How do I do it? - [Coyote] Lean up
against the wall. - [Mark] Ready? - [Coyote] Mark! - [Mark] Hey. - [Coyote] Oh, there you are. - [Mark] Hey, it worked. Dude, that's crazy. Well, in all seriousness,
this is a dead end. - [Coyote] Yep. - [Mark] So we
gotta make our way, try to make our way to the top? - [Coyote] Yeah, that
doesn't lead anywhere, that's a dead end, so I think
if we go this direction, maybe towards this turret here? - [Mark] Mm-hmm. - [Coyote] Looks like
there's a little bridge, goes across and then I think
we can get up to the top level. - [Mark] Oh, this
looks kinda rickety. - We're up at the top level now. There's all sorts of
plants growing up here. It's like a whole ecosystem. That is awesome. Let's go through here. (ominous music) Is this a cannon? I think this is a cannon. - [Mark] Whoa, you
found a cannon! I thought they got
rid of them all. - [Coyote] Wow, I
guess there's one left. This is huge! - [Mark] That is one old cannon. - Woo! Well, up here on this hilltop,
midst all these plants, there's a cannon. And look at this. - [Mark] I think this
is where it went. - Yeah and it must've turned. Must have been on here
and you could turn it, I'll bet that's what it is. I thought this was like a lost
hatch or something like that. I bet it was mounted
up on top of here. That's crazy. It's like a rotating cannon. Alright, guys,
let's go this way. (grunts) (rustling) (suspenseful music) This is kinda scary. (animal cooing) I thought I heard something. (animal cooing)
Alright, I'm out. (suspenseful music) (panting) (animal cooing) Mario! Mark! Where are you? (grunting) Can't go down there. I don't know how to
get off this floor. I don't know how
to get out of here. (panting) Mark? - [Mark] Yeah? (panting) (animal cooing) - Where's the stairs? This is YouTube! What did you expect? A real video, not clickbait? But are you not entertained? Are you not entertained? Alright, let's go
back to the kayaks. (laughs) That was pretty epic. I had some fun in there. I know you guys probably
saw the intro to this video, with me runnin' around like it
was the Blair Witch Project, thinkin' to yourselves,
"Oh my gosh, "was there really some crazy
animal on that island?" No, there wasn't. It's just an abandoned fort, but it's a pretty cool landmark. You're probably
saying to yourselves, "Well, how do I go and
check out Fort Gorges?" It's really simple guys. All you need to do is
go to Portland Paddle, rent a kayak, head the
mile out here to the island and explore this
incredible infrastructure. - It's easy. - It's easy! Super easy! I'm Coyote Peterson,
be brave, stay wild. We'll see you on
the next location. (yelling) (laughs) Fort Gorges was placed
on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and
is now open as a public park. However, the grounds
are currently in a state of disrepair, so
explore with caution and make sure to always
put safety first. There is an incredible
vision and bright future for this location, as
friends of Fort Gorges hope to restore this
historic landmark. To find out how you can
help, make sure to visit their website and if you
are ever in Portland, Maine, and want to have an adventure
like me and the crew, look up Portland Paddle and
tell 'em Coyote sent ya. If you thought kayaking to
an abandoned fort was cool, make sure to go back and
check out the episode where we went rafting
on Arizona's Salt River and managed to catch
one stinky mud turtle. Don't forget, subscribe
so you can join me and the crew on
our next location. (yells) (laughs) - [Man] Oh, yeah! - Ooh, yeah, didn't break skin, but I still respect that bite. (birds chirping)
A pretty silly video, but in all honesty is great piece of exposure for American historical landmarks. Hopefully this may get the Friends of Fort Gorges some much needed support to get the Fort back into the shape of Fort Knox in Prospect up on the Penobscot.
Cool, I always wondered what Fort Gorges looked like on the inside. It's an impressive sight when taking the ferry to Peaks Island.
I didn't know you could just row a kayak up the island and explore at your leisure. Or did they get some sort of special permission, or just not get caught?