Maine Weather, end of Sept?

“What kind of weather can I anticipate for the 100 Mile Wilderness at the end of Sept? Will a 30* bag be enough? I am thinking we might have some nights in the 30's.
I am thinking about using my 30* bag and bringing my Patagonia Micro puff jacket and pants to add insulation to my bag and to wear around camp.

Also is the end of Sept Moose rutting season?

How about Bugs? They should be pretty much gone by then shouldn't they?”

“I am thinking we might have some nights in the 30's

You can beyond thinking on that one. The theory when I lived there was the first hard frost can be expected anytime after Labor Day. All non-hardy perennials needed to be protected after Labor Day. The first snow fall (fall, not always sticking) can be mid September. Potato harvest school break was late-September through mid October because after that the ground is too frozen to dig. The last of the fall funerals are usually early October because of frozen ground and snow cover that can obscure the plot marking.

Hope this helps.”

“further reflection would be that Baxter State Park is closed to all camping Oct. 15. So the weather at night can get down right nippy.”

“Thanks Rev, it is handy to know that if I have to bury someone I have to do it before October.

I really do not want to have to carry alot of weight so I think the 30* bag will have to do. I have had it down into the teens, sort of chilly that night, but with a jacket pants and a hat I should be good to go.
I am going to try to keep my baseweight without food and water between 15-20lbs. I am figuring I will start the trail with 10-12lbs of food.

I hope it is not an early winter up there.”

“Observe on what day in August the first heavy fog occurs, and expect a hard frost on the same day in October.

If the first week in August is unusually warm, the winter will be white and long.

remember the October trip? who knows what the weather will be - 30 degree bag should be fine.

it should be around moose rut time, don't forget your camera!”

“Thanks Rev, it is handy to know that if I have to bury someone I have to do it before October

Heh... Yeah that was a somewhat arcane fact. But it is indicative that nights can be pretty cold. Cold enuf to freeze the ground hard. I was in Northern Maine (Bangor and north) for about 5 years. Except that you pretty well know it be cold in winter, the other things that is true, is you never know what what will be the case the rest of the year. I experienced some Indian summer's where October was downright balmy, or as balmy as Maine ever got. Then again, one year I heard tell of there was so much snow on the ground so early they couldn't get the potatos in from harvest. But because the snow was so early and stayed so long, the ground never froze and a lot of farmers were able to harvest them in the spring that year. Kind of mother nature's cold storage.”

“Twig Thanks, that trip was in Oct? I thought it was earlier, it was soo warm.

I hope I see a Moose or two, still haven't seen one. My luck i will do this trip solo and a moose will think I'm cute!”

“It's foggy here most mornings - so october 1!”

“Twigeater - you may be able to help me. I'm looking for a nice part of Maine, away from the crowds, that i can go take some photos over the weekend.
I'd love to go to Acadia, but given the amount of tourists here I can imagine that's going to be hell until after labor day.
How busy will Baxter be? Quite I imagine.
If that doesn't work I was looking at the Dead River/Bigelow Preserve area - or can you recommend somewhere else?”

“Northern Arroostook County has some real underused gems. There was a park up there near Presque Ilse that was absolutely gorgeous but very little used. If memory serves it was Aroostook State Park. The first State Park in Maine and I suspect one of the lesser known.”

“I just got back from a week in Baxter...we had some nippy nights and were glad for our fleeces...we didn't need hats and mittens, though we did see people with them on.

Y2 - take a look at any of the Public Reserved Lands - they do fill up on weekends, but you kight luck out. And Baxter may be booked, but so many people don't show up. One night there were 4 campsites occupied in a campground that had 30 sites - but all were reserved. Northern Baxter is less used, but I've seen far more moose in southern Baxter. At any rate, you won't find many places as mobbed as Acadia - that place really is a zoo.

What are you looking to take pictures of?

We saw our first bear on Friday, it was cool! :)”

“http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/94833584tdcmMV

It was really warm, but it was Columbus Day weekend...”

“I'm up here now and comfirm Twig's information. It's friggin' cold! Okay, so I'm just a cold person at heart.

During the day, as long as the sun is out, it's in the low 70's. But at night... Thank the Goddess for down!”

“where are you MsDoolittle?

I love this weather, it's perfect...but I love fall weather anyway...”

“I'm in Millinocket, ME. It is beautiful weather. I gotta admit.

I'm currently trying to figure out how to send my thru-hiker friend home and just stay here. Possible? I think so.”

“As a matter of fact, I'm probably better off here. I can't possibly get into any trouble here, right? Nothing but moose around. :p

*sighs*”

“Did you see one?”

“Yes, actually. Tonight. It was already dark. Missed the friggin' incredible sunset, but I thought I'd keep driving. Came up to this huge clearing and the mountain was right there in our faces and a bunch of cars were pulled off the road.

It took a minute for our eyes to adjust, but there they were. I think there were 3 cows grazing in a boggy area. Unfortunately, my pictures turned out black. :(

Still waiting to hear loons....
last edited: 8/20/07 7:13:57 PM”

“Maybe you'll see more. Last week, was the meteor showers and Maine has an incredible night sky. Even if no meteors are out there it's nice to look at.
last edited: 8/20/07 7:25:14 PM”

“I actually made a comment about the night sky. Maybe later this week. Tomorrow, there's a mountain to be climbed with a 4:30am wake up.

Ugh....”

“I went up to Rangely Twigeater - via Grafton notch. It was gorgeous up there. No moose for me yet, but I did get the loon.”

“Rangeley is gorgeous...like a million other places in Maine...I always feel lucky to be here...last night on my way home I saw twin fawns snacking on the side of the road.

We had great views of the meteor showers last week, better than any fireworks for sure. There's not a lot of light pollution where I live anyway, but the night sky in Baxter is awesome. We always go out at night on our winter trips to enjoy the hundreds of millions of stars against the pitch black sky.

Enjoy your hike Ms Doolittle, let us know how it was!”

“The weather is looking awesome!
The 10 day forcast is only calling for one day this Saturday for a few showers, the rest of the week is sunny ranging from the 50's to the 70's during the day and low 40's at night!!!!!

Woo Hoo I can't wait to get to Maine!!!!”

“Don't worry, that forecast will change in an hour or so. ;-)

Have a great time.”

“It's going to be a great hike. Have fun.”

“It's beautiful at the moment, the nights could get a little chilly though, especially with a little height.”

“I'll be good to go down to the 20's. How are the leaves?”

“just a few signs of color down south, not sure up north, but they've had some freeze warnings up there already... so hopefully you'll hit it good”

“The State of Maine gets two different weather systems. Northern Maine is often different than the southern and central parts. It is that area right there that gets the changeover most times. The weather in that strip of Maine can change in a whipsnatch. I used to plan on sucky weather in that strip no matter what the season was as I went from "The County" down to Bangor. Or out to Jackman. But the weather is what it will be.”

“i summited katahdin on the 24th. i had clear skies and hiked in shorts and short-sleeved shirt. only after i had been chillaxing for a half hour did i feel a little chilly. your conditions may vary. some restrictions apply. see terms and conditions for details”