Who lives in Maine?

“I need some help,

I want to come see Maine for the first time. I need some advice on when and where to go. I am thinking about mid March or mid April. I will have about 5 days to hike, and was thinking about checking out the 100 mile wilderness.

Any advise? Will the snow be to much in March, and the rain to much in April?
I like the snow, but I know it can close roads and trails. Will that be a problem in March?

Well, I could ask questions all day, but I will wait to see if anyone is even in Maine!”

“So you're gonna be visiting Twigeater, huh?”

“Does she live in Maine?”

“WC, I think she answered some of your questions before when you were thinking of this......... retain, man, retain the knowledge! :-) Yes, she is somewhere near Baxter State Park, or at least enjoys hiking/packing there.”

“Wild Child, ask Tarp Rat or Trail Spring, they asked almost the same questions. Man, don't your multiples communicate with each other!”

“I snowshoed part of the AT in N. Maine during college one year on Spring Break in early March. The temps at night hit -3 deg. and there was so much snow the trail markers were buried! It's hard enough trying to find the white paint marks on trees in winter, but it's much harder when they are at or below the snow pack. The snow in Maine will be around into May, just in time for the bugs to come out.
If you got snowshoes it's the way to go! No bugs or people. There are people who live near there all year so the roads are kept in pretty good condition.”

“Thanks Reptiles!

Twig,

I asked a similar question, but mainly I am wondering about access to the AT, and the 100 mile wilderness secition.

Is Monson a good place to get on the AT/100 m Wilderness? Is that area any good in winter. Would you wait till April? help a brotha out?”

“Monson is a great place to get onto the AT at the 100 mile wilderness.

You might want to call one of the two major hostels who also do shuttles and talk to them about logistics. These are the Pie Lady and the Shaws. When I did business with the Pie Lady, I thought she was out to scalp me for whatever bucks she could get.. but some people swear by her.

They can arrange other drop off points for you, and can arrange to pick you up.

The White House is just off the trail about 70 miles North of Monson. And they are open all winter. You might also try them.

You'll need to figure out how far you can committ to going to decide your starting and finishing places. The 50 miles or so south of Monson are the easiest on the Maine AT, although the 100 mile wildnerness is not bad compared to the rest of the AT and the northern portion is pretty easy. Thus, from Abol bridge south to White House landing would be a beautiful and fairly sure 5 day winter trek.

April will be milder than March.”

“Oh shoot.... I just got deja voodoo'd all over again.

Shame on me Twiggy.”

“I do. Plenty of snow til at least April. I got caught in a snowstorm last April. Bring gear for the snow, just in case.”

“LOL Twiggie!

Hey UK and Twigster, I'm heading your way too, for Spring break(mid-march). We should get together for some dayhiking or some such! PatchyG and I will be staying with friend in Bangor 3/12-17.
:o)”

“I think AmyG is trying to drive WC nuts!! Moooooohahhhaah.... good going, AmyG!!!”

“And I'm hoping to turn Bush into a Republican.”

“That sounds great AmyG! I'm sure we can come up with a nice hike in Acadia (klimber?) - last year at that time (March) the snow was about gone there. Further downeast there is the Cutler Coast Trail, a nice 10 mile loop that crosses two cobble jasper beaches, and you can see Grand Manaan, Canada. That whole area down there is beautiful, beautiful - long drive though.

Wild Child, I'd help with a ride if you need one. I don't know anything about hostels and stuff, and I haven't spent much time backpacking the AT, but if you e-mail me I'll "help a brotha out" if I can. I've done the section from Monson to Gulf Hagas, but that was in August and it was a few years ago. I know what questions I might ask of someone local if I was planning on going in early spring, though, and I have the Maine AT guide.

Probably Uphill Klimber or PedXing would have better info for you. Reach back in your memory (or Tarpy's or Trail Springs) and think about the first time we talked about this - maybe a couple of years ago - Wall Man had a similar idea and did a section of the Vermont Long Trail instead. I was no help at all then, just like now.”

“Yeah Wadafuh Amy! Leave a Brotha Alone for Christ Sake! Ain't you done enough!”

“uhhh, whad I do?

>;oP

Twiggie, Acadia sounds great...
Also, I wanna see a moose! Can I? Can I? Pleeeease?

hehehe”

“Go start your own thread!”

“I don't think there's any moose in Acadia, but there must be someplace near Bangor moose watch.

Here's an Acadia link (hope it works)
”

“%$@%*!!!

http://www.americanparknetwork.com/parkinfo/ac/index.html”

“ugh! and that's "near Bangor TO moose watch"

gawd, I'm goin' home...”

“AmyG, you're coming our way?!! Not too many moose in Acadia. :-(
Some very nice trails and not too many people at that time of year though. Always very clean (LNT) in Acadia, thanks to the friends of Acadia.

I'll mark the dates down when you are going to be here, I'd love to get together with you. My girl has been wanting to go to Acadia for several years now, so we'll make some room in the schedule!!

Only dayhiking allowed in Acadia, although Blackwoods campground is a nice place to stay. Plenty of trails, any of which can be hiked on a spur of the moment, many offering spectacular views of the ocean. Oh... I can't wait to go back.

Oh, about a moose, try the AT, plenty of moose sightings there. I can show you some foxes in Acadia, and maybe some deer.

Happy trails”

“Amy just had to come steal my freaking glory!

Well, fine! Go to Maine, I'll go somewhere else, like Georgia! Yeah, I'll be all warm and toasty while you freeze your ass off, suckers ;-0”

“UK and Twigster-

I think Acadia is about an hour from Bangor. We'll have to plan a dayhike or something. :o)

Thanks for the link, Twig - looks like there are some great places to spot moose and tarp rats along the AT.

>:p”

“Had to bring this thread up, cuz I couldn't start a new one! grrr

Aside: how can one get an "error message: NT failure" if one is not using NT?!?! whadafuh?
but, I digress...

Spring break next week, whoohoo! Heads up to UK and Twigster...I am driving up, leaving Monday. I plan a few stops, including a hike/snowshoe of the Welch-Dickey Mts trail in New Hamp and also Mt Battie in Maine, en route to my final destination(near Bangor) by Tuesday sometime...

I'll only be in Maine for a few days(leaving the following Sat), but I would love to meet up with youz guys. I know that weekdays are tough for hiking, but how about a TTer's Gear trip!
to the LL Bean big-mutha-store! That place is open 24/7! How 'bout it?
Don't make me go myself...it'll be ugly!

>:D”

“Our Art teacher moved up there last summer, but I'd NEVER point you in his direction. Whatta freak! LOL!
Greg, are ya there buddy?

Hey Aim!
(o:”

“more info on Maine please....I guess it is pretty weird that it is my neighbor...I am in NH....and I never get there...I have heard alot of mixed truths about the 100 mile wilderness...that it has alot of logging going on that you can hear chainsaw buzz from the trail and shelters...is this true???and when does the trail "open" back up...I hear it closes in winter...is this bogus info???educate me please!!!it is the only part of the AT I have yet to be on...and I can only imagine that like NH, late season snowfields linger into june at high ele. ....and with this winter I imagine that will be true huh.????But I love the snow anyways....snowshoeing....going this weekend in the Whites...up the Bonds....any soul out there interested....I go usually two weekends a month...always looking for travel buddies...anyone???”

“echo echooooo
MtnZ, welcome to TT, by the way. Pull up a log and sit by the as-low-impact-as-possible-fire.
:o)

I am not a Mainer, but from all that I have gathered, the snow does linger on well into May, at least.
'tis a shame about the wilderness, if what you say is true(logging, etc). Seems like it may be a bit of folklore though, perhaps. Twigster, wanna clarify? UK?

It is true that the Baxter State Park section closes in winter(the northern terminus of the AT), but there are many other incredible areas of Maine to hike in. At least, I hope so cuz that's where I'm going!

I would love to snowshoe in the Whites at some point(not counting a measly dayhike next week) but my sched is too crazy right now.

Hi JoJo!
>;oP”

“Amy, sorry to take so long, but.... Sugarloaf was open and my skiis were a callin'.

You are correct that a weekday hike would be tough, but I've been wanting to take my girl to Freeport shopping, yes, primarily at LL Beans. What day(s) will you be there? What time? It will be great to meet you.”

“Amy, sorry to take so long, but.... Sugarloaf was open and my skiis were a callin'.

You are correct that a weekday hike would be tough, but I've been wanting to take my girl to Freeport shopping, yes, primarily at LL Beans. What day(s) will you be there? What time? It will be great to meet you.”

“Mountain Zen, I don't think the trail closes in the winter at any time. Just gets impractical. last year, Mr. Clean snowshoed the wilderness. Snow does linger, probably til May this year.

Stop by for a visit and check out your neighboring state!!”

“The AT doesn't close, not even in Baxter. It's just harder to get into BSP in the winter, lots of regs. The 100 mile wilderness is not a true wilderness and there are logging roads that cross it in several places. You will hike past car camping spots and parking areas, it's about 7 or 8 miles to a real road. I don't know if you'd hear chainsaws and such (I didn't) but Maine's woods are working woods and there's a lot of shared use lands.

Snow does hang around until May or June further north - I've climbed Katahdin on a sunny June day and had a snowball fight, and been to BSP in May when there was still 3ft of snow in the campgrounds. High water is an issue in early spring and this year will be worse than usual. The Kennebec River is expected to reach the highest flood levels in years. The AT does cross the Kennebec and the ferry doesn't start until June (I think) but that's not part of the 100 mile wilderness.

Amy, Camden Hills is about an hour from me. Unless you're hiking on Battie for a particular reason, I'd skip that and do Megunticook to the Ocean Lookout. Or you can do a loop and get both.

Yeah, a weekday hike would be tough - when are you planning on going to Bean's? Don't forget to visit the factory store for bargains first!”

“I believe you need a permit for most of BSP in the winter.”

“For overnight stays you do, but not for day use. What I meant by harder to get in is that during the spring/summer/fall anyone can make an overnight reservation, but for winter you have a whole packet to fill out with specific requirements.”

“Thanks for the tip, Twiggie. I only chose Battie, cuz it looked like a nice day-hike quickie, but I'll check out Megunticook also. (I'm planning on stopping there only briefly, since time is limited).

My brand spankin' new snowshoes came today, so I am ready! whoohoo

Regarding Bean's: I haven't any specific agenda...
Trying to keep stuff pretty fluid and relaxed, since it is, afterall, my Spring break.
When are you guys free? It would be great to meet you both finally. (and yer new squeeze too, UK)
:o)”

“Both are quickies, one takes 30 minutes the other an hour - the difference is that the view of Penobscot Bay, the Fox Islands, and Camden Harbor is way better from Megunticook and you can look down on Battie. I'm sure it'll take longer in the winter - normally there's not much snow on the coast, but this last storm dumped on the area. Both have trails starting from the state park parking lot. On the other hand, if you're going to Bangor via Camden you must be visiting someone, so you probably already have this info. :)
Anyway, HAVE FUN whatever you decide!

I have class this week (my university has two breaks rather than one) and a take home final to do, so you guys'll just have to think of me while your at Bean's. :(

And don't forget - Smartwool socks are $8 at the factory store!”

“Yeah, I'm doing a bit of sightseeing on my way...not taking the most direct approach to Bangor, for sure. LOL

Thanks for the tips...sorry to hear we won't be able to meet. I have a job interview in Bar Harbor while I am up there(I figured what the heck) so maybe I'll be heading North again in the near future...
:o)”

“AmyG, looks like evenings are going to be best, say after 5 or so. Parent teacher conferences are due then though. It will have to be loose and ready. I'll e-mail my cell phone so you can contact me.”