It’s been nearly 40 years since I’ve been to Bar Harbor, Maine. I’ve traveled to Maine a few times since, but in September I journeyed to the 100-mile wilderness in the northern depths of Maine’s forests.
I currently work for the Appalachian Mountain Club and the nonprofit organization runs and operates camps throughout the Northeast. The Maine facility is in the heart of the 100-mile wilderness, which the AMC actually maintains in conjunction with the Maine State government. The nonprofit played a critical role in ensuring that the thousands of acres remain protected in perpetuity.
Little Lyford Cabins is the name of the campsite my wife and I stayed, which has no electricity! My wife was a little reluctant, but she finally agreed after watching moose videos on Instagram.
We were in the backcountry for five days, unable to text, before we headed back to Portland for two nights.
We hiked to the summit of Borestone Mountain just east of the campsite, and also canoed along the Piscataquis River
The trip to Maine’s backcountry was actually my first backcountry stint since I backpacked in the Arctic in Alaska for two weeks in July 1998. That trip required a lot of mental and physical exertion because of the rough and tumble terrain; but also, because in mid-July millions of mosquitoes swarmed the landscape and tundra and anyone in their path. The only break was a wind gust when they’d burrowed in the tundra. But even at higher elevations, they pounced.
Outside a little Eskimo village of Anuktuvik, I spotted a caribou head with antlers still on. Visible behind is Brooks Range mountains preserved as Gates of the Arctic National Park
It’s a long drive to northern Maine, which is why we took the train, catching a Northeast Regional Amtrak to Boston’s South Station from New Rochelle, NY and then hopping on the Amtrak Downeaster in Boston to Portland, ME. Final leg was a two and half-hour drive in a rental car to the back country.
Stay tuned.
