The High Peaks region recently celebrated two A.T. communities with all-day celebrations featuring games, giveaways, food, music, entertainment and more.  A.T. towns are considered assets by all that use the A.T., and many of these towns act as good friends and neighbors to the Trail.  Rangeley was designated an A.T. community in 2012 and Kingfield just last year.  The two other Maine A.T. communities are Monson and Millinocket.  Millinocket will be holding their annual Trails End Festival from September 15 to 17th.

Here are some highlights from the Rangeley Trail Town Festival on September 2nd:

And some from the Kingfield’s A.T. Community Celebration:

By Louise Jensen

It was a perfect late summer day for a hike. Our destination: Avery and West Avery Peaks, the two highest on the Bigelow range, via the Firewarden’s trail.  Although, the shortest route to the col (lowest point between two peaks), it is probably the steepest way to go, but that did not deter us. The three of us arrived before 9am to find the parking area overflowing but we found a nice little pull off where we tucked the car in and geared up and headed out. We passed the Stratton Brook Pond, the Moose Falls Campsite and then began our steep ascent to the col. Several sections of stone “steps” are there to make climbing a bit easier and if you turn around for a moment, you will get some great views of Sugarloaf. Finally, reaching the col, we took a quick break to layer up, have a snack and, of course, take a few pics of the trail signs and the AT blazes.

We headed east to Avery peak first where we met a few other hikers (but no through hikers yet), and settled down below the stone remnant of the fire tower for a lunch break. Cool, breezy and sunny, we enjoyed the much needed rest and nourishment as we took in the spectacular views of Flagstaff Lake and West Avery peak. Another feature on this peak is the plaque honoring Myron H. Avery, a Maine native, who was instrumental in extending the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail from Mt. Washington to Katahdin and he also founded the Maine Appalachian Trail club in 1935. A nice reminder of the history of the AT in Maine.

After chatting with another hiker who was working on his NE 100 highest, and the usual picture posing, we headed back down to the col to head over to West (Avery) Peak, the higher of the two peaks.  We met two through-hikers in the col, one from North Yarmouth, ME and one from Pittsburgh, PA, but they were moving along rather quickly and did not pause long to chat. When we reached the summit, we found it pretty crowded with mostly boy scouts and other groups so we continued past the packed peak to sit and relax while taking in more of those amazing views. After about 20 minutes or so, we reluctantly gathered up our packs and headed back to the col to make the steep descent down the Firewarden’s trail. The whole hike took just over eight hours and we all agreed that it was yet another glorious day on the trails in Maine.

As part of the Art and Land Conservation Symposium portion of the Appalachian Trail 2017 Conference at Colby College in Maine, a number of field trips were offered for symposium participants.  Deb Carroll, Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust volunteer, has contributed a trip report on an outing she led to Katahdin for a two-day art history expedition into the world of Frederic Church.  Church traveled the world but so loved the Katahdin area that he built his summer camps there on Millinocket Lake. His camps were a base from which he worked. The last of his studio works, Katahdin from Millinocket Lake (1895), is perhaps the most well-known of his Millinocket Lake pieces. Church would also paint at other vantage points in the region, most famously perhaps at the remote and beautiful Katahdin Lake. Many other artists followed Church to Katahdin Lake, including Marsden Hartley. Today, Katahdin Lake is part of Baxter State Park and is still visited by working artists.

By Deborah Carroll

We met on August 5, 2017, just a few miles outside of the southern gate of Baxter State Park, to begin a 2-day adventure through art history.

Frederic Church was an American landscape painter who built a summer camp on Millinocket Lake.  During the morning hours, we were given a tour of Church’s property, which still bears many artifacts from that age including furnishings, the original structure with its vertical log wall (though it’s been renovated to some degree), and a marvelous stone fireplace with a mosaic that was thought to depict Church’s beloved canoe, but which I thought resembled a sailboat.  And they gave us cookies!

By 1:00 our group of 11 artists and art historians were shouldering out backpacks for the 3.5 mile walk to Katahdin Lake Wilderness Camps, a frequent haunt of Frederic Church and his large entourage of artists and friends.

Katahdin Lake Wilderness Camps is perched on the shore of Katahdin Lake and affords one both a sandy beach and spectacular views stretching from Pamola to Hamlin Peak and beyond.

The Camp also features wonderful home cooked meals prepared by Holly and her crew, as well as comfortable cabins and bunks (complete with pounding rain on the roof and lightning during our visit), and fish that bite your toes when you dangle them in the water off the dock (which seriously cracked us up – and what’s a MATLT adventure without something seriously cracking us up?). (Editor’s note:  Gross!)

Our group was co-led by Maine watercolorist Evelyn Dunphy, who introduced us to individuals who were well versed in the rich story of Church’s activities in the area.  Dunphy also entertained us with stories and her own insights regarding Church era exploits.  Speaking only for myself, I was left richer for the experience.  I believe that sentiment was shared by all.

Saturday afternoon, and briefly Sunday morning, found us swimming, kayaking, sketching, and taking photographs by the lake.

The hike, a short “out and back,” was comfortable, with little elevation gain, and our group handled it nicely.  As I walked, I thought about the artists who carried their tools with them through those woods and set up their easels on the shore and dock to create pieces that would then travel the world and positively impact the work of conservationists globally, and for years to come.  This adventure was so much more than a walk in the woods, and yet it was, simply, just that as well.

The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust recently received a $5,000 grant in support of the Appalachian Trail Maine: Next Century program.  The program was launched in 2016 with three facets:
1. Next Century Priorities. Prioritization via GIS mapping and application of the lands along Maine’s Appalachian Trail.
2. Next Century Land Protection. New conservation projects along the A.T. in response to NPS Scaling Up Initiative.
3. Next Century Outreach: Bringing national attention – from the public, elected officials, foundations and other conservation organizations – to the Appalachian Trail in Maine.

ATMNC is well underway and expected to be completed in early 2018.

Horizon Foundation was founded in 1997 to support non-profit organizations that aspire to create and maintain sustainable, vibrant and resilient communities by

• Enabling children and adults to lead their communities in creative, healthy and thoughtful ways;
• Educating citizens to be good stewards of the environment;
• Conserving land and water resources;
• Encouraging service to others;
• Promoting visual arts and music, and
• Teaching appreciation of and preserving historic assets

Thanks you to Horizon Foundation!