By Louise Jensen

“It’s a beautiful mornin’
I think I’ll go outside a while,
And just smile.
Just take in some clean fresh air, boy
Ain’t no sense in stayin’ inside
If the weather’s fine and you got the time.
It’s your chance to wake up and plan another brand new day.” – The Young Rascals

That pretty much summed up the start to our day: bluebird sky, no wind, late winter temps and nine happy snowshoers ready to go for what turned out to be a glorious day on the trail and at the Hut. We had the pleasure of having Savannah Steele, the Maine Huts & Trails trails manager, join us for the day. We met at the Long Falls Dam Road trailhead around 10am and soon headed out on the trail. For the most part, the trail was broken out, but due to the “lake effect” there was a lot of drifting which made navigating a little tricky. Fortunately, we had Savannah along who knows the trails like the backs of her hands and guided us in the right direction. As the lake was frozen and beautifully covered with whirls and coils of wind-blown snow, we snowshoed right on the lake where we were treated to magnificent views of the Bigelow Range, Picked Chicken Hill and Blanchard Mountain.

Although a relatively short hike of just over 2.2 miles, we still worked up an appetite and were famished by the time we arrived at the Hut. Savannah introduced us to the crew, and then chatted with us about the MH&T organization while lunch was being prepared. Food is available for purchase for day-hikers so we feasted on cheese platters, chicken soup, root vegetable bean soup and some incredible butter biscuits. After lunch, Pearl, one of the crew staff, gave us the “talk” that is routinely given to the overnight guests,
and it was very informative.

Lunchtime was leisurely as the Hut is cozy and warm, but we finally broke out of our food stupor and headed back out for the hike back. Clouds started to roll in, no doubt a harbinger of the approaching storm predicted for the next day, which gave our late afternoon vista an entirely different appearance. We took our time heading back while continuing to take in the beautiful mountain panorama. It was a beautiful day!

Louise is the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust’s board secretary.  In her day job, she’s the law librarian at Drummond Woodsum. She joined the Board after becoming a trip leader for MATLT. She lives in Portland with her husband and their greyhound Tulah.

Winter can be tough in Maine.  It’s cold, it’s snowy, it’s dark and all of it together can make life hard if you let it get to you.  But there’s also something wonderful about winters on the A.T. lands of Maine where just making it through can be much more meaningful than doing the same thing in the summer.

This has been the pattern so far our the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust’s winter hikes so far in 2019.  Unbroken trail, super cold conditions, illness, fatigue, freezing extremities – they’ve all played a role in our trips.  West Baldpate via the Appalachian Trail was similar – half the group made it to the summit, half the group did not.  Once again, the temperature was 1 degree above zero when we set out.  The wind chill was relatively low, however, the trail was broken out so conditions were pretty good.  The group as a whole made pretty good time, but was spread out along the trail.  It’s pretty steep in the upper sections of the A.T. and the conditions took their tool.  Cold toes.  Bad knees.  Fatigue.  Four made it to the top and collected the others on the way down.  No regrets.

And just look at the scenery!

Our next hike will be Sunday, January 27th to Eddy Pond and Piazza Rock.  Sign up here!  

The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust is pleased to announce that the organization is the recipient of a Maine Community Foundation Fund for Maine Land Conservation grant for 2019!  The SCALE UP program aims to engage MATLT’s corporate members by directly connecting these companies and their employees, officers and partners to the A.T. landscape in Maine.  We’ve had great success with the program so far, in its first year, and we’re hoping to continue it beyond 2019!

The Maine Community Foundation, now in its 35th year, works with donors and other partners to improve the quality of life for all Maine people. The community foundation is committed to serve all of Maine; demonstrate respect for people and places; achieve quality and integrity in everything we do; and remain nonpartisan. MaineCF is committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion, and ensuring Maine is a safe, welcoming, and accepting place for everyone.  The Fund for Maine Land Conservation supports projects that advance land conservation.

The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust is pleased to announce that we have received a grant of $14,000 from the Fields Pond Foundation for our work on the Bald Mountain Pond project!  The project is on track to be completed in the spring of 2019; the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust is working with The Trust for Public Land and Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife on finalizing the details.

The primary mission of Fields Pond Foundation is to provide financial assistance to nature and land conservation organizations that are community-based and that serve to increase environmental awareness by involving local residents in conservation issues.

The Foundation’s emphasis stems from its founding Directors’ beliefs that the conservation of special places in our environment, and providing public accessibility to those conservation areas, is a desirable end in itself; but it is also a means of building public support for future land and river conservation by increasing the direct connection between individuals and their environment, and fostering active participation in the work of conservation.

Thank you to the Fields Pond Foundation for this support!  Grants like this are vital to conservation organizations and ensure that we can protect special places along the Appalachian Trail in Maine – for public benefit!

The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust is pleased to announce that plans are in the works to update and revised the groundbreaking ecological report on Maine’s High Peaks which was first issued in 2007.  The report has guided conservation efforts along Maine’s Appalachian Trail for over a decade and with recent and upcoming land protection projects, the time has come to evaluate the status of the Appalachian Trail landscape in Maine.  Old threats have waned but new threats have emerged to threaten the integrity of the A.T.  Outdoor recreation and the economic impact it can have, along with climate change mitigation, destination development and health/wellness issue have all emerged since the initial publication of the report.

We will have further updates on when the study will be re-released!  Stay tuned.

By Mark Cheever

Hiking up any one of Maine’s most prominent mountains during peak foliage is a sight to behold – but especially true on Mt. Abraham! Our group tackled the 9-mile roundtrip hike this past Saturday and were treated to a brilliant display of reds, yellows, oranges and greens.

After carpooling from Portland, our group convened at the Orange Cat in Kingfield for some breakfast snacks and coffee – discussing different aspects of outdoor recreation and the tourism economy while we fueled up. Then it was off to the trailhead down West Kingfield Road to Rapid Stream Road. The roads were in good shape and passable even for cars with less than average ground clearance. At the trailhead, about half the group applied all-natural tick repellent Tick Me Off Maine, a MATLT Community Partner who has generously donated product and proceeds to support our mission and hikes! (little known fact: ticks can thrive well into the fall, using fallen leaves as insulation)

After a quick briefing the group headed off, enjoying the winding trail and basking in the golden colors of the fall. At these lower elevations a prominent of ash, birches and elm produced vivid yellow colors in addition to the brilliant red and scarlet of maples, various oaks and sumac. We hopped across several streams, careful to keep our boots dry. The Mt. Abraham trail was in great condition, thanks in part to MATC trail maintainer Ryan Linn who we ran into on the hike, preparing for the coming spring melt by ensuring water bars were clear and properly functioning.

After two and a half hours we reached treeline to take in the magnificent landscape and its views. The demarcation line of evergreens versus deciduous species was clearly evident. A short while later after rock-hopping across the scree slopes of Abraham we reached the windy summit. Off in the distance the group marveled at various snowbursts across Maine’s High Peaks and recharged with various snacks, including Maine-based Redd bars donated for the group (ed note: the salted caramel really hit the spot, thanks Redd!). MATLT Executive Director Simon Rucker gave a brief history of the area, including pointing out various current and future projects. He noted the old fire warden’s tower, which had been repurposed into a makeshift shelter that had recently been dismantled by Maine Youth Trail Stewardship Coalition (thanks guys!). The remains will have to be airlifted out at some point.

As the chill began to set in we set off down the mountain, enjoying the views all the way down. It was a quick, technical descent by some very capable hikers! On the way there were short bursts of snow & sleet. After reaching the trailhead it was decided that tacos were on the minds of this very hungry hiking crew so we celebrated another successful summit at Uno Mas in Farmington. Another great hike in Maine’s glorious High Peaks!

The Maine A.T. Land Trust will be posting our winter hike schedule soon – be sure to check back in for updates and sign up for our next adventure!