The 8th Annual Rangeley Trail Town Festival was another great success for the trail community and the Town of Rangeley!  The A.T. Communities program is now up to over 40 towns that are assets for the A.T. and help with the Appalachian Trail!  In Maine there are four A.T. communities (Monson, Millinocket, Rangeley and Kingfield).

The Rangeley Trail Town Festival was a great day of food, fun and music right on Haley Pond in downtown Rangeley.  The Maine A.T. Land Trust had a table alongside our A.T. partners, the Maine Appalachian Trail Club and Appalachian Trail Conservancy.  We gave out hundreds of the new Maine High Peaks Map and Guide which shows the trail section in the Rangeley vicinity, with day hikes broken out for easy access.  There was also an ice cream eating contest!

“Why are you assessing views?” 

This was the most frequently asked question we heard during the recent Visual Resources Inventory pilot the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust took part in, but examining views on the ridge of Saddleback Mountain from the Berry Picker’s Trail to The Horn.  The National Park Service has been working on a program called Enjoy the View and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail was chosen as a test site to deploy the methodology of assessing views.  The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust works in many of the areas directly in view from many of Maine’s most scenic viewpoints, and we have a longstanding relationship with the National Park Service, Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the Maine Appalachian Trail Club (all of whom are running the pilot).

But why are we assessing views?

When conservation organizations determine which lands need protection, we rely on data: mostly geospatial data, or GIS.  We have GIS data on all kinds of values that are important for the Appalachian Trail: climate resilience, rare/threatened species habitat, trails, water quality, ecological community types, soils, etc.  There is data on what you can see from the Appalachian Trail, but the data is very broad and is not accurate enough to help us plan for A.T. land protection in Maine.  However, this is the mission of the National Park Service:

The National Park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.

One of, if not the, most important resources of the Appalachian Trail is the scenic beauty.  Up to now, we have not really had a way to “assess” this resource.  The other values we look to are quantifiable: acres of habitat, miles of trails, categories of ecological communities.  With the creation of this Visual Resources Inventory, it is hoped that we now have a way to measure the scenic beauty of different spots along the A.T. in Maine, so that they most important can be protected for all of us to enjoy.

Note: We will have a follow-up article on this program next month!

By Louise Jensen

Saturday’s weather forecast was an iffy one at best, but 5 hikers and one excited dog decided to toss caution to the wind and meet at the trailhead for Puzzle Mountain in Grafton Notch. To reach the summit of Puzzle, you climb up the eastern section of the Grafton Loop trail. There are several ledges along the way that ordinarily have very fine views of the Sunday River ski resort, Old Speck and the Baldpates, but on this day they were far and few between. No matter, the trail was lush and green, it never rained and everyone was happy to be out. Along the way there were still plenty of wild blueberries that did not escape notice and our taste buds.

The summit was in the clouds when we arrived, so there were no panoramic views where you may see Mount Washington and Sugarloaf Mountain on a clear day. Layering up a bit as it was cool and damp, we chatted and ate lunch, took the obligatory summit photos, including shots of other hikers also not deterred by the weather, and soon headed down. Normally, on a clear warm day we would hang out on top for a while enjoying the views, but not today. Upon our descent, the clouds did open up a bit for a decent view of Grafton Notch where we had a few more photo opts. As there was very little lingering, we were back down in the parking lot before 3 pm. Everyone agreed, despite the less than ideal weather conditions, that this was a thoroughly enjoyable hike!

By Mark Cheever

On Saturday July 27th we gathered at Tranten’s in Kingfield to carpool to head up Mount Abraham. The weather forecast has been threatening with potential thunderstorms but it was a clear, blue sky with temperatures in the high 70’s. Great hiking weather.  While a small hiking group (just four of us, plus one very good dog), we were efficient and ready to go. We wasted no time at the trailhead and made great time up to the campsite, just over an hour. After a quick snack break we were on the ascent again, tackling the steep elevation gain over the last mile and a half to the summit.  The trail up Abraham was in great condition, thanks to the incredible work of the local MATC trail maintainer. Some parts of the trail had been relocated to avoid water buildup and erosion and these new sections were smooth and worked with the landscape. The trail meanders as it goes up the mountain, and we were treated to classic Maine Woods views with birch at lower elevations giving way to pine further up.

Abraham is one of Maine’s best hikes, thanks in large part to great views from a large alpine zone. The elevation gain is significant, but once you clear the tree line it is nothing short of spectacular. We took a short break to enjoy the views, and then began the last bit up to the summit through a giant boulder/scree field and between various outcroppings of Krumholz.  The group reached the summit just three and a half hours after departing from the trailhead – great time for a casual group hike. Views were enjoyed, as were snacks, and a group shot taken thanks to another hiker present.  The descent was fast-paced and steady, with a stop at the campsite for a bathroom break and a water refill. After three hours we were back at the trailhead with another 4,000′ crossed off and an appreciation for the beauty of Maine’s High Peaks.

Interested in giving back to the Appalachian Trail?  We are looking for volunteers to help with an inventory of scenic resources and visitor experience on the Appalachian National Scenic Trail here in Maine!  This work will involve going on day hikes with trained inventory teams who will assess viewpoints from locations from Bemis Mountain in the south to Saddleback Jr. in the north.  Trips will be taking place from about August 24th to August 29th.  More information can be found here:

Visual Resources Program Inventory Factsheet 

If you are interested please contact us at info@matlt.org!

The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust has been fortunate enough to complete several projects in the past few years in collaboration with several conservation partners.  Gulf Hagas Whitecap, Redington Forest, Orbeton Stream and Crocker Mountain have all been protected in the past six years.  More projects are in the pipeline, as the Appalachian Trail landscape is seen more and more as one of the last great open spaces in the east.

But with the completion of these projects come obligations to care for the lands.  Some of these conservation lands are now in the care of the State of Maine, but others are either owned by the Maine A.T. Land Trust or protected with conservation easements which require great attention and monitoring.  That’s where LightHawk comes in: their mission is to accelerate conservation success through the powerful perspective of flight.

We’ve used LightHawk several times over the past few years in order to get this aerial perspective of Maine’s A.T. lands.  Getting out by foot always a great way to see the landscape, but you can’t assess large-scale changes and impacts from the ground, or get an overall view of a 10,000-acre parcel.  For this latest flight, we had the services of a professional photographer to help us gather visual documentation of a large conservation easement, take great images for our next round of conservation projects on Maine’s A.T., and check on some other areas that are either difficult to access or at a very large scale.  How has vegetation recovered on the summit of Mt. Abraham?  How is reforestation in the Rapid Stream Valley progressing?  Check out the photos above!

A hearty thanks to LightHawk and our photographer for helping us protect the A.T. landscape in Maine!

The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust is pleased to announce that is has received a grant from The Onion Foundation for the Maine A.T. 2020 program!  The program, aimed at empowering Maine’s A.T. stakeholders, local communities, kids, the public and more through outreach and an ecological report, highlights the Appalachian Trail area is the last great wild space in the entire Eastern United States. The portion running through Maine is the most significant – for ecological value, as a climate corridor, as a refugia for
species adapting to climate change, as a recreational destination, and as the last wild place east of the Rockies.

By giving local communities here in Maine the tools they need to leverage this landscape, we are looking towards outcomes of local economic development based on a recreation resource, revitalization of communities around Maine’s A.T., increased health of people and landscape in era of changing climate, and a fostering of a culture of stewardship and environmental awareness which Maine’s A.T. landscape needs.

The Onion Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation based in Maine with a mission is to encourage conservation and stewardship of the natural environment and to promote music and the arts in the state of Maine.

The Maine A.T. Land Trust is excited to unveil this program with the help of The Onion Foundation.  This landscape of the Maine North Woods is recognized as of international importance but until recently, the A.T. was considered just a trail for long-distance hikers. It was not looked at as a conservation corridor, or as a contiguous wild greenway, or as an area where local economic development initiatives could take root and increase opportunity and prosperity for communities nearby, based on the outdoor recreation economy.

The Maine Appalachian Trail landscape is now under threat from multiple sectors: real estate development, climate change, energy transmission infrastructure, over-exploitation of natural resources, loss of public access, diminished natural resource quality, decline in water quality, fragmentation of the landscape, loss of species habitat, loss of biodiversity, loss of the great natural beauty and sense of remoteness that embodies the forests of Maine.  The Maine A.T. 2020 Wild East campaign comes at a critical moment and with grants like this one from The Onion Foundation we can help this landscape!