The Forks, Maine is a rural paradise. Located on Route 201 in North Western, Maine, The Forks and West Forks have a year round population of under 100 people, but oh what a place we live in! We have stunning scenery, great kayaking and canoeing, awesome fishing, moose and eagles and great trails. We also have wild
Maine whitewater rafting and super-tastey micobrew beer at the
Kennebec River Brewery, and lodging from luxury cabins to tent camping for visitors. We're so country-cool we can hardly stand it.
Spring and summer means hours of play on the rivers and lakes either
fishing or
rafting or
kayaking and canoeing. It means day hikes on the
Appalachian Trail or extended overnight treks on Maine
hut to hut hiking trips. It means eating well at local restaurants and sipping some KRB BlueBerry Ale after a long day working or playing.
Come fall, the leaves are nothing short of stunning, and long scenic drives are only one way to see them.
Kennebec River rafting or
Dead River rafting allow for viewing vistas that most folks never glimpse. An autumn hike to Moxie falls is something not soon forgotten!
Winter brings its own wonder, with frozen lakes and rivers, moose and rabbit tracks in the snow, and great trails for
snowmobiling, whether day trips or over night multi-day excusions.
There's no season here that doesn't delight. The Forks may be small, but being here is a mighty big time!
Whitewater in New England runs fast and wild - the perfect place to test outdoor gear of all kinds. Olympus Cameras brought its new waterproof Stylus Tough Digital Camera to Maine to abuse it in all sorts of conditions.
Northern Outdoors' video boater, Nick Atwood, rigged his whitewater kayak with half a dozen cameras and put them through their paces on the Kennebec River. Best known for as a prime run for
Maine whitewater rafting, the Kennebec gave the Stylus and Nick a glorious ride, as the
video proves!
Among other adventures the Stylus Tough Camera had in Maine were snowboarding at
Sugarloaf, mountain biking in Carrabassett Valley, lobster fishing off
Portland Head, skateboarding and bowling (though inexplicably not
candlepin bowling!) and a wild ride in a washing machine at the local laundrymat. That's a tough camera getting put through its paces in a state known for rugged adventure. From
hut to hut hiking trips to Maine whitewater rafting, Maine is a great place to come out and play, and we're thinking the Stylus Tough is a great camera to bring along!
Watching the terrible tragedy of the
Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill unfold over these last weeks has gotten us thinking even more than usual about the natural beauty that surrounds us everyday and the things that make New England such a special place.
Whether
whitewater rafting New England, cruising a back road in search of fall foliage, or seeking out wilderness on
hut to hut hiking trips, visitors can't help but notice the stunning and unique white birch trees that are such a special part of the New England landscape.
Sadly, these stunning hardwood trees -- as well as beech and maple trees -- face an environmental threat that is potenially every bit as deadly as the oil spill in the Gulf. The danger comes from the
Asian longhorned beetle (ALB), a bug that bores into hardwood trees and kills them.
In 2001, the
U.S. Forest Service and the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service discovered that if all urban area in the US were to become infected with this beetle, it could mean the loss of 30 percent of the country's hardwood trees — some 1.2 billion trees; the destruction of 35 percent of the country's tree canopy; and about $669 billion in tree value.
66 square miles around Worcester, Massachusetts are under quarantine after an ALB infestation was discovered in that city in August 2008. The quarantine area also includes Boylston, West Boylston, Holden and Shrewsbury and more than 15,000 trees have been removed so far in an attempt to contain the infestation.
These little killer beetles could wipe out birch trees, sugar maples, beech trees and other species, habitat as across several states, maple syrup production and of course New England's gorgeous fall colors! So let's not take our trees for granted, you can help by keeping an eye out for the ALB and calling the
U.S. Forest Service if you spot them!
Headlines in the Portland Press Herald recently announced the discovery of the
world's largest beaver dam in Canada - the length of 8 football fields and visible from space! Talk about generations of business.
Here in Maine, we have some good size beaver dams of our own. Visitors on
hut to hut hiking trips often spot beaver ponds on their journeys, even those traveling through the north country by car see the work of these animal architects. Beaver ponds provide not only safe habitat for beavers to live and store their food in, but they create perfect places from moose, birds and fish to live as well, and often times the ponds extend to the edges of roadways, as seen in the photo of a beaverdam made right from the side of Route 201.
For a backwoods look at a larger beaver created-wetland area, from the big overlook parking at Robbin's Hill at the southern end of the
Old Canada Road Scenic Byway, it is a moderate walk down the hill to a beaver-flooded pond in progress. The trail is still new, uneven and very wet, so hikers should be prepared to get muddy and damp, but for those looking to add even more adventure to their
Maine adventure vacations, this little side journeys is a nice twist. Throw on some hiking boots and bug spray and go see what the beaver clan has been up to.
What's a footlog? They come in a couple of varieties - logs that have been cut lengthwise and logs that have been chunked into 1-2 foot high pieces - but they have the same purpose, to keep feet above of muddy and damp sections of hiking trails. The long versions are usually laid 2 at a time down the length of the trail over large distances, through boggy or low lying areas. The stubby footlogs span shorts stretches such as where creeks cross the trail.
Footlogs can be found on even short hiking trails, like the
Moxie Falls Trail. Visitors planning
Hut to Hut hiking trips as part of their
Maine adventure vacations or those folks through-hiking the Appalachian Trail will encounter many of these gems of trail architecture.
Hiking is a great way to spend time as part of your New England vacation, and with hiking trails, both short and long, all through the state there is a trail for every interest. Whether visiting waterfalls, hiking the AT or climbing a mountain, visitors love getting footloose in Maine.
I
n some states, it's said, there are two seasons, construction and winter. Maine is lucky enough to have
four definitive seasons - though sometimes spring is known as Mud Season.
But those who spend winter in this part of New England know spring is much more than melting snow and mud. Spring is short sleeves instead of turtle necks, sitting on the porch on the lee side of the house in the sun for the first time in months. Spring is fiddlehead ferns poking through last falls leaves and geese flying north and the return of loons to the ponds. Spring is getting outside to explore waterfalls and rivers made full by snow melt, smelling the apple trees in blossom, crisp mornings and warm, welcoming days.
Breaking out the hiking boots and fly rods, setting off for
Maine fishing adventures and resort settings with great access to
hut to hut hiking trails and waiting in expectation of the first day of
Kennebec River rafting are all part of letting go of winter in Maine. We're in that process now and it's one we enjoy every year. Those who have never adventured during a Maine spring should add it to their 'to do' list - it's so much more fun than spring cleaning!
Cruising north out of
Skowhegan on U.S. Route 201, you top a hill and a view opens up before you - mountains roll to the horizon and the sky doubles in size. On your left, in a grassy area, is a sign announcing you are now driving on the
Old Canada Road National Scenic Byway. A few hundred feet past the sign is an unmarked turn onto a gravel road that twists up to a picnic pavilion and another spectacular view. Everything is new and this is obviously the beginnings of a larger project - below the picnic area you can see signs of work in the woods. where walking trails are in the process of being cut. Hmmm...a place to return to and explore some more on future trips. Informational plaques on stands offer information about the mountains before you and the history of the area, it's clear they are the first of many you can stop and read along 201 north.
Breath in the view for a while, then continue north, into history, into wilderness and into adventure. A National Scenic ByWay has to be more that a pretty drive - it has to be a route with history significant to the region and offer much to see and do. The Old Canada Road is a prime example, with historical markers, spectacular scenery, and endless opportunities for outdoor adventure from
Kennebec River rafting,
ATV trails and resorts, and
Hut to Hut Hiking trips to wintertime
Maine snowmobile vacations. The houses and towns along the way are small and hardy, the people tough and friendly, the journey worth taking!
Our friends at
Maine Huts & Trails are having a Grand Raffle to raise money to support their trail grooming and maintenance efforts.
The
Grand Prize is a 5 day / 4 night Milford Track hiking experience in New Zealand, donated by Ultimate Hikes. The trip includes $2,000 towards airfare, pre and post walk accommodations at the Central Ridge Boutique Hotel in downtown Queensland and a host of other goodies.
Tickets are $100 each and will be limited to just 350 sold. The drawing will held on October 11th, at Maine Huts & Trails, Flagstaff Hut. You don't have to be present to win..... but it might be a lot of fun if you were! Other prizes include a Maine Huts & Trails lodging package, Red Sox tickets, a Sugarloaf Ski and Stay package, a
Northern Outdoors raft package and much, much more.
For full details and to purchase your tickets online go to
www.mainehuts.org
Last week we hosted our first guests doing a Hut-to-Hut hiking trip on the new Maine Huts and Trails system. The huts and trails are located between the Carrabassett Valley and the Kennebec Valley.
Our guests came all the way from the Caribbean to Maine last week! Erik and Ada, originally from the Netherlands, are currently living in St. Maarten. They told me they wanted to escape the summer heat of the Caribbean and experience a classic New England vacation. They planned their trip to include the weekend in Boston, exploring the coast of Maine and, authentic backcountry hiking in Maine’s North Woods.
Erik and Ada are enthusiastic European hikers it seems. They are both avid adventurers who have hiked in many locations including Scotland, Wales, France, Nepal and Dominica. They liked the Hut-to-Hut trip for its simplicity. After a night at Northern Outdoors, they were shuttled 90-minutes to the Poplar Stream Trailhead for the start of their 25-mile, three-day hiking journey, with their first overnight at The Poplar Stream hut and the second night at the new Flagstaff Lake Hut. From the Flagstaff hut they hiked back to the Kennebec Valley. Erik celebrated their hiking success and being the first to navigate the new Valley to Valley route this summer, with a couple of KBR pints, and Ada with two cups of green tea!
Ps. Erik and Ada definitely got their wish to escape the heat of the Caribbean. It rained solidly the first two days of their hike, but they were well fed and well cared for by Maine Huts & Trails staff. We are pretty excited about this new way to explore the western mountains of Maine. Guided and Self Guided Trips are offered from July to October for individuals and small groups. Custom programs can be developed for colleges, organizations and corporate groups – call 800-765-7238 for details
We kicked off the 2009 Maine Whitewater rafting season today with a trip down the Dead River with 56 adventurous souls.
After weeks of preparation it's always nice to get the first trip of the year on-the-water.
Now we can look forward to three more Dead River trips in May, whitewater guide training which starts on May 14th and our first ever Raft-n-Draft event on May 30th sponsored by our very own Kennebec River Brewery. There will be beer tasting, live music, a pig roast, brewery tours, did I mention the beer tasting? rafting on the Dead River and for those with any energy left on Sunday there's a 4-mile mud run/walk/crawl to celebrate spring in Maine.
In addition to rafting we're also gearing up for spring fishing, our new hut-to-hut hiking program and the arrival of Maine's ATV season at the end of the month.
So, don't sit around lamenting the woes of the world, grab a paddle, your hiking boots, a fishing rod or your ATV keys and get up here to The Forks to shake off the winter cobwebs and start to enjoy the benefits of Maine's great outdoors.
Last weekend my family and I took advantage of the fantastic spring weather to check out
Maine Huts & Trails new Flagstaff Hut.
My two boys, Harry & Cam and their friend Jackson met up with Jamie Corriveau, the Operations Manager for Huts & Trails, (pictured) to explore the beach and the trails leading down to the lake. The boys declared their wish to spend a family vacation at the new Flagstaff Hut this summer - and I suspect this is one wish that will come true!
Within the next couple of weeks I am looking forward to completing a "shake down" hike of the trail from Caratunk to the Flagstaff hut as a prelude to our new guided
Hut-to-hut hiking program we'll be offerring this summer.
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