Nature Magic on the Appalachian Trail Maine: Nature Magic on the Appalachian Trail, #1

By Joseph Barnett

  This book is about Maine, the first of a series experiencing the Appalachian Trail. Filled with colorful photos, made possible in an eBook, make this not just a backpacking book, but also a book that shows the incredible "Nature Magic on the Appalachian Trail." Subway Gramps' nearly yearlong journey from Maine to Georgia is divided into "section hikes" that could be hiked during several week vacations.
  Subway Gramps began his southbound hike July 4th, on top of Mount Katahdin, watching hikers celebrate their 2,192-mile thru-hikes from Georgia to Maine. As happy as they were, a common regret was, "I wish I'd stopped more often to enjoy nature."
  "Following fall," he stopped to watch pollinators turn flowers into berries. In Maine's 100 Mile Wilderness he discovered magnificent pink lady's slipper flowers that only grow in special forests, not in gardens. At a mountain bog he stopped to admire hundreds of delicately decorated, carnivorous pitcher plants trick insects into climbing down the pitcher to be "digested."
  At night he peaked outside his tent to see the big dipper, clearer than ever, reflected over a perfectly smooth pristine lake. Another night after a big animal moaned painfully and crashed right through camp hidden by darkness, the author searched and discovered giant moose footprints. Surprisingly, when a loon yodeled, few of his more hurried campmates knew they had experienced the famous Maine loon.
  The author met hikers from all parts of society. Scientists, teachers, vagabonds, business leaders, doctors and even a movie star shared their experiences. Nearly every hiker had an interesting trail name and story. Hiking just a few days together often bonded hikers for life. A common saying was, "This is how all of society should be."
  Starting with Maine, each section hike eBook can be downloaded onto phones for not only a backpacking book, but also a nature book! Subway Gramps collected forty years of interesting tidbits from nature books, park brochures, kiosks, and biologists that made each stop so wonderful, he called them "Nature Magic."
  The founder of the Appalachian Trial, Benton MacKaye, once said when asked what the purpose of the Appalachian Trail was, he replied, "to walk, to see, and to see what you see." This eBook helps hikers see what they saw!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joseph Barnett
• Release date: Feb 6, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224267033

Book preview

Nature Magic on the Appalachian Trail Maine

Joseph Barnett

Copyright 2023

Introduction

CHAPTER 1: Maine’s Nature Paradise

CHAPTER 2: Katahdin to Monson: 114.5 miles

July 4. Katahdin. The Greatest Mountain:

July 5. Katahdin Stream Lean-to:

July 6. Abol Bridge Bunkhouse:

July 7. Rainbow Stream Lean-to Tenting:

July 8. Nahmakanta Lake Stealth Tenting:

July 9. Jo-Mary Road Campsite Tenting:

July 10. East Branch Lean-to:

July 11. Gulf Hagas Stealth Tent:

July 12. Cloud Pond Lean-to Tenting:

July 13. Saturday. Wilson Valley Lean-to:

CHAPTER 3: Monson to Rangeley: 105.9 miles

July 17. Monson:

July 18. Moxie Bald Lean-to:

July 24. Caratunk:

July 25. West Carry Pond Lean-to:

July 26. Little Bigelow Lean-to:

July 28. Stratton, ME 27:

July 29. Crocker Cirque Camp:

July 30. Spaulding Mountain Lean-to:

July 31. Poplar Ridge Lean-to:

CHAPTER 4: Rangeley to Gorham, NH: 77.9 miles

August 2. Rangeley ME 4:

August 3. Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to:

August 4. Bemis Mountain Lean-to:

August 5. Black Brook Camp Tenting:

August 9. East B Hill Road, Andover:

August 10. Baldpate Lean-to:

August 11. Speck Pond Shelter:

August 12. Full Goose Shelter:

August 13. Gentian Pond Shelter to Gorham, NH:

Appendix. Backpacking Supplies:

Backpack, Tent, Sleeping Bag, and Pad:

Clothes:

Waterproof Sack for Dry Clothes, Electronics. Medical. Toiletries:

Food:

Things I Would Do Differently:

About the Author

Introduction

This first of a series describes the Maine section of the Appalachian Trail (AT). Subway Gramps began his southbound hike July 4th, on top of Mt. Katahdin, Maine, watching northbound hikers celebrate the finish of their 2,192-mile thru-hikes from Georgia to Maine. As happy as they were, a common regret was, I wish I’d stopped more often to enjoy nature.

On his trek to Georgia, Subway Gramps did stop. He stopped to watch amazing creatures carry male pollens to female flowers turning them to berries! In Maine’s 100 Mile Wilderness he discovered magnificent pink lady’s slipper flowers that only grow in special forests, not in gardens. At a mountain bog he stopped to admire hundreds of delicately decorated, carnivorous pitcher plants tricking insects into climbing down the pitcher to be trapped and slowly digested.

One night, peeking outside his tent, he saw the big dipper, clearer than ever, reflected over the perfectly smooth, pristine lake. Another night, a big animal, hidden by darkness, moaned painfully as it crashed through camp, scaring the hikers. In the morning the author delayed his hike to discover giant moose footprints leading to the lake. When a loon yodeled, few of his more hurried campmates knew they had experienced the famous Maine loon.

Colorful photos make this not just an adventure book but also a book about the birds, butterflies, flowers, shrubs, trees, and wildlife so many hikers walk past but never see. Interesting tidbits learned from nature books, park brochures, kiosks, and biologists made each stop so wonderful, he called them Nature Magic.

CHAPTER 1: Maine’s Nature Paradise

Millinocket. A Wilderness Outpost:

My wife, Wendy, joined Brittany and me in Maine, squeezing her luggage into a Scion XA, already filled to the top with backpacks and Brittany’s moving supplies. Entering Millinocket, we checked reservations at the Baxter State Park Office and explored its small nature museum. Then the Appalachian Trail Cafe fed us our last civilized dinner and final cups of real coffee.

On the way out of town we stopped at Subway for our first "Subway Gramps experience. About every long-distance hiker gets a trail name. Some are anointed by fellow hikers. Some are self-anointed. My trail name became Subway for my luxury hiking subs and Gramps, the name my grandsons, Carter and Charlie, call me. Most hikers shortened it to Subway."

Victor took our order, saying he was proud to be making the first subs of my journey. We stuffed 12 veggie subs into my official Subway bag for Wendy, Brittany, and Subway Gramps.

Baxter State Park. A Gift to Maine by Percival Baxter!

Turning onto Baxter Park’s old time tote road, we instantly felt the pristine, peaceful beauty and learned why. Percival Baxter couldn't protect Katahdin as governor, so he donated 201,018 acres from 1931-1962 and $7 million dollars (about $100 million in today’s dollars) to Maine.

He had one condition. The forest had to be left forever wild, like the Abol and Katahdin Stream lands in the photo. That meant no electricity, non-flushing toilets, and no supplies or food stores. Hikers must bring or filter drinking water from ponds and streams. Everything had to be brought in and taken out, just like the Leave No Trace ethic promotes. No wonder the park's modern office was outside the park!

In 2016 over 87,500 more acres were donated to the adjacent Katahdin Woods National Monument by Roxanne Quimby, co-founder of Burt's Bees! Only 6.5% of Maine is public land, one of the lowest in the country. Luckily, as many as 80 land trusts, like the Nature Conservancy, have helped keep Maine natural and 89% forested…more than any other state!

Camping at Katahdin Stream Campground:

We quickly found our number 11, three-sided shelter (called lean-tos in Maine) next to the clear, smooth-bouldered Katahdin Stream. Wendy called it, the perfect campsite. It even had a tall, metal bear pole to hang our food bags on. While Brittany and Wendy started a campfire, my first job was to carefully step into the stream and lower my body under a rushing waterfall for a cleansing, cold-water, wilderness massage!

The ranger, Tim Deetz, told me to register my thru-hike at his office building 100 yards away. There I read handwritten wildlife sightings of bunnies, squirrels, moose, bear tracks, grouse, cute mice, frogs, my sister pooping, and a bald eagle that flew into a car. The office had a 3D map of Katahdin, free daypacks for climbing Katahdin, and a historic sign showing the AT distance for 1994.

Tim said my pack's two-inch AT hangtag could be picked up in Monson after the 100 Mile Wilderness. Getting that tag is a highlight of thru-hikers, and it lets Trail Angels know we were probably safe and appreciated their help! Trail Angels are kind strangers who give hikers Trail Magic...food, rides, and sometimes places to stay.

The campground had many hikers but didn’t feel crowded, since there were few cars or parking lots. The husband of one couple commented he thru-hiked the AT in the 1970s with a heavy backpack so common then. A survey by Ed Garvey in 1976 found the average pack without food or water back then weighed 30 pounds.

Ironically, in 1955 Grandma Gatewood, the first female solo thru-hiker, and the first to hike the AT three times, at ages 67, 71, and 75 years, was also a pioneer ultralight hiker. Her shower curtain, army blanket, jacket, and homemade sack weighed only 12-17 pounds, not counting her meals of spam and other canned foods!

My first 50 yards on the adjacent AT felt like a forest shrine. I just stared at the famous white blazes painted on trees marking the AT. These 2x6 inch white stripes would lead me all the way to Springer Mountain in Georgia! While admiring the white blazes, six older hikers (my age) from Nova Scotia asked me to take their photo. Every year since 2003 they worked on trails for two days and then hiked the third day.

Baxter Park Nature Magic:

The most common native flower here was the snow-white bunchberry, a type of dogwood. Four special leaves, called bracts, looked like white flowers but weren’t. The real flowers were so tiny they looked like black dots!

If the flowers get pollinated, they become green berries. In the fall these berries enlarge into bright red bunchberries. Birds and other wildlife eat the berries, scattering the seeds. As the weather gets colder and days shorter, the green leaves turn wonderful fall colors. This was a common pattern of nearly every plant on my Following Fall nature hike!

Wendy, Brittany, and I each ate one of our three-hour-old subs for dinner on the lean-to picnic table. Then we visited the community, non-flushing outhouse toilet, called a privy. Most hikers brought a ziplock bag with toilet paper and hand disinfectant.

My First Attempt Using a Bidet!

Sometimes hikers walked into the forest to dig a cat-hole six to eight inches deep. Instead of bulky, chemical-laden, littering, wasteful, old-growth tree-killing, easily torn, stinky-finger toilet paper, I tested a lite-as-a-feather, water-squirting bidet that screwed onto one of my two water bottles.

A bidet sounded crazy at first. But it worked great! After rinsing and burying the waste, a little dab of leftover motel soap and water on my hands made it easy to feel completely clean and refreshed! As one bidet-user told me, If a bird pooped on your arm, would you wipe it off with toilet paper or rinse it off with a bidet? Like many first-time bidet users, I was hooked!

Brittany and I prepared our packs and laid them on the picnic table overlooking Katahdin Stream. Going to sleep that night felt like a kid on Christmas Eve…in this case all excited for the next day, July 4, the beginning of our Nature Magic on the Appalachian Trail!

*2,192 miles to Springer Mountain, Georgia*

CHAPTER 2: Katahdin to Monson: 114.5 miles

The highlight of this section was of course Katahdin, Maine’s tallest mountain, towering high above a forever sea of trees and ponds…and no visible roads. Beautiful forest flowers bloomed! Butterflies landed on us, beaver swam past us, ruffed grouse chased us away, garter snakes scurried under our feet, and so much moose poop made us laugh!

We met our first trail families, called tramilies, waded across rivers, and swam in clear ponds. Happily, our bicycle-trained legs took us straight up mountains, but brutal roots and rocks punished our feet. In July, the fastest northbound hikers (NOBOs) arrived from Georgia and taught us new southbound hikers (SOBOs) to pack lightly. We tented and stayed in our first three-sided lean-to shelters.

Food was available at Abol Bridge Northern Restaurant, food drop-offs at Johnson Pond Road in the 100 Mile Wilderness, and in the wonderful Monson trail town, home of Shaw’s Hiker Hostel.

July 4. Katahdin. The Greatest Mountain:

Breakfast was a 13-hour-old sub, washed down with cold coffee, both leftovers from Millinocket. I also tested cold-soaked oatmeal with powdered milk, peanut butter powder, sunflower seeds, and raisins. Oatmeal tasted good…the first couple weeks.

Brittany and I put water, snacks, and the remaining subs in daypacks. Hiking without heavy backpacks is called slackpacking. At 8:20 a.m. we left camp following the white-blazed Hunt Trail part of the AT up Katahdin. Hikers must climb an extra 5.2 miles to start the AT on top of Katahdin, the tallest mountain in Maine!

We crossed a wood footbridge over Katahdin Stream, passing the Katahdin Stream Falls. A beautiful native shrub, sheep laurel, bloomed deep-pink flowers arranged in a circle halfway down the stem. The flowers looked like dainty teacups, similar to the bog laurels and mountain laurels.

Instead of berries, their flowers turn into seed capsules that can remain on the plants for years. When opened, the seeds look like dust particles. Laurels are host plants for the northern blue and brown elfin butterflies and are grown in butterfly-friendly yards.

Our First Trail Family, Called Tramily:

More and more hikers funneled onto the trail. Some became our first trail family, called "tramily.'' AT backpacking thru-hikers often form tramilies heading in the same direction at the same pace.

Ray, from North Carolina, wore a camouflaged hat and backpack. He looked exhausted, resting on the side of the trail. I smugly thought, I must be in better shape than him. When we got to the top, Ray was already there and seemed a possible tramily member. But four days later, after Lake Nahmakanta, he disappeared.

I never knew if Ray was ahead of us or got off the trail. That is a common problem hiking in the same direction. To help, or maybe just to be nosey, I asked every hiker their name. If they asked me where their tramily was, it was easy to tell them. They usually thanked me and sometimes took off in a hurry to catch their hiker friends, who seemed more important than even their Facebook friends!

By now, my old sandals, great for Florida’s soft swamps and muddy areas, had fallen apart and were replaced with spare Crocs. So many AT hikers lost toenails from rubbing inside shoes that open-toe sandals seemed a good idea at the time. The comfortable, feather-weight Crocs hadn’t been tested in Maine.

As hikers here soon learn, Maine’s infamous rocks and protruding tree roots never end. I thought my big feet were indestructible and naively plowed right over them all, in my spongy-soled Crocs. Wearing hard-soled trail shoes with a thumb-width of space at the big toe eventually turned out to be a better idea.

A couple from Finland rested between big rocks of The Boulders. They weren't sure if they could climb the ledges to the top so decided to turn around. Another couple, recent graduates of Brigham Young University, stopped. He was a new dentist getting ready to start oral surgery specialty school in Boston! Having just retired from dentistry, I felt excited for him.

Soon after The Boulders' obstacle course, we met Mason and Cassidy, who coincidentally graduated in Brittany's Florida State University’s Class of 2018! Mason was trail named Longshanks after a king with long legs. Cassidy was trail named Borderline, to give publicity to a Borderline Personality Disorder website. The book, I Hate You. Don’t Leave Me is very educational about this difficult illness.

Over the next six months following them, I read their informative shelter logbook entries. Each shelter had a logbook to write notes for other hikers. An advantage to being a slower hiker, besides discovering nature magic, was reading what your faster friends were doing!

Our First Blueberries and Cranberries:

Above the tree line began the drier Tablelands, where I tested my old running shoes. Here a type of small blueberry, called bilberry, grew. Nearby, mountain cranberry plants had pink-blooming flowers. Some flowers had turned to cranberries that would be ready to eat after fall’s first frost, which in Maine comes early! When I told Mainers how nice their summer weather was, some instantly got a worried look and replied, but winter's coming.

Weather-hardy Diapensia lapponica, commonly called "cushion plants" because they are soft and cushiony, looked like green dinner plates. Some here were hundreds of years old and up to 3,000 years old in Peru! Ironically, they can be damaged and killed by just a few footsteps. Many areas were roped off to keep hikers away from these threatened plants. When roping and signs didn’t work, trails had to be closed.

Brittany's favorite hiking boots lost a sole on the rocky plateau. We tried duct taping, but they soon fell apart again. Luckily, she was tough and put on her Chaco sandals. Maine had now destroyed two pairs of footwear in two days.

A mile from the top, Thoreau Spring was more like a puddle and not a dependable water source. Henry David Thoreau, famous for his book On Walden Pond, chose to start his new nature life in 1845 on July 4th, Independence Day, just like me!

Two years later, Thoreau started the first of three trips to Katahdin, saying (like many thru-hikers who left civilization), I had several more lives to live and couldn’t spare any more time on that one. On these trips Thoreau met and greatly admired the Native Americans' culture, work, and knowledge. His book, The Maine Woods, is available free at www.gutenberg.org as an eBook.

As I was trying to do, Thoreau documented the plants and wildlife. The Maine woods still looked pristine, but it distressed him that the giant white pines had already been cut down. He mentioned seeing passenger pigeons, once the world's most common bird with an estimated four billion flying across the sky. Fifty years later they were extinct.

One thing hadn’t changed. Hiking up Katahdin he wrote, The mountain seemed a vast aggregation of loose rocks as if some time it had rained rocks…

Thoreau Spring was a crowded trail intersection. In a boggy area where hikers hadn’t stepped, more pink teacup-shaped laurel flowers survived. This time, instead of sheep laurels, they were called bog laurels. On mountains grew mountain laurels. Nearby, an American toad, the only toad species in Maine, hid tightly under a boulder.

Celebrating and Eating on Top of Katahdin:

Hunt Trail led us to the top of the mountain where Brittany and I took photos at the iconic Katahdin sign, on Baxter Peak, the tallest of Katahdin’s two peaks at 5,269 feet high. Four hours hiking straight up 4,000 feet in five miles