The Terra Galleria Blog – QT Luong

I’ve posted new images from Baxter State Park in Maine. This is the first installment of images of the Maine North Woods (trip report). Second installment next week.

Baxter State Park is one of the largest wilderness areas in the North East of the US (the only other comparable area are the Adirondacks in upstate NY). Established as a gift to the people of Maine from Percival Baxter, a former governor who used his personal fortune to purchase the more than 200,000 acres (800 sq km) of the park, with the goal to keep the land forever wild, it has the particularity of having no commercial activities, paved roads, running water, or even electricity, so come prepared ! There are, however, plenty of trails, campsites, and natural beauty.

Access is more strictly controlled than other parks that I have visited. You have to check in during opening hours (the gate is closed from 10pm to 6am), receive a permit under your name that is affixed to your windshield (the reverse of the permit reminds you of the 20mph speed limit). When you exit the park, you return the permit.

The centerpiece of Baxter State Park is Mount Katahdin, at 5,267 feet (1,605m) the highest mountain in Maine, well-known as the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Trails on the mountain are also strictly controlled. Although I was eager to ascent Katahdin, when I was there, the mountain was constantly cloud-capped, with serious chances of rain. Instead of finding myself with zero visibility, I hiked to a shorter peak, South Turner Mountain, whose summit was under the clouds. Before the rain came, the storm conditions created beautiful spots of light over the autumn landscape.

On the way to South Turner Peak, I passed Sandy Stream Pond, considered to be one of the top spots for observing moose in the North-East. The game there is to set-up your tripod on the small observation platform (in order to preserve vegetation, you are not allowed to step out of it), which was near full capacity at 8am on a weekday. You then wait all day for a moose to come out. I went hiking instead.