Self Shuttling in north Maine

[flyfisher]

Wow! It has been a busy summer so far. I got a hundred miles of PA done in April and my daughter married off in our front yard this last week. It is time to get hiking again.

My next section hike is planned for the northernmost 200 miles of the trail beginning about July 3. I will have two weeks to get the hike in. If I get a little more or less in, it will be fine by me.

Here is my general plan and a couple questions...

Because of the Baxter regulations, I plan on hiking the hundred mile wilderness northbound into the park. That way, I will be a thruhiker entering the park and not need reservations at the Birches. I doubt that there will be a crush of other thru hikers finishing quite as early as the second week in July.

What I need to do is leave a vehicle someplace near the park for the week or so it will take to hike the wilderness and Katahadin. I will also need to leave a vehicle near the entrance to the wilderness. One will be an old motorcycle, the other my pick up truck.

What suggestions do y'all have for the places to keep the vehicles? My going in plan is to talk to one of the places near Monson about locking my bike up there and leave the pick-up truck at Millinocket. I will drive the truck to Millinocket, park it, and unload the bike and my pack. I will then drive the bike back to Monson, lock it up, and enter the wilderness.

After summiting Katahdin, I will need to find a ride back to Millinocket, which I am guessing might be easy to hitch with a pack.

For the rest of the available time in my two week schedule, I will do several more 1-3 day sections further south on the trail with the same two vehicle set-up.

My only big question is where to do that week long parking? I am very open to suggestion. The combined knowledge of this group is extraordinary. If this question has already been asked/answered, please just direct me to a link or search phrase.

I will monitor this thread for the next several days, or be glad to receive private messages.

Rick/Risk

[attroll]

You might want to call Shaw's Lodging in Monson. They use to let you park your vehicle there for a minimal price when the Shaw's owned it. They still may do it.

[Tramper Al]

Love your self-shuttling approach. I use a bicycle/car scheme, but the bike trip for the 100 Miles looked a bit long, so I ended up flying to Monson instead. Unfortuately, both my pick-up truck and motorcycle are basket cases at the moment.

I parked right at Abol Bridge for the 5 days I was hiking the 100 Miles last summer, and that worked fine. I'm not saying it's a good idea, but it did work fine for me. It was nice to have access to more food and clothing as I entered BSP, too.

[flyfisher]

I hate to reply to one of my posts so soon, but I did find a resource that someone recommended to me for Pennsylvania parking also has info on Maine.
According to the page here:

http://appalachiantrail.rohland.org/

There is a large parking lot at Monson on the highway, and a smaller one on Pleasant Street a couple miles outside town (Bray Road)

There is a very large parking area at the campground and on the other side of the bridge at Abol Bridge.

I understand that it is only about 4 miles from the Birches to Abol bridge via a path. So it seems that using these as parking spots for this part of my hike would work nicely and may avoid needing to get a ride to my car.

[the goat]

I understand that it is only about 4 miles from the Birches to Abol bridge via a path. So it seems that using these as parking spots for this part of my hike would work nicely and may avoid needing to get a ride to my car.

yeah, it's called the "blueberry path" or something like that....

[Tramper Al]

There is a large parking lot at Monson on the highway, and a smaller one on Pleasant Street a couple miles outside town (Bray Road)

There is a very large parking area at the campground and on the other side of the bridge at Abol Bridge.


Bluberry Ledge, actually. Yeah, I think people thought you were looking for SECURE or SAFE parking, or something like that.

Incidentally, I (and others too) have a few times reviewed a few times on here some of the details on section hiking the 100 Mile Wilderness + Katahdin, so you might find some details there that could be helpful.

[Askus3]

If you take Tramper Al's suggestion of parking for a week at Abol Bridge. My suggestion is when hiking northbound, check out your car at Abol Bridge. Maybe keep some stuff like the warmer outerwear you might want to carry to the summit of Katahdin in your car, also drop off alot of the extra stuff you wouldn't need and treat this as a 2 day one night backpack. Hike the AT to the Birches. Stay overnight and then just day hike up to the summit of Big "K". If you backpack the 100 Mile Wilderness, you are allowed to camp for a night at the Birches. Upon returning to Birches pick up your stuff and take the Blueberry ledges Trail right from behind the lean-tos into the AT near Abol Bridge. This blue blaze short cut is about 5 miles (VS AT 12 miles) from Birches to Abol Bridge and is scenic and relatively level for the length of it. So you can do Birches up Katahdin and back to Abol Bridge in one day. Remember you just are carrying a daypack up Katahdin, so that should make it a bit easier. Now you have to decide if you want to leave your car at Abol Bridge for a week.

[Rambler]

Yup, left a car at Abol Bridge while hiking 100 mi. W. The trail goes right over the bridge, and the campground is a good place to tent ($10). I was there on Labor Day and met people who had been there all summer! (My longest bike-and-hike was when I left a car at the jct. of AT and the Highway outside of Monson, then road my bike back to Flagstaff 84 miles with some great downhills.) Shaws used to charge $1/day to park. Shaws also provided long distance shuttle service. Keith, Jr., might still do that, if you can find him. The ranger station at the foot of the Hunt trail (AT) will give you a daypack for your hike up K.

Try this, too. Stay at Birches. Summit K. early, go down via the Knife's Edge (assuming good weather) What a great hike!! Hitching in the park is not difficult. You can ask for rides as people approach their cars in the lots. They get to check you out, too.

[Rocks 'n Roots]

That north end is a very strenuous section. 2 weeks could be an underestimate of the actual time it could take you depending on your ability.

[Tramper Al]

That north end is a very strenuous section. 2 weeks could be an underestimate of the actual time it could take you depending on your ability.
The north end is the Italian section of Boston. This thread was started by a clearly experienced AT section hiker, who is likely capable of doing his research and working out how long he should alot for the 100 Mile. Two weeks? Please.

[Askus3]

Flyfisher wrote:
My next section hike is planned for the northernmost 200 miles of the trail beginning about July 3. I will have two weeks to get the hike in. If I get a little more or less in, it will be fine by me.


Rocks n 'Roots wrote:
That north end is a very strenuous section. 2 weeks could be an underestimate of the actual time it could take you depending on your ability.

Tramper Al wrote:
This thread was started by a clearly experienced AT section hiker, who is likely capable of doing his research and working out how long he should alot for the 100 Mile. Two weeks? Please.

Let me see if I have this right. Flyfisher is trying to do the most northern 200 miles of the AT in 14 days or roughly 15 miles per day. Now the nearest major road crossing of the AT close to 200 miles south of the summit of Katahdin is ME 16/27 in the Carrabassett Valley near Stratton. According to the AT Database is 185 miles from Katahdin. Rocks n' Roots is saying that these 200 miles including the Bigelow Range, the Barren-Chairback Range, White Cap Mountain and of course Kathdin are challenging stretches in these last 200 miles. However, I tend to believe there are stretches including the northern portion of the Hundred Mile Wilderness and the stretch between East Flagstaff road and about 10 miles north of Monson where you can do 20 mile days (timing and planning are important in optimizing timing to arrive at the Kennebec River when Longley's ferry is operating). So, I think it is a fair assumption that the last 200 (actually 185 miles) can be done in two weeks.

I understand where Tramper Al's cynical post is coming from as the last several posts preceding his was a discussion of shuttling and doing the Hundred Mile Wilderness. So even I at first was saying Rocks n' Roots was crazy to think it would take two weeks to do the northern half of the Hundred Mile Wilderness (say from JoMary Road to Katahdin), when that portion of the 100 Mile Wilderness is relatively flat with alot of lake shore walking. But double checking the whole thread I believe I see what is going on (see quotes above). So I hope I cleared this up before we get into a back and forth thrashing.

[Rocks 'n Roots]

My post is based on experience and seeing many entries from newbies who didn't understand the nature of the AT. In fact, I would contend it was a matter of bad judgment to basically flame such a post when a more Trail experienced member would realize there are quite a few in the hiker demographic who hike slower than the 200 mile 2 week spread given by the original poster. I have read more than one post from unexperienced hikers who quit in Maine because of the terrain. I myself crossed Maine slowly because it was my first long distance hike with too much gear and weight. I was also out of shape. Persons with a broader knowledge of the Trail know that Maine possesses some hard, continuous mountain walks. In fact I read on AT sites like this one that more hikers quit off the north end than those who start off the south end. Also Maine can have cool rains that some take shorter days on and some take time off in Monson.

[papa john]

I have hiked with flyfisher before and can attest to the fact that he is neither a newbie nor overburdened by gear. He is extremely well prepared for whatever the trail throws at him. Can he get an answer to his questions?

[Tramper Al]

Yes, my mistake, I'm sorry. I kept seeing (and discussing) the 100 Mile, Monson to Katahdin, etc. So I thought some extremely bad advice was being given, possibly prompting some "newbie" to pack maybe 14+ days of food and gear as he left Monson northbound. 200 miles is that much farther, my bad. Thanks Aaron for pointing out my error.

It took me 6 days (a 1-, 2-, and 3-day trip) to get from ME 16/27 to Monson, perhaps not atypical for a sectioneer, if that's of any help.

Still, I judge the original poster to be capable of estimating his own pace, based on his prior experience and reading map and trail descriptions.

[Rocks 'n Roots]

I glossed over his post, mainly focusing on "his being in his fifties, daughter gone off, etc" and thought maybe he was new at this. I see now he isn't.

[Rambler]

Another place to leave a car: Katahdin Iron Works. There is good parking only a few yards from the AT and one has to pay c. $10 to enter the road to it. This gives you access to the not-to-be-missed, Gulf Hagas and Auger Falls. Southbound from there gets you to the Chairbacks. The road is not paved, so a road bike would not be easy, but a trail bike would work fine.

Another place in the midle of the 100 Mile Wilderness is White House Landing.
Driveable logging roads from there lead to Milonocket. Do not tell anyone about the hot showers and 1 lb hamburger and ice cream by the pint that you can buy there. Bunk house and private cabins, too. I do not think they accept mail drops anymore, however. There are about two hours drive from a town.

http://www.mainerec.com/ware5.shtml

[Tramper Al]

Another place to leave a car: Katahdin Iron Works. There is good parking only a few yards from the AT and one has to pay c. $10 to enter the road to it. http://www.mainerec.com/ware5.shtml
A minor point, but fee access via those logging roads is on a 'per day' basis. Leaving a car overnight, you'd be subject to multiple day use fees plus fees for camping each night. As pedestrians walking through on the AT, we are certainly exempt, but when you use a vehicle and the road gates, the fees come in.

[flyfisher]

Many thanks for the multiple ideas!

I am inexperienced in Maine, but have about 1200 miles of the trail behind me now in 100 to 200 mile segments. I normally am able to walk a little more than 100 miles a week in most parts of the trail, but plan to walk what seems like it will work. Once I get the 100 mile wilderness under my belt, (it may take 5 -7 days) I will do a couple other sections until the time available slips by. If I hike 120 miles in 12 days, I will be happy, or if it ends up being 200 miles I will be happy with that too...

That is the nice thing about self shuttling. Whatever works out just works out. See y'all out there...

[flyfisher]

I am now just a little experienced in Maine. Not nearly as experienced as I would have hoped...

After driving 20 hours to Abol Bridge, leaving my truck there and driving my motorcycle to Shaw's in Monson, I started hiking on Pleasant Street north. I stayed a beautiful wild night at the Wilson Stream shelter after fording waist high Wilson Stream. It was a great fourth of July fireworks show that the Creator put on for us that night.

After meeting the 8 or 9 other people at the shelter the next morning, 7 of us headed north and two or three headed south. I was walking solo and was just 3 or four miles north of the shelter when I took a bad fall down a slippery rock. As I was falling, I heard a crack in my left leg and knew that it was not going to be a good.

I was relieved to see that there was not a bone sticking through my skin. Even more, I was relieved when I found that I could put some weight on my left leg. It was hurting quite a lot and with that crack, it was now sure that this was a hike ending fall.... drat!

I hobbled south while I could. I ran across two more of the northbound hikers. They had a map showing that a gravel road about 2 miles back connected (after a mile) with another road. Their map saved me walking an extra mile of trail and then walking out the railroad tracks to a road.

From the top of a hill, I pulled out my cell phone for the only time on the trip and - much to my surprise - I had a signal. I called the Shaw's boarding house, and arranged a pick-up - which eventually ended up being near the Audubon nature preserve which I passed on the gravel road and was actually at the highway bridge across the Wilson River that the guidebooks say is the route to take if the water is high.

My total walk on what ended up being a fractured fibula was about 5 miles. Fortunately, the Tibia was not injured and I was fully able to hold my weight on my injured leg. I could not hold my weight unless my heel was supported and I had to have a FLAT place to put that foot each time, but I was able to to hobble OK.

After collecting my bike, driving it 90 miles back to Abol Bridge, and then driving 20 hours back to Dayton, I went to the emergency room this morning. I have a spiral fracture of my left fibula about an inch and a half or two long - which needs no surgery, no screws, and only my avoiding much weight bearing (no hiking) for a month. I will be in an air splint until then.

By the way, the trail in Maine really is a mess. I am spoiled by the well tended trail of North Carolina and Virginia. There were deep muddy quagmires in the Maine trail dozens of times each mile. Miles of the trail have the branches of the bushes and trees on both sides of the trail crossing the trail, linked with one another, obscuring the trail from view. The blow downs at least were cut out fairly well. There was water everywhere. No need to carry water at all...

To be fair to the Maine trail maintainers - they really have had a lot of storms up there for the last month. They have had a lot of blow downs to get out. But the overgrown nature of the trail when each and every foot step is unpredictable because of rocks and roots is quite difficult to deal with.

I read a trail maintainer's note at Leland Stream shelter from a week before which said that there were 29 blow downs in the section of trail that he had checked but that the trail was in "great shape." I think that some cross training of this fellow with a trip to North Carolina might help to redefine his view of "great shape." It was not in anything like what would have been called good condition anywhere in the southern 1000 miles of the trail. (OK, maybe it is my disappointment talking... )

And then there is that one very slippery rock north of the Wilson Shelter - which I personally have a hard time forgiving. Giving up hiking for a month in mid summer for my want of a moment's attention to my feet really gripes me.

Many thanks to the fine folks at Shaw's who went well out of their way to help a hiker in need. Dawn and her daughter (Amber?) were very kind and very nice to come out and find me. All the hikers I met were friendly. Everyone was being helpful to one another. Looks like a great class of 2006 southbounders is on their way.