View Full Version : How do you plan on getting home from Maine?
So it looks like what was to be a thru hike for me in '09 is going to be a 3 month section from Harper's Ferry to Kathadin. I am wondering how most of you Nobos are planning on getting home from Maine? Is it fair to say that I shouldn't have a hard time getting a ride from Baxter to Bangor to catch a greyhound/train? Thoughts?
-Crab Cake
Lone Wolf
09-16-2008, 16:05
it's very easy to get a ride from baxter to bangor where you can catch a bus to portland or boston
Monkeywrench
09-17-2008, 08:01
I am wondering how most of you Nobos are planning on getting home from Maine?
I'm going to have my wife come pick me up.
Color me spoiled! :banana
bus to Bangor, rental car to Portland, Amtrak on the sleeper car to SC
wrongway_08
09-17-2008, 10:06
Ended up buying a motorcycle to ride home on, really great dealer in Bangor ME, about 15 minutes walking time from the bus station.
If you happen to be thinking of buyn one anyways, they gave me a good deal.
Bangor Motorsports
207-942-4444
I PLAN on not planning how to get home. I look at the AT as the start of a very, very long journey.
umm, and if it really comes down to it, I'll call mommy.
mtnkngxt
09-20-2008, 20:58
Bus ride Portland and then bus or train home.
wrongway_08
09-20-2008, 21:04
Sorry, I some how forgot (didnt see :o) my original post.
wrongway_08
09-20-2008, 21:06
seems I was in the woods too long.... seeing (not seeing :p) things :D.
CrumbSnatcher
09-20-2008, 21:31
So it looks like what was to be a thru hike for me in '09 is going to be a 3 month section from Harper's Ferry to Kathadin. I am wondering how most of you Nobos are planning on getting home from Maine? Is it fair to say that I shouldn't have a hard time getting a ride from Baxter to Bangor to catch a greyhound/train? Thoughts?
-Crab Cake i hitched all the way back to nebraska in 99'.the last couple of long hikes i left my car at a hostel in tenn. and a friends near asheville. alot easier hitching down the trail. usually 2or 3 days hitching back unless hiking portions south too.in 98' i drove into dahlonega and sold my truck to the cashier at a liqour store then got dropped off at AFSP. you'll have no problems at all,getting home IF YOU STILL WANT TO GO... have a great hike:D
Bare Bear
09-21-2008, 22:39
When you come down from K just ask around at the campground or wait at the road leading out. There is only one road and everyone has to go to Millinocket first......I've been very lucky three times now and always got a ride within an hour or less. Twice I found other hikers willing to share hotel to save money too.
Wise Old Owl
09-21-2008, 23:41
bus to Bangor, rental car to Portland, Amtrak on the sleeper car to SC
Yes Frank we have a winner!!! as he has the right answer look at door number 2!
I was actually planning on thumbing a ride to Bangor and then onto Bar Harbor
Chilling out in a cheap motel by the ocean for a couple of days and then flying out of Bangor to parts as of yet undetermined
Not sure why you would rent a car to get from Bangor to Portland. Might as well take the bus, as it's easy, cheap, and relatively short.
Yes Frank we have a winner!!! as he has the right answer look at door number 2!
warraghiyagey
11-26-2008, 01:16
Not sure why you would rent a car to get from Bangor to Portland. Might as well take the bus, as it's easy, cheap, and relatively short.
True - about $14 for the bus Bangor to Portland - or something like that - very cheap
Not sure why you would rent a car to get from Bangor to Portland. Might as well take the bus, as it's easy, cheap, and relatively short.
When my dad and I went to Maine this summer we flew to Portland, rented a car to Bangor and bus to Millinocket. The bus ticket from Portland to Bangor was going to be 25 dollars per person. The rental car fee plus gas came to about 45 dollars total. Then with the rental and spare time we went to the art museum and saw a exhibit of Georgia O'keefe, ate lobster down on the waterfront and picked up our fuel canister at the EMS.
If we took the bus from the airport we would have to figure out the public transportation system or hire a cab to get to the bus station and then be stuck around the area of the bus station where it probably would not be nearly as fun as what we did.
boarstone
11-26-2008, 08:00
I was actually planning on thumbing a ride to Bangor and then onto Bar Harbor
Chilling out in a cheap motel by the ocean for a couple of days and then flying out of Bangor to parts as of yet undetermined
Let me put in my 2cents here: flights out of Bangor to ANYWHERE are expensive,:eek: bus to Portland International airport if you want to fly out and motels in Bar Harbor will NOT be cheap! great place to hike tho... The park has it's own bus system to get you around..Bus from Medway to Bangor better idea, thumb if you can, bus if you can't...:)
Bare Bear
11-26-2008, 15:15
Maybe I have beeb lucky but in three trips out of Baxter I have alwasy gotten a free or gas share ride with other hikers whose families/girlfriend etc came to see the finish. I got a ride all the way to Portland in 06. Even staying in a motel two days waiting for my flight was cheaper than renting a car.
Just stay in Maine and get a job at the Miilinocket bowling alley. I hear they will hire hikers. Before any vitamin deficient hiker starts to even vaguely think about doing this- wake up-I'm only joking.
tucker0104
11-27-2008, 10:05
I am going to try to hitch a ride all the way back to Charlotte or close and get my girlfriend to drive the rest. I have nothing better to do. I don't start work till July. A little more walking isn't going to kill me.
twoshoes06
11-27-2008, 14:41
Hitching to Bangor is so easy then the Greyhound Station is also easy to find. So: Hitch to Bangor, taxi from hotel to Greyhound, then long long trip home (well depends on where you live, mine was 36 hours).
Bare Bear
11-28-2008, 01:16
TUCKER, you could just turn around and walk back, when you get to Springer turn left, thru Alabama to the FT then east to J'ville.
Hitch to Millinockett, stay over night at the AT Lodge. Get a shuttle the following morning to Medway, where you can catch a bus to Bangor. From Bangor you can either fly, or take a bus to Portland and/or Boston(Concord Trailways is best).
Kirby
phillycheze
12-02-2008, 01:11
go skiing in maine this winter, make friends, and have them pick u up.
SonrisaJo
12-04-2008, 12:42
Greyhound is always a fun cultural experience. I think it's almost a required part of the whole adventure. :)
blackbird04217
12-04-2008, 18:16
My home town is in Maine so parents, sister, friends or someone will be picking me up. :D
Man, I'd think that getting to Katahdin would be the hard part. After that, getting home ought to be a trivial exercise. ;)
im just gonna backpack to my house in socal. then ill sign the southern terminus on the pct and be the first person to diagonally traverse both trails.
I'll figure it out when I get there. Maybe I'll just turn around and hike back!
I PLAN on not planning how to get home. I look at the AT as the start of a very, very long journey.
umm, and if it really comes down to it, I'll call mommy.
"WELL spoke, listen to the tool!"
It is amazing just how many jack sparrow qoutes can fit everyday life
Getting to Bangor is easy enough, up North people are very friendly to hitch hikers. However, I would recommend taking a bus all the way from Bangor to Boston-- flights are usually MUCH cheaper, and you can either do Grey Hound or Concord Trailways (free movies and snacks!). Concord Trailways will drop you right off at Logan airport (the one in Boston), while neither bus will take you to the Portland airport.
However, after hiking the trail, I'm sure walking from the bus station to the airport wouldn't be too hard =P or just taking a taxi...
Still, flying out of Boston is cheaper 90% of the time
CrumbSnatcher
01-03-2009, 00:40
Greyhound is always a fun cultural experience. I think it's almost a required part of the whole adventure. :)don't do it. i would'nt wish greyhound on my worst enemy. take the train home and relax a little.
I think I'll just walk back to Springer & get a ride from there. :p
Anumber1
02-26-2009, 01:07
I'll be hitch-hiking home to NH... after I shave of course
Ox97GaMe
02-26-2009, 02:17
By the time you walk to Katadin, you will understand that everything on the trail has a way of just working out. When I finished my hike, I had 5 different folks offer to drive me out of Baxter. One couple was from Atlanta and offered to take me all the way back home. It was a nice gesture, but I already had my car staged at Abol Bridge. The magic will happen just the way it is supposed to happen for you. Each person's magic is different. As they say... Dont sweat the small stuff. Getting home after the hike will be small stuff compared to all the things you will deal with while you are out there trying to GET to Katadin. Keep your mind open to the endless possibilities and let the universe manifest what you will need to get you to your next destination.
Maybe walking back. If not, then friends or family will hopefully come to the rescue. We'll see when we get there.
Vagrant Squirrel
03-01-2009, 16:49
Before I leave for the AT, I'm getting rid of the few possessions I actually have left. I'm going to be spending the last of my money on gear, transportation and re-supplies along the way. When I finish, I'll be as good off in Maine as anywhere else in the world. Though I really hate the cold weather, so I'll probably head south in some fashion or another.
For me, planning is NOT an option. If I start worrying about what I'm going to do once I'm done then it will ruin the entire trip for me. My strategy is to learn the basics, have the basic gear and hope everything else (hiking and life) will be revealed to me on the trail.
High Life
03-01-2009, 16:52
i got a ride to millinocket, hitched to bangor , got a ride to dystarts truck stop
about one exit away and a truck driver drove me to boston VIA CT . it was a long but crazy ride ..
wcgornto
03-01-2009, 16:56
Walking.
Well, I am from Georgia and hiking southbound, so itīs pretty simple for me.
I was actually planning on thumbing a ride to Bangor and then onto Bar Harbor
Chilling out in a cheap motel by the ocean for a couple of days and then flying out of Bangor to parts as of yet undetermined
you've got the right idea! that sounds perfect.