Fancy "Huts" planned near AT in Maine

[TJ aka Teej]

These 'huts" are really hydro-powered, 44-bed log lodges with wood-fired saunas, full toilets and bathing facilities." Yes, many of you are having a deja-vu moment...

Wilderness hut system heads for series of votes
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/state/060401trail.shtml



CARRABASSETT VALLEY — Construction of an $11 million wilderness trail hut system in western Maine could begin this summer. The project, which could be complete in 2007, would let skiers glide up to a lodge, take a sauna, have a hot meal and get a good night's sleep on a trail that planners hope will gain national significance.
The first step rests with the Carrabassett Valley Planning Board, which is expected to vote on an application next month.
This week, Larry Warren, president of the Western Mountains Foundation and the visionary of the system, appeared before the board for a preliminary presentation.
Construction of the first hut - actually a hydro-powered, 44-bed log lodge with a wood-fired sauna and full toilet and bathing facilities - will begin in July, Warren said, if the application is approved.
The building would be at Poplar Stream Falls, a few miles northeast of Sugarloaf, on land leased from the Penobscot Nation.
"We're trying to create a resource of national significance. We want to make sure it represents and reflects positively on the community," Warren told board members Thursday.
Board members expressed support, though a public hearing this spring is likely, they said.
The Poplar Stream Falls hut is one of two that are subject to approval by Carrabassett Valley's board. Andover, where another hut would be built, is the only other town involved in reviewing applications. The remaining nine planned huts would fall under the jurisdiction of the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission.
The Western Mountains Foundation has negotiated rights to a 120-mile corridor between Carrabassett Valley and Moosehead Lake, and is working to finalize agreements for the southern belt, between Carrabassett Valley and Newry.
The projected cost of buying the first 120 miles and building the first three huts is $4.5 million, according to Warren. About $2.2 million has been raised, he said.
The cost of the entire project is estimated at $11 million. The project would take five to seven years to complete.
Warren expects that work on a second hut, about 10 miles north of the first, at Flagstaff Lake, will start in September. The third hut, 20 or so miles north of Carrabassett Valley, at Grand Falls, would begin in November.
Once a site is prepared, it takes four days to assemble the log structures, Warren said. Huts will open as soon as they are complete.
Jeff Cole of Gardiner, a foundation board member who is working as an architect on the project, said the beauty of the buildings will be their ability to compliment their setting while being subtle.
"The goal of this trail system is to tell a consistent story," he told the board. "Each hut will tell a different chapter in that story."
The Western Mountains group has joined with the Chewonki Foundation, Outward Bound and Kieve and Wavus camps, and is in talks with Yale University and the Penobscots to offer support and education along the trail and in the huts.
David Herring has been named executive director. Herring spent six years as field supervisor and manager for the Application Mountain Club's hut system in New Hampshire.

[lobster]

Can I join the "Application" Mountain Club?

[Tin Man]

I saw that, but was afraid if I posted it there would be a call to install a sauna at every AMC hut or every AT shelter. Maybe it is not such a bad idea after all.

[Sly]

I hope these aren't actually on the trail and institute the same "no camping zones" as the AMC has in Whites in NH. Any idea?

I may not have a problem with them if they're well off the trail via blue blaze and force no restrictions to the present AT.

[weary]

I hope these aren't actually on the trail and institute the same "no camping zones" as the AMC has in Whites in NH. Any idea?

I may not have a problem with them if they're well off the trail via blue blaze and force no restrictions to the present AT.

I haven't been following them as closely as perhaps I should, mostly because when I toured the proposed sites with Warren a year or so ago some of the proposed huts were slated to be 30 miles apart, not really walking or skiing distance for most, making me suspect it is more pipe dream than reality.

However, those to be built near Bigelow are certain to increase the overcrowding at the shelters at Horns Pond and the campsite at Avery Col. The last I heard a problem remained with the trail crossing the AT, though that may have been resolved.

Essentially, the huts and trails would parallel the AT from near Grafton Notch to Bigelow and then follow the Lower Dead and Kennebec Rivers, quite a bit west of the AT, as last I heard.

Weary

[neighbor dave]

those huts have been in the works since 2001 at least.

[Peaks]

Right now, the Catamount Ski Trail roughly follows the Long Trail and AT in Vermont. I suspect that very few hikers even realize that it's there, even where it coincides for a short distance at popular sites like Stratton Pond.

And, in New Jersey, AMC's Mohegan Center is just off the AT. How many hikers really stop in? That doesn't seem to impact the trail.

I wouldn't worry too much about the proposed huts near the trail in Maine.

[TJ aka Teej]

Right now, the Catamount Ski Trail roughly follows the Long Trail and AT in Vermont. I suspect that very few hikers even realize that it's there, even where it coincides for a short distance at popular sites like Stratton Pond.

And, in New Jersey, AMC's Mohegan Center is just off the AT. How many hikers really stop in? That doesn't seem to impact the trail.

I wouldn't worry too much about the proposed huts near the trail in Maine.

Vermont's not Maine. New Jersey's not Maine. If commercial development near the AT corridor in Maine doesn't worry you, you're probably not well informed.

[vipahman]

New Jersey's not Maine.

Spot on. With a road intersection every 5 miles or less, the sound of traffic can be heard for over 50% of the AT in NJ without exaggeration.

Construction of an $11 million wilderness trail hut system in western Maine could begin this summer. The project, which could be complete in 2007, would let skiers glide up to a lodge, take a sauna, have a hot meal and get a good night's sleep on a trail that planners hope will gain national significance.

The "national significance" part is what I like. If it acheives national status, then wouldn't the conservation actually get easier?

[Squeaky 2]

am i missing something here. how will skiiers interfere with hikers? isnt there 2 feet of snow on the ground when people ski? how many people are out in maine in these conditions. i saw very few last year.

i remember meeting a guy who helped me out getting snow shoes last year.
he owns or manages a huge piece of land for recreational use in maine. on his land he has many huts. he then told me of a proposed groomed trail with huts in the area you guys mentioned. it sounds like the same trail.

[weary]

am i missing something here. how will skiiers interfere with hikers? isnt there 2 feet of snow on the ground when people ski? how many people are out in maine in these conditions. i saw very few last year.
......

These are planned to be year round facilities, not just for skiers, which is why Bigelow is likely to be impacted. The chief proponent is a very persuasive guy who once managed the Sugarloaf Ski Resort into bankruptcy.

It never struck me as an economically viable project. But that doesn't mean they won't be built. A 21 year old son of a dentist once persuaded Maine to guarantee loans totalling many millions of dollars. The scheme cost the state more than did all the state parks and public lands combined. Most of the sites ended up as housing developments -- including the 200-acre farm where my mother grew up.

Weary

[Squeaky 2]

ok maybe its a different trail that i heard about. the guy involved there was an environmentalist. his projects maintain and sustain forests. i think he works with logging companies to make uses of the land and logging roads they leave behind. very interesting projects that make good use of the land. i will have to dig out his details.

[Chef2000]

Hey the more opportunities to get out and do a couple hundred mile hike that does not involvre the AT is ok. These parallel trails might actually take some use off of the AT.

[Mags]

These huts sound a bit like the 10th Mountain Huts found in Colorado.

http://www.huts.org/

The proposed ones in Maine seem larger though and bit more luxurious.

I have no idea what these planned huts are going to be like, but I do know the huts in Colorado are relatively hard to access (no snow mobilng allowed, ahve to ski or snowshoe in at least 5 if not more miles).

Are the proposed ones easily accessible? How much are they going to cost?

The charm of the 10th Mtn huts are that they are fairly inexpensive ($27/night) and are rustic luxury. If these huts are a version of the AMC huts, but in Maine..don't know how good they will be for outdoor recreation.

If the huts are run on a similar philsophy to the ones inthe 10th Mtn division system, could be a good thing. Though the size, the saunas and showers make it seem like a different clientel is being aimed at then the ones in Colorado.

RE: Catamount Trail. I was discussing tihs trail with a friend the other day. After the CDT, my adventures will need to be smaller for a while. My skiing skills are such now where I ain't half bad at touring. Wouldn't mind doing a "thru-ski' on the Catamount Trail some day!

[TJ aka Teej]

http://outdoors.mainetoday.com/hikin...1fleming.shtml

A news story from last fall:
"In Maine, the Western Mountains Foundation wants to build 12 huts over 180 miles of multi-use trails from Bethel to Moosehead Lake. They would be available for all human-powered activities year-round. Campers would need to make reservations, and pay a lodging fee."
"
The foundation, directed by an 18-member volunteer board, plans to raise $4.5 million of the $9 million needed for the project in the next year, Peixotto said.
With most of the land agreements locked up, the foundation, at the moment, needs $2 million for the land acquisition, $2 million to build the first three remote cabins and $500,000 for working capital, said Larry Warren, the foundation's founder and president.
Peixotto said the foundation needs an executive director to raise the capital and get the first three huts built and open to serve as "proof of the concept." He
expects to have a dynamic outdoor leader hired by October.
"I think when people are giving money to the foundation, they want to see who is going to be running it," Peixotto said.
"This is a chance to start up our own hut and trail system, to leave a mark on the state," Peixotto said. The new director "will create an environment of excellence for eco-tourism for the rest of Maine," Peixotto said. He or she also will be expected to build the organization "from the ground up," develop the trail and huts and work long hours with an irregular schedule. The salary for the position has yet to be determined."

[weary]

These huts sound a bit like the 10th Mountain Huts found in Colorado. http://www.huts.org/

Well, they will be nothing like the 10th Mountain Huts. I think all those located away from the borders of the Bigelow Preserve are mostly window dressing.

The Bigelow ones can survive and maybe even prosper, providing access to those who seek a bit of luxury before and after overnight hikes to Horns Pond, The Horns, West Peak, Avery Col, and Avery Peak on the Bigelow Range.

Mags is right. For most weekend hikers five miles is a desirable hike to such facilities. This project allegedly dreams of 30 mile access trails. The proponents are either ignorant or charlatans.

Weary

[Mags]

Then it probably is what I suspect - very high end accomodations. Nothing like the 10th Mountain huts (which are mainly winter use..though some are summer use as well). These huts are larger (44 vs 16 for 10th mountain huts) and many more amenities.

Suspect the price will be much more. too.