In response to rising interest and trail use, the Maine section of the International Appalachian Trail (IAT) has become much more hiker-friendly following a significant upgrade on the mobile navigation platform “FarOut Guides” in 2025.
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It was a perfect autumn day. Partly Sunny with temps in the 60’s. A wonderful day for a leisurely hike along the East Branch of the Penobscot River in The Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monumnent. The foliage was beginning to change to red, yellow, and orange. Passed two fly fishermen on the bridge by the Matagamon Wilderness Campground just before taking the turn to enter The Monument. The gravel road to the Haskell Gate, known as the Messer Pond Road or the New River Road, is in excellent shape and easily passable in any type of vehicle. Went by the Old River Road Loop and the Oxbow Road. I recalled Cross Country skiing there last winter. Excellent conditions, well-groomed by the rangers, splendid views of the mountains at the north end of Baxter Park and of the river. Profoundly wild. A great idea for a day hike on another trip. I continued to the dead-end parking area near the Haskell Gate for the start of our hike.
We ran into a ranger and spoke briefly as we headed out. This part of the International Appalachian Trail is a wide and flat tote road that has an excellent treadway and minimal elevation change. We walked through the woods enjoying conversation on topics of interest, exchanging notes on various places we like to hike and organizations that protect and maintain wild places like this. We observed the many varieties of trees and plants as we walked, and we made our first stop to see the Haskell Hut. The hut is only open for winter camping, but it’s located in a beautiful, quiet spot on a bluff above the East Branch. We saw a bald eagle glide lazily across the river there. And a large skull, presumably a moose, was propped up on a log for our review.
From there we continued to Haskell Deadwater and inspected the campsite and portage trail. Another beautiful, quiet location next to a slow, wide spot on the river, with a view of Bald Mountain in the distance. A little farther along we reached Haskell Rock Pitch and stopped to admire the rips and to take a look at Haskell Rock. We kept meandering along the trail marveling at the quiet beauty and solitude of this place, enjoying the company and the conversation as we walked. We stopped for lunch at the Pond Pitch West campsite, right on the river next to the pitch. Another clean, beautiful campsite. We wanted to keep going, as it was a pleasant, leisurely walk, but based on our mileage, we were looking at a total trip of 7-8 miles and decided to head back after lunch.
On the way back we ran into two backpackers heading in and spoke to them for a few minutes. One of them had camped previously at the Wassataquoik Lean To and the Esker Tent site on the IAT in the southern part of The Monument. He was very enthusiastic about camping along this section of the IAT. He related that the campsites are very well set up and scenic and very wild. As we finished up, we were treated to a view of The Traveler, the tallest mountain in the north end of Baxter State Park. When we got back to our cars we had gone about 7.75 miles in about five hours, including breaks. It passed by very quickly. We were living in the moment, taking it all in. An absolutely beautiful walk in an easily accessible and remote wilderness.
Bordering New Brunswick, the towns of Fort Fairfield and Mars Hill, Maine, are uniquely positioned to highlight the IAT’s mission of fostering international cooperation between the US and Canada.
When Richard Anderson conceived of the IAT, he sought to encourage Americans and Canadians to think across the border, as he had done so in his professional life. Anderson had worked along the St. Croix River (Maine-New Brunswick) as a key negotiator in the establishment of the St. Croix International Waterway Commission, approved by both Maine and New Brunswick. Anderson had also worked with the Audobon Society in Quebec, looking at migration patterns of snow geese. With a trail to link the common landscape of both sides of the US-Canada border, Americans and Canadians would be able to see past the boundary dividing them.
Historically, the northeast border between Maine and Canada was never very firm: from the time of settlement to the mid-nineteenth century, the border shifted over and again. The Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842 finally solidified the border after the Aroostook War (1838-1839), a dispute between civilians (mostly lumberjacks) over the international boundary between the American state of Maine and the British colony of New Brunswick.
Despite the history of the disputed border, Maine and New Brunswick evidently share a common landscape and geological history. Additionally, single families occupy either side of the international boundary (for example, during the Covid-19 pandemic, special border-crossing exceptions were implemented for towns like Fort Fairfield and Mars Hill in order that families separated by the official border could still see each other). The boundary section of the IAT – which extends from the north slope of Mars Hill to the town of Fort Fairfield, where the trail goes along the border between Fort Fairfield, Maine, and Perth Andover, New Brunswick – embodies the commonalities that link the two countries in this northeast corner of North America.
Since the mid-1990s, the IAT has effectuated its goal of fostering cross-border cooperation. After attending an IAT board meeting in 1998, the Executive Director of the Fort Fairfield Chamber of Commerce, Cheryl Boulier, wrote: “I… was extremely impressed with all the support that I saw from different geographic areas, both from the United States and Canada for this project. It is very exciting to us that we would have an opportunity to be able to promote the [IAT] in our community as a vital link in providing a border crossing from the United States into Canada.”
In Memoriam of our friend Earl Raymond
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On August 27, 2023 a small group gathered to present Will French, aka Enlightened Rogue, with a framed poster of the International Appalachian Trail in recognition of his completion of a portion of the trail in each of the 23 sections of the trail. He was the second person to hit 2,000 miles on the trail (he hiked 2,160) and the first person ever to complete a section in each state, country, province, or region of the trail!
Attending were Dick Anderson, Don Hudson, and Amy Barker of the Maine Chapter as well as Will’s family; “Frankie” and Poppy his grandchildren, and Tarah his daughter. Frankie and Poppy have joined him on many of his adventures. Also in attendance was Tim “Long Distance Man (LDM)” Anderson, a long-time hiking partner and friend of Will’s.
Will was kind enough to share a few of his photo albums from each section. He brought three and said he had many more at home! He also brought photos of the flags of each section that he had taken while hiking. Will said that he did much of his planning on an iPad mini during the long, dark New England winters. He also did the entire hike without a cell phone!
After hearing some of his stories of his adventures, Dick and Don presented him with a framed map of the International Appalachian Trail to recognize his accomplishment. Will is now working on a presentation of his 15-year journey which he will hopefully present at our Annual Meeting in 2024!
Will finished his IAT journey this past summer in the Faroe Islands and the Isle of Man, as he describes in his own words below.
My International Appalachian Trail adventure began unknowingly in the spring of 2009. I answered an ad from Tom who was looking for a hiking partner in Scotland. Why not?! 15 years later I have completed my International Appalachian Trail hike.
My goal was to put my boots in all of the 26 regions that the IAT is located, in total 2,160 miles. This was the mileage of the Appalachian Trail in 1998, the year I completed my AT thru hike.
This past winter, I planned the final hike to the Isle of Man in the Faroe Islands. Joining me were two grandkids; “Frankie,” age 17 and Poppy, age 11. I searched for trail information online as well as flights, lodging, local transportation and other details.
The trip was planned for June 18 to July 4, we flew to Edinburgh and spent two days visiting the city before flying to the Isle of Man. The next morning, we began on a six-day hike on a rail trail to Peel on the West Coast. We found the “Way of the Gull” coastal path, which we would follow for 55 miles. Our lodging included a church bunkhouse, guest houses and hostels.
We commuted to the trail most days with local buses and vintage steam trains. This trail offered good coastal views, sea cliffs, rocky beaches, good and bad weather, many sheep and some road walks. We had a good hike back to Edinburgh before flying to the Faroe Islands the next day.
We arrived in Tórshavn, the capital city and arrived at our college dorm and summer hostel. We rented a car to reach the scattered trails for the next three full days of hiking. The weather here is often cold, cloudy and windy. We started with a long drive to the north coast on the island of Streymoy and hiked over a high pass between two very small villages.
The first day was a nice long walk and only a few hours of rain. The next day we hiked out of Tórshavn and hiked with coastal views to another small village with Middle Ages history. Its church was built in 1111 and continues to welcome worshipers.
Later that day, we drove to the island of Vágar and hiked to sea cliffs and a coastal waterfall. Lastly, we traveled to the north coast of Eysturoy. To get there we drove through the only undersea tunnel with a roundabout. We had overcast weather as we started to climb the highest mountain in the islands. As we reached the summit, the clouds lifted and offered good views of the surrounding coast.
Slættaratindur is my Katahdin of the International Appalachian Trail. The opportunity to hike the trail with family, good friends and many strangers was quality time and the fellowship experienced in many countries is a wonderful memory. Thanks to Dick Anderson for such a crazy idea.
In Memoriam of our friend Torrey Sylvester
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A recap of the 29th Maine IAT Annual Meeting
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An update on our trip to the 2022 ALDHA Gathering
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September Hiker Update
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