Maine-ly Done

So that's it.

I've been home for more than a week now, and I don't regret quitting early on the trip.  I will be starting the ACE (Accelerated Career Entry) nursing program at Drexel on Sept. 19th, and in less than a year I expect to be an RN with a BSN.  Here's what I will look like when I am doing my clinicals at area hospitals. (picture to be added later)

The Drexel program will be very intense.  For 11 months I will be deeply involved with learning the ins and outs of being an actual nurse.  Then I'll be a nurse, or murse (male nurse).

This might be my last post for another long time.  If, no, really when, I do something interesting again, I will probably blog it.  But for now, this is again the end of my mental hurricane describing some pretty cool expeditions.  I will certainly miss them until I get the opportunity to experience something worth writing about again.

See you then,

Cheers,

RT



P.S.  I have uploaded the photos for the whole Maine trip and they can be found in the "Photos" - "Maine" list to the right, or at this link: Photos of Maine.  I will be inserting some of the best photos into the blog at appropriate places, otherwise, I'm done, spent, exhausted, done.

Maine Called on Account of Rain

There was no escaping the system, and with a couple days of bad weather ahead, I think the smart decision was to give up the road trip, and just be comfortable for the rest of the week.

The decision to go home was difficult for me because there were some very exciting opportunities to see some things that I might not get to see again.  The top two missed opportunities were the "Knife's Edge" hike up Katahdin in Baxter State Park and a visit to Mount Washington in New Hampshire where I haven't even completed researching the opportunities that seem plentiful.

With hurricane Irene approaching, perhaps it seems a bit silly that I ran away from a (relatively) smaller system.  But the expansive system that we had to drive through was clearly going to sap the enjoyment out of the rest of the trip.

Out of the North Woods of Maine

We awoke in the morning, after a simply simple and beautiful night.  We had thought of staying another day, but pretty quickly agreed to pack up camp and head for a hotel.  People who camp for a week or more amaze me.  I have now camped out, twice and also for the first time, two nights in a row.  While things get better the second night out because camp is already made, it's still camping.  The luxuries of a hot shower, air conditioning, an ice machine, the internet, a power outlet, food cooked by others, and most of all a TV lured us inexorably toward a hotel for the night.  We went just a couple of hours to the south and got a room in Millinocket, ME where we are practically walking distance from the entrance to Baxter State Park, the home of Katahdin mountain and some very exciting possible hikes.

The travels of the Maine North Woods were a trip from nowhere, to nowhere, then out of nowhere, to nowhere again.  It was great!  I loved it!

In Millinocket, we stayed at a hotel with a lot of rooms, far more plentiful than the area needed.  It is high season, and we were some of the few customers this nice hotel had staying at it.  And it was time to make a decision.

The internet hinted at it.  The Weather Channel projected it.  But Mom and Dad scared me about it.  In NJ it had been raining for a day and a half.  And it was moving north.  On a normal road trip, I would see this coming and head for clear skies.  Out west, this is easy to do.  Just drive a couple hundred miles north, east, west, or south, and completely clear skies would be available.  With this northeast storm, there was no escape.  North to Canada was not an option as passports were not at hand, east meant driving into the ocean, west was still covered by the bad weather, and south meant heading home straight into the heart of the storm system.  We went south.

Into the North Woods of Maine

After a very restful stay outside of Calais (pronounced Kalas, like the late great Phillies brodcaster), we were headed to a little know area known as the Maine North Woods.  If you've heard of them, you probably own fishing gear, a rifle, a boat, and a really big knife...and you probably live in Maine.  And you certainly don't drive a Prius.

We continued leisurely north on Route 1 to an almost city called Presque (Presk) Isle.  Route 1 goes due north with New Brunswick, Canada just a mile or so east.  It's a bit odd to be driving in America with Canada to the east.  JayMe was interested in a race track in town, but we were never able to find it and we drove the whole town.  But this city did have both a Wal-Mart and a supermarket and we took advantage of both to stock up on supplies for the camping ahead.  On the way out of town, we met Ben, of Ben's Outdoor Shop and he gave us plenty of advice about what we were heading out for...most of the advice wasn't even cautionary, more about where to go, what to look out for (moose) and what to fish for.  And then we headed into the woods.

After the first 5 miles on a dirt logging road, we came to the entrance station.  It costs $10 a day, and another $10 a night in the park, so for $40 each we were set for two days and nights in the woods.  The attendant directed us to a campground (fortunately there were real campgrounds and we didn't have to just pick a spot on our own) that was accessible by small cars, and over the next hour we drove 22 miles on dirt roads primarily used to transport logs out of the woods.  The logging truck have complete right-of-way at all times and if you see one coming you are supposed to pull way over to allow them to pass, hoping not to get stuck in the mud or ditches.  Fortunately we never were passed by a logging truck, and though there were moments when I thought we might get stuck in the road, JayMe never had to get out and push.

Because of a bit of dallying earlier in the day, and the unexpectedly long drive into camp, we arrived later than I hoped at nearly 6:30 PM.  The sun was still out and the scant remaining daylight left was needed to take care of the most important setup items - tent and fire.  The tent went up fast as the practice of the last couple of days made it a breeze.  But as we were completing setting up house, clouds moved in fast and a drizzle ensued.  When the full and sudden down poor started moments later, there was nothing left to do but jump back in the car to stay dry.  Wet in cold weather and without a fire is a recipe for disaster.  Some items that would have been best kept dry, like wood, were sacrificed.

Ten minutes later, as the storm passed, a mad dash was made to make best use of daylight and accumulate as much fuel for a fire as we could find while trying to simultaneously coax a moist pile of kindling into catching fire.  I wish I could say we were triumphant, and sat peacefully by the fire staring at the stars all night, but that would not happen until the next evening.  The night became a constant battle of adding enough fuel, big and small and sustaining fire at all costs...at one desperate time I had to part with half a roll of TP to get it going again.

It was far from a miserable night.  In fact it was quite a rewarding challenging night, and before the fire went out, nearly all the wood we could find was consumed.  I never had to change out of my shorts and T-shirt.  I slept a little and the next day simply consisted of a drive to pick up a trunk of wood, a hike to check out the little lake we were staying at, and a good amount of staring at the scenery that surrounded us.

The second night in the woods was a breeze with somewhat dry wood and tons of it.  I still did not get to see the Milky Way, but it wasn't because the night sky wasn't clear.  It was a beautiful full moon last night and in its brightness, the campground was lit bright enough that we could get around without flashlights for the most part.  Exhaustion set in early and I was asleep by midnight.

I saw a shooting star!  It's the Perseids meteor shower and even with a full moon it was a clear piercing streak through the sky.  I saw one more not as distinct and that was it.  I wish I saw more, but when you live on the east coast just seeing one meteorite is pretty good.

I almost forgot.  I saw my first wild moose ever!  We crossed it on the dirt road on the way in.  I was in a rush to get to the camp, so I just stopped briefly as it move on toward whatever nocturnal camp a moose has.  I hope I see more moose on this trip!  (But since I am writing this retroactively, I'm sad to say it was my only sighting.)

Off the Maine

A guidebook I have tells me that the large majority of Maine's visitors never go north of Elsworth, ME, and  they miss out on the beauty Maine has to offer.  JayMe and I are north of Ellsworth and I agree.  It's beautiful in the rural "towns", beautiful in the coastline, and has picturesque scenery everywhere else.

But after we broke camp, and before we would get north of Ellsworth, there was a start to the day, the guaranteed highlight of the day: hiking the "Precipice Cliff" trail.  Since I started really looking at visiting Acadia, the Precipice hike has been one of the critical must do items on my list.  And we did it.  We stood at the top of the cliff and yahoo-ed.  And then we hiked the rest of the trail and yahoo-ed again.  We were yahooers and for good reason.  We just covered a less than a mile trail, known as the Precipice trail.  The best hike I have ever done relegating to second place the hike I did with Beana in  Bryce Canyon.

The Precipice hike starts at the base of a cliff that you can look straight up to the top.  We'd have seen the top if it weren't for the cloud 2/3 of the way up.  The hike ends when you have climbed this cliff face and a little more.  The pictures I will eventually add will show the incredible hike, that is as long as my hand wasn't shaking too much when taking pictures.

When I was researching it, the descriptions said things like, "You will need to use railings and hand bars to lift yourself up the trail."  But until I actually was presented with my first obstacle, I couldn't picture what they meant.  On  the first obstacle, where there was a traffic jam, we watched as other hikers first took a very high step onto and bent iron bar that was drilled into the cliff.  With the foot in place and using the momentum of the lunge it took to get it there, you extend your arm and reach for another iron bar, where you can pause and reassess your ability to complete the rest of the hike.  Once you have decided to move forward, to complete the obstacle, you have to put your right forearm on top of the landing, and start to move your left foot to the handhold bar just as you remove your left hand from it.  Then it is simply a matter of getting that left arm up to the landing and heaving yourself over without tipping backward to a small 10 foot plunge.  After JayMe and I completed this, and felt the small surges of  exhilaration and adrenaline, and perhaps even machismo, we had to go to the top.

As the hike continued, we would skirt around on narrow trails, switchback a time or two, and then come to another obstacle.  There were about 15 or so obstacles (made up of about 100 rungs, railing, ladders, hand holds, etc) on the trail and none were configured alike.  Some were as simple as climbing a ladder, while others were as difficult and scary as lying at a 45 degree incline with your feet resting on a small crevice in the rock and working your way 20 feet further along with a probable plunge to the death if you happen to misstep.  I am pretty amazed that they let people do things like this without signing a waiver of responsibility or something.  It's sort of like when at the Grand Canyon, you are able to wonder around on the rocks to your delight, but there are no guard rails to keep you from plunging 7000 feet.  Or at Acadia where just this week, and while I was at the park, a woman from New Jersey rode her bike off a cliff...she lived.

And it was wonderful.  Even with no wildlife (save falcons), and no waterfalls, and no unexpected stunning views, this is now the best hike I have ever done and recommend it to anyone not too afraid of heights looking for a huge, huge thrill.

After calming down at the top, we, like most all the other hikers, decided not to hike back down the cliff but rather take a much gentler stroll down the crest of the mountain leaving us just a mile hike back up the road to our car.  And that was the end of Acadia for me.  It's a great park that I hope to get a chance to explore again.

We headed north out of the park, past Elsworth, ME and our next destination was Lubec, where we hoped to stop for the night.  Lubec is the Easternmost point of the continental U.S. and thus is the first town in America to see the sunrise every day.  Unfortunately, all 3 hotels in town were full, and after 2 nights of camping a hotel was required, so we moved on and stayed the night in a roadside hotel just shy of Calais.  We're heading into the Maine North Woods tomorrow, and a good night's sleep is required.