Maine 2013 Trip Update - 2 Weeks Out

It hardly seems possible, but this year's trip is now less than two weeks away. With that in mind, Dave, Leo and I got together last night to go over final planning considerations, and as an excuse to get together.

Remembrance of things past - Little Devils Tower 2011

Earlier in the week, we had a very unfortunate development; Ted, the fourth member of our crew this year informed us that some pressing work concerns had arisen and he won't be able to make it. This is really bad news, not in that it changes anything we would be doing, but one of the main things about a trip like this is the camaraderie, and the more the merrier. Four in the Dakotas was great. Five in the Adirondacks last year was even better. This time we will only be three. The only planning change this necessitated was that we could downgrade the vehicle rental from an SUV to a car and save money that way. After making sure that we had all the logistics taken care of, we spent some time going over gear lists in terms of who would be bringing what, and discussed some of the possible hikes we will do. We even batted around a few ideas for a 2014 trip, but that is a whole different story.

Other than some additional hike research for background, there isn't much of anything left to do except start setting aside what I will be packing to take, and making sure that I have everything I need. I want to do this sooner rather than later, since I may need some clothing. The prior two trips have both been warm weather locations (and seasons). Maine in mid September will be different, and could be very different. The average daily highs are around 72, and the average nightly lows are around 52. Record highs are only in the low 80's, and record lows are down in the 30's. So to be on the safe side, I may well need to have more cool weather options than I own. Probably not, but maybe, and one way or another I need to figure that out now.

So that's the plan for this weekend; closet review, and then start making the gear pile in the basement. Almost none of this stuff gets daily-life use, so I might as well start gathering it together now.

Maine 2013 - The Trip

It wasn't too long after the conclusion of last year's Adirondacks trip that the crew began tossing around ideas for the 2013 trip. The Dakotas in 2011 was fabulous; a long flying trip. Last year was a shorter driving trip. We were contemplating a non-flying trip again this year, with the same five as last year (Me, Dave, Leo, Ted and Phil).

Mt Katahdin, Baxter State Park

Original parameters of the trip were a six day excursion, or even five if the driving were not too excessive and we could get a jump the night before. One of the contenders that was high on every one's list was Maine. People were very interested in Mt Katahdin, the high point in the state, which is also the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Another destination, and a bucket list one for me, is Acadia National Park on the coast. At one point, given the crowding in the SUV for the Adirondacks and also that Acadia is approximately an 11 hour drive, we contemplated renting an RV and driving in style.

Acadia (Mt Desert Island) from an offshore island

The discussion changed somewhat in the winter when Phil unfortunately had to take himself out of the mix for this year's trip. We tossed around a few more ideas, as this put flying back on the table for discussion, but it was agreed that we couldn't collectively free up the 8 or 9 days necessary to make a more extravagant trip possible. Everyone still loved the Maine idea, and without the need to drive and therefore chew up two entire days on the road, we would be able to do both Baxter SP and Acadia NP on the same trip and not slight either unduly.

So the trip was decided: six (or seven) days hitting both Baxter and Acadia, flying in and out of Bangor. Time was set for mid-September; after kids go back to school but before anniversaries and birthdays for my family, far enough removed from a big summer trip for Ted, and fitting family and work commitments for Dave and Leo.

Acadia in summer

A planning session that I could not attend was held in March, and between that and a flurry of emails leading up to it, we settled a number of issues. Exact dates were picked, flights were booked, and preliminary work was done on selecting campgrounds etc... Coming out of this meeting, the framework of the trip was set. We would fly to Bangor Maine on a Wednesday afternoon ($264 per person round trip!!), be there for next six days, and fly back on the following Tuesday. We would likely do Acadia first, and then finish with Baxter. Highlights would be the Atlantic coast of Maine at Acadia and Mt Katahdin in Baxter (why do I always have to climb mountains?!?).

A couple of months have passed since that meeting with little or no further activity, but Dave got the ball rolling again earlier this week with a reminder email that we had more to nail down and reserve, and that we should get going on it to make sure we got what we wanted. Another flurry of emails, and yeoman work by Leo and Ted have resulted in all logistics being complete and locked down. There is nothing left to do but select hikes and plan the activities we want to do while we are there.

The trip is this:

• Wednesday afternoon - Fly to Bangor, pick up a rental SUV and go to a hotel. Maybe some non-perishable provisioning.
• Thursday - Complete our provisioning first thing, drive to Acadia, and have the afternoon and evening free to do whatever.
• Friday - All day in Acadia. I suspect we will hike to the top of Cadillac Mountain.
• Saturday - Start the day at Acadia, end the day at Baxter State Park. How we split the day remains to be decided, but there is 3.5 hours of driving somewhere in the middle.
• Sunday - Baxter SP all day. The priority will be to summit Katahdin, weather permitting.
• Monday - Baxter all day, but we need to drive one hour at the end of the day to our motel to get ready to head for home the next day. If weather issues cause Katahdin problems on Sunday, this will be our last shot at the summit. We end the day at a motel in Millinocket.
• Tuesday - We have the morning to kill, but need to catch a mid-afternoon flight back home. Back in Philly by dinner time. 

Finalizing the arrangements (thanks guys!) has made this trip go from something somewhere out on (or beyond) the horizon to something very real. I love guide books and maps, so I suspect that over the holiday weekend coming up I will be ordering some books and maps to be able to immerse myself in the coming experience. I did this for the Dakotas and the Adirondacks and loved reading and researching ahead of time.

With all the logistical details set, all that remains is to figure out all the fun stuff - hikes, trails, sightseeing opportunities and how to spend our time in each of the locations.

I can't wait.