MILLINOCKET — An ultramarathoner who set the record for completing the Appalachian Trail paid a $500 fine Wednesday to settle citations over his celebration atop Maine’s Mount Katahdin, which struck a nerve with park officials worried about crowding and commercialization of the trail. Scott Jurek got into trouble with park rangers when he popped a bottle […]
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Posted inLetters
New national park could help Maine
Among the speakers at the recent dedication of the Schoodic Woods Campground was Sen. Angus King, who intended to spend the night there in his well-traveled RV. The new campground, complete with bike and foot trails, will take some of the pressure off Mount Desert Island, where traffic and cruise ship visitors tend to overload […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
John Lyon says ‘I just wasn’t ready to die’ after rescuers find him
BAXTER STATE PARK — First seen holding aloft a walking stick crowned with a sock, battered from hiking 7 or 8 miles, 78-year-old lost hiker John Lyon had a simple explanation for his survival. “I just wasn’t ready to die,” Lyon said, according to Maine Forest Ranger Ben Goodwin. A Maine Forest Service helicopter crew’s […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Hikers behaving badly: Appalachian Trail partying raises ire
Shelters where he thought he could catch a good night’s sleep while listening to the sounds of nature were instead filled with trash, graffiti and people who seemed more interested in partying all night, said Spencer, who finished the entire trail last month in just 99 days. “I wanted the solitude. I wanted to experience […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Warning: Climbing Maine’s Katahdin not for sissies
My husband and I started our hike up Mount Katahdin on a nice August day last summer around 8:30 a.m. We soon met people coming down the mountain, and wondered how they’d reached the peak so early in the day. Turns out they hadn’t gone far. They turned around when they realized how tough the […]
Posted inMaine
Botanist attempting to run Appalachian Trail in 55 days arrives in Maine
An ultrarunner and botanist from Hawaii, Nadia “Nate” Stanis, plans to run the entire 2,180-mile Appalachian Trail in 55 days, starting on Tuesday at the trail’s northern end in Maine. “We’ve run into a few snags and are doing some last minute adjustments, but I’m hoping to start the trail early tomorrow morning in Baxter […]
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Baxter State Park officials seek $10,000 from hiker to pay for search
MILLINOCKET — In a rare move, the Baxter State Park will request that a hiker pay the $10,000 it cost to search for him earlier this month. Two men from Ontario, Canada, spent several days camping in Baxter State Park in early December but did not register, as is required. On Dec. 8, one of […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Popular trail up Mount Katahdin will be moved by autumn 2015
MILLINOCKET — One of the most popular routes up Mountain Katahdin will be relocated as the state deals with the ramifications of a 2013 rock slide. The Portland Press Herald reports the new trail to Katahdin’s summit should be finished by fall of 2015. The rock slide sent car-sized boulders down Abol Trail, leaving the […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Rescuers help teen who fell while hiking the Knife Edge Trail at Baxter State Park
BAXTER STATE PARK — Rescuers were helping an 18-year-old hiker get to safety after he was injured in a fall on Saturday, park Director Jensen Bissell said. The unidentified hiker was on the Knife Edge Trail west of Pamola Peak when he fell. Park workers got the rescue call at about noon, Bissell said, and […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
‘Go out and really adventure’: Blind, deaf Winthrop native completes Appalachian Trail hike
MILLINOCKET — Roger Poulin, who is deaf and blind, ascended the summit of Mount Katahdin on Tuesday to likely become the first person with both disabilities to finish the entire 2,180-mile Appalachian Trail. He hiked the rugged footpath, which spans from Georgia to Maine, with the support of Roni Lepore, a support service provider who […]