The fall colors were peaking...
Actually, we found out that the tourism websites tended to lie about peaking - the colors could be way beyond peak and almost gone, and the website will still say "At Peak". Perhaps it's because they don't want weekend tourists to change their plans and go elsewhere.
So, off we went. Unfortunately, the sky was overcast and grey...the colors would have looked much more brilliant in the bright sunshine and blue skies of the previous week, when we were touring Eastport and Lubec. That's okay, it was still beautiful!
We headed northwest to Bangor, then did a big loop north to Jackman, through Rockwood, Greenville, through Kokadjo and along the edge of Baxter State Park, then down to Millinocket. There were brilliant colors and amazing beauty all the way, and the leaf-peeper crowds were gone. We almost had the roads to ourselves. Mount Katahdin, however, remained hidden under a shrowd of gray.
Where the Appalachian Trail enters Baxter State Park, we picked up 3 young AT thru-hikers and gave them a ride into Millinocket for the night. They had started the 2,170-mile journey in Georgia in March; they planned to finish the final 15 miles to the summit of Mt Katahdin (tough and very dangerous) the next day. The experience of a lifetime and quite an accomplishment!
I would love to hike the AT, perhaps in 100 mile increments, but don't think I'm up for a thru-hike. That takes tremendous commitment, careful planning, and a whole lot of roughin' it. Plus, who's gonna carry my air mattress?
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| Covered bridge near Sangerville, Maine |
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| miles and miles of color along the roadways |
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| brillaint colors up the mountainsides, along the lakes and rivers |
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| Lots of warnings about moose on the roadways |
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| but the only moose we saw were this one |
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| and that one |
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| and this one |
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| magnificent 700-ft cliff face of Mount Kineo on Moosehead Lake |
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| Fall colors on the shore of Moosehead Lake in Greenville |
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| Looking across Moosehead Lake at mountains climbing into the clouds |
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| A smattering of fall colors and beautiful skies |
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| dropping off AT hikers in Millinocket; these guys were clean-cut when they started! |
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| More amazing color on the drive home to Bar Harbor |
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| Coming home, the entire group of Acadia mountains comes into view |
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