My latest camping adventure found me in Baxter State Park
this past weekend. For those of you not
familiar with Maine geography, Baxter is a huge tract of land in the very
center of the state, like a large hole in a donut. Its 200,000+ acres contain some of the most
wild, untouched lands in the state, including Maine’s highest mountain, Mount
Katahdin. The park got its start back
in 1931 through the personal generosity of Maine Governor Percival Baxter. The
governor stipulated some pretty strict conditions for the park, including no
new roads were to be built, and the existing roads were to remain unpaved and
not to be widened. He wanted to ensure
it would be “forever wild” in his words.
There is no electricity or running water anywhere in the park. Motorcycles, ATVs, and pets are not allowed.
If you want to know more about Baxter State Park, for pete’s
sake go to their website here: http://www.baxterstateparkauthority.com/index.htm. It’s certainly not my plan to give you a
full tutorial on the park. What I want
to do here is fill in some of the blanks with some handy tips I learned while
on my trip.
Theme Music: Whenever I go on a road trip, I like to have
an artist or genre of music that I listen to predominantly while driving. For example, whenever I head to the coast of
Washington County in Maine, I like to listen to the 70s & 80s pop band The
Cars. When I am headed to extreme
southern Maine, it’s 90s alt-rockers Pearl Jam that get my ears. For this trip, I decided that Led Zeppelin
would be my soundtrack. I put together a
killer mix CD and was good to go. While
it is certainly not a requirement, I suggest that you also choose some theme
music for your drive to and from Baxter.
*Led Zeppelin song for
Theme Music tip: “Rock and Roll” because, well, Led Zeppelin does.
Speed Limit: Throughout the park, the maximum speed limit
is 20 miles per hour. While this sounds
excruciatingly slow, it really isn’t.
The roads are narrow, winding, and unpaved, and there is no shortage of
wildlife, from sassy little red squirrels weighing less than a pound darting
out in front of you to huge bull moose weighing nearly as much as some cars
doing the same thing. Good reasons to
keep the velocity to a minimum.
Personally, I found that 20 mph was more than adequate, especially if
you are hoping to spot some wildlife or see some of the other spectacular
sights. It seems like a waterfall or
mountain peak shows up around every corner.
Additionally, you never know when you will need to stop suddenly because
someone is coming from the other direction, in which case you and they will
need to negotiate who will pull to the side so the other can pass. It’s a tight squeeze. Granted, it does take some time to get from
point A to point B in the park with a 20 mph speed limit, but if you must take
it slow, what better environment in which to do it?
*Led Zeppelin song for
Speed Limit tip: “Ramble On”, because just rambling is the best thing to
do in your car at Baxter.
Gassing Up: Have a full tank of gas before heading into
Baxter State Park. The park is huge, and
you are going to want to see a lot of it.
You just can’t do that all on foot.
There are no gas stations or stores of any kind in the park, so if you
are out of gas, you are out of luck. Gas
up in Millinocket if using the south entrance to the park or in Patten if using
the north entrance. There are plenty of helpful
people around, both park staff and fellow visitors, but advanced planning is
much easier. (Some fuel for yourself,
food, is also something to make sure you plan in advance, because a “quick trip
to the store” will be anything but quick in Baxter.)
*Led Zeppelin song for
Gassing Up tip: “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You”, because that’s what you are
going to be saying to your car if it runs out of gas in and you have to walk
for help.
Cellphone &
Wifi: Cell phone reception is, for all intents and purposes,
non-existent in Baxter State Park. If I
were you, I wouldn’t count on having any at all. Whatever your plans, don’t make your cell
phone an integral part of them, unless you are going to use it as a flashlight
when making your way to the latrine. And
Wifi in Baxter State Park? Hahahahahahahahahhahaha! No.
*Led Zeppelin song for
Cellphone & Wifi tip: “Over the Hills and Far Away”, because that’s
where you are, and there isn’t any reception there at all.
Vehicle GPS:
I’m not sure why exactly, but GPS signals can be very wacky in Baxter State
Park. If you rely on GPS in the park,
you will end up parked at the bottom of a lake or in a black bear’s den
somewhere. My advice is for you to pack
maps made of…wait for it…paper! Yes,
paper maps still exist! The Baxter State
Park website has some excellent ones that you can print out for use. Do not try to navigate the park without any
maps at all, relying on that “instinct” that many of us typical men have (or
think we do). It will fail you, just like your GPS will. While using a paper map, I turned my usually-reliable
GPS on just for kicks, and at several points it told me that I was currently
driving underwater or off road in the deep woods, when I most certainly was
not.
*Led Zeppelin song for
Vehicle GPS tip: “Communication
Breakdown”, because that’s exactly what your GPS will experience in the
park.
Radio: One
thing that still works well in most parts of Baxter State Park is radio. If you are in the southern part of the park,
you can get the station out of Millinocket on 94.9 FM, and in the northern part
you can pick up the Houlton station at 100.1 FM. You will need a decent antenna, mind you, and
do not forget fresh batteries. Having a
radio is vital for getting local weather updates, since Mother Nature can
change her mind on a dime in Maine, even in summer, and sometimes that weather
can be dangerous. Personally, I am not a fan of being on top of a mountain in
the middle of a lightning storm. I also
find that listening to a Red Sox broadcast beside a campfire in the woods is a
highly relaxing activity, and both the Millinocket station and the Houlton
station carry Sox broadcasts. By the
way, don’t count on your SiriusXM satellite radio, since a) reception is spotty
with all the tall trees and mountains and b) they do not carry local weather,
which is really the most important reason to have a radio.
*Led Zeppelin song for
Radio tip: “Fool in the Rain”, because that’s what you won’t be with a
decent FM radio capable of picking up local weather updates.
Activity Limitations:
There are lots of fun things to do in Baxter State park, with hiking, canoeing,
and fishing among them. That said, know
your limits! Do NOT bite off more than
you can chew. Some of the hikes are on
long, isolated trails, and help will not be easy to come by, to say the least. The mountains are high, even the smaller
ones. As they like to say at the park,
“Going up is voluntary, but coming down in mandatory.” Most hikes require planning in terms of your
fitness level, the supplies you will need, the weather, and the time you will
need to start in order to be back before dark.
If you are going canoeing or kayaking, remember that the upstream paddle
is much harder than the downstream one.
If you are out of shape or inexperienced, stick to a nice calm
pond. And again, watch the weather. Remember that park rescues involve a lot of
people, equipment, and money.
*Led Zeppelin song for
Activity Limitations tip: “Good Times, Bad Times”, because, depending on
your degree of planning and common sense, you will have either one or the other
at Baxter.
Critters: Baxter State Park is full of amazing animals
in their natural habitat. During my
brief weekend trip, I saw a somewhat arrogant but nonetheless impressive
juvenile moose hanging around on the road, a family of black bear in a big
hurry to get somewhere that my car and I were not, and a really cool beaver
swimming around a swollen brook and slapping his tail on the water for the
better part of a half hour. And I can’t
even begin to describe the variety of birds I saw and heard. Remember, you are in their house, so be
respectful. Never get too close, do not
try to coax them toward you, and do not leave anything out that they can get. Bring your binoculars and cameras, for
sure. Unfortunately, I was either too
slow or did not have my camera on me for my animal encounters on this trip.
*Led Zeppelin song for
Critters tip: “Trampled Under Foot”, because that’s what you’ll be if
you get too close to a moose. An
alternative song would be “In My Time of Dying”, if you get too close to a
black bear mother with cubs.
Bugs: This
last one is a biggie. The mosquitoes and
blackflies (known as gnats in some parts of the world) are ferocious at Baxter
State Park. I am talking biblical plague
proportions here, people! A ranger told me that it is not unusual for
unprepared visitors to cut their trips to Baxter short because they are just
overwhelmed by the mosquitoes and blackflies.
I cannot emphasize this enough: you WILL need to have some plan in place
for fending them off. Before I made my
trip to Baxter, I used to smirk at people who wore those head-to-toe mosquito
nets. Now, I might just be in the market
for one myself. There is no shortage of
insect repellants on the market as well, with varying ingredients from
all-natural to borderline nuclear. Personally,
I think your best bet is to use something with the ingredient DEET in it, which
I’ll admit is a pretty harsh chemical. It
works though, and it works as well as anything, though no chemical seems to give complete protection. There
are certainly other options, but you will really need at least something. Also, citronella candles and/or torches are
helpful around the campsite for helping reduce the numbers of insects, and
dressing in long pants and long sleeves can help make matters more tolerable too. Avoid anything that is too perfumey smelling,
and realize that mosquitoes and blackflies like the smell of sweat and the
carbon dioxide you breathe out. Since
you can’t stop moving or breathing, it can be tough to keep the little pests
away. On the upside, ticks are not a
major concern at Baxter State Park, though you would be wise to do regular
check of yourselves and your compatriots anyway. At the very least, it might be the start of
something randy, if your compatriot is the right person.
*Led Zeppelin song for
Bugs tip: “For Your Life”, because that is what you feel like you are
fighting for if you are not prepared to face the bugs.
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Baxter State Park is truly a treasure, and everyone who
lives in Maine really ought to visit it at least once in their life. If you are from another state or country,
Baxter is definitely a place to put on your “to see” list when coming to
Maine. The website I cited at the start
of this has extensive information on the park, and this ridiculous post fills
in a few of the gaps.
Great post!
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