Big Moose Township

      With a long expanse on the southwest shore of Moosehead Lake, the Township stretches from the East Outlet of the Lake, the source of the Kennebec River, to the outskirts of Greenville on the combined Route 6 and 15. The Kennebec in the north moves through the long stretch of Indian Pond,…

Bowtown Township

Pierce Pond in

Pierce Pond in Autumn (2007)   Bowtown Township is bound by the Kennebec River on the east for six miles, across the river from The Forks, and by the Dead River on the north. Dead River Mountain and Otter Pond Mountain reside within the township. Known as T1 R4 BKP WKR township, it was organized…

Katahdin, Mount

A "Lake" of Fog under Katahdin (August 2014)

It was like sitting in a chimney and waiting for the smoke to blow away. It was, in fact, a cloud-factory,– these were the cloud-works, and the wind turned them off done from the cool, bare rocks. [Thoreau] Washington Irving described the Kaatskill Mountains as “a dismembered branch of the great Appalachian family…swelling up to…

Kineo, Mount

The map at left is the 1922 USGS 15 Minute Series, Moosehead Lake, ME Quadrangle, Northwest Corner, from the University of New Hampshire Dimond Library. The Kineo Cottage Row Historic District is a collection of seven wood-framed cottages built in conjunction with the Kineo Resort complex between 1901 and 1912. They were designed in the…

Mars Hill

Mars Hill mountain with Wind Turbines from U.S. Route 1 in Blaine (2014)

As with many rural Maine towns, Mars Hill is a community of pickup trucks as an essential tool of the farm economy. See photos. It shares a main street, U.S. Route 1, with neighboring Blaine. Mars Hill is located on the Prestile Stream where U.S. Route 1 forks to Presque Isle and Route 1A leads to Fort Fairfield. Established in the 1960’s, the Big Rock Ski Area on Mars Hill was purchased in 2000 by the Maine Winter Sports Center.

Mountains

The Knife Edge on Katahdin

Maine has 711 mountains over 1,000 feet high. These are the 20 highest, including the vertical distance to be climbed from base to peak.  Actual hiking distances are, of course, longer. Name County Height Above Sea Level Climb Above Base Katahdin Piscataquis 5,267 4,674 Sugarloaf Franklin 4,237 2,931 Old Speck Oxford 4,180 2,690 Crocker Franklin…

Sandy Bay Township

Sandy Stream Mountain in Sandy Bay Township East Side of Route 201 (2004)

Sandy Bay is about seven miles north of Jackman Village on U.S. Route 201 and Maine Route 6 through Dennistown Plantation. From its township line beyond Dennistown, the two Routes continue northwest for about ten miles to the Canadian Border and customs facilities. The South Branch of the Penobscot River begins here, trending east through…

Wind Turbines

Wind Turbines from a Hill in Beddington on Route 9 (2013)

Wind turbines and wind “farms” of many turbines are sprouting all over Maine.  Ridges and mountains are the most likely spots.  As a result, they are visible for many miles and may intrude on enjoyment of hikers or residents near the devices. Electricity generated by the turbines displace that generated by other sources, including those…