Haystack Mountain

I hiked up Haystack Mountain in Mapleton, Maine yesterday. It's not a very long climb, but it is a steep one! It was such a nice day that rather than hitting the gym and doing some cardio, I decided that a hike would be just as good. :)

The weather was nice, but that also meant the black-flies were out in full force. They didn't get bad until I got to the top of the mountain, but still - having any black-flies around at all is not a treat. It's that time of year, folks, so be smarter than me and bring some OFF! with you. It will make for a much more enjoyable hike. :)

For those of you that do not know where the mountain is, it is in Mapleton, Maine. You can get there via Rte 11 though Ashland or you can get there via Rte 1 through Presque Isle. It's a very short hike, and while I would not travel a great distance just for this hike - it is a great one to do if you are in the area. It is even possible to take children with you on this hike, as you can hike the mountain in only a half hour or so. I have been with friends who have children as young as 3 that have hiked the mountain with us - and only had to be carried up the final portion as it was a bit trickier to maneuver.

The photo at the top of my blog was taken from Haystack last fall. Since it is such a short hike, it is a great spot to go to take aerial type photos of the County. You can see many peaks from the top of Haystack, and if you look to the distance on a clear day, you can even see Katahdin.

So in short - it's a great hike if you're looking for a bit of exercise on a sunny afternoon, and it's a great hike if you are in the area and have kids with you :) Happy Hiking!

Fiddleheading in Baxter State Park

I haven't had much chance to do any hiking or camping yet this year, as the weather is still all over the place and hardly ever warm and sunny on a day I can go. I did, however, have the chance to go fiddleheading last weekend. For those of you that do not know what a "fiddlehead" is, see the picture below:

Anyone who is not from or has never been to Maine is going to probably look at that and go "Ewwww - you eat THAT?!" But if you are ever in Maine in the spring, you should definitely give these a try. You can only get them first thing in the spring because as it gets warmer, they turn into ferns (which are most definitely not good eats).

Fiddleheads can be found near brooks, streams, and rivers where the ground wet. Typically they start to come up just as true Spring weather hits, but anyone who has seen a Maine spring knows that you cannot pin-point that with a date. Typically it could be anywhere from mid-April to late May depending on the weather. This year, the fiddlehead season is almost over, and it is only mid-May. If you are ambitious enough to venture out and pick your own batch of fiddleheads, pay close attention to the photo above. There are many different kinds of ferns, but only these dark green ones are actually what Mainiacs affectionately refer to as "fiddleheads."

My only venture with fiddleheading this year was last weekend. I asked my mother what she wanted to do for Mother's Day, and she said "Let's go fiddleheading in Baxter State Park." So last Saturday we put some 5-gallon pails in the back of her truck and headed for the North Entrance. This time of year when the weather is not yet warm enough for camping and swimming, the park is used mainly by fishermen and people looking for fiddleheads. The park season doesn't get into full swing until late June most years, so it was nice to not have much traffic or many other people in the Park with us. We stopped by Trout Brook, and did our fiddleheading there. There was no panoramic mountain view, no trickling waterfall to take photos of - but it was nice just to be in the North Maine Woods.

I think that is something that is lost on many people that find themselves in Maine. Sure the coast is beautiful, but there is an entirely different side to Maine that many miss out on. Maine is so rich in history, but typically people focus on the lobstermen, lighthouses, and islands of the coast. There is a whole other spectrum of experiences in Maine if only you go north of Bangor. The North Maine Woods is rich in logging history, the County has it's farming history, and if you go further to the extreme north of the County - you will find that Fort Kent and surrounding towns have a rich Acadian history. All you have to do is make the drive!

Anyways - back to task - We were in the park for just a couple of hours, but when we left - we had 3 pails of fiddleheads. I literally had to give the away when I got home because I could not eat that many all by myself! I must have given 6- 1 gallon bags away to my friends because I could not cook and eat them all. I found myself posting on FaceBook - "Picked a ton of fiddleheads - let me know if anyone wants any!" To which my friends from Mass, Texas, Florida, etc responded - "What the heck is a fiddlehead?" I guess that's what prompted me to write this blog and share a piece of true Maine with you all.

So in closing - if you find yourself in Maine for a visit this summer, be sure to look beyond Bah Hahbah and take a drive up I-95. Even if it's just to head to Patten (exit 264 or 276) to check out the Lumberman's Museum. Tell them I sent you ;)