[at-l] mahoosuc notch

[ellen at clinic.net (Bob C)]

The last time I was there, I thought the Mahoosuc Range Trail was maintained to a pretty high standard. Much of it is plank board walks through a high spaghnum alpine bog. Based on a quarter century of trail maintenance, it is unclear to me how one would meet "ATC's _Appalachian Trail 'Design, Construction and Maintenance_ 2ed'" standards through most of the mile of Mahoosuc Notch.

The notch is basically a jumble of house sized boulders, punctuated by deep, sometimes, ice-filled holes, making a graded trail a bit difficult, and far less fun.

BTW, though much of the Mahoosuc Range is in Maine, the range is maintained by AMC professional trail crews out of Pinkham Notch in New Hampshire, who are slow but thorough. I've heard the trail boss say a typical mile of new trail costs the club $10,000.

However, I am a bit prejudiced. Protection of the range had been a worry for northern New England Trail people for decades. AMC had announced 35 years ago that the club's 100th anniversary goal was to somehow put some permanent protection on the ridgeline of the range. Well the anniversary came and went (I forget the year, 1975? 76?) and no protection ensued.

But a year or two later out of court settlements were coming in on Maine's claim to own 400,000 acres of public reserved lots that the state had preserved when it sold it's public domain a century earlier and then forgot. 

The Legislature had established a new Bureau of Public Lands in response to the controversy. One day I got a call from the bureau's first director, announcing Brown Paper Company wanted to settle, and asking "What do they have that we want?"

My reply was simple. "The Mahoosucs." That phone call protected around 30,000 acres of ridgeline between Grafton Notch State Park and the New Hampshire border. Later another batch of land was added north of the park and encompassing the several summits of the Baldpates. A total of around 45,000 acres today. I figured that since AMC couldn't do it, I probably should. :-)

The New Hampshire portion of the range continues to be only a narrow corridor for the footpath, though folks continue to work on broadening the corridor in both Maine and New Hampshire.

I remain in the trail protection business. Our Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust settled on its first ever completed project a few days ago -- one acre between Pierce Pond and the AT. Both purchased and paid for.

We've bought other land, like 2,342 acres on Abraham and Saddleback for $282 an acre, a total of $661,000. State and foundation funds paid $450,000 of that. The rest we borrowed. The mortgage comes due in October. We have $130,000 to go to ensure continued protection.

Folks on the list can help. Just open http://www.matlt.org

Believe me. It's a nice feeling to have helped protect a piece of wild land for our children, grandchildren and future generations forever. To the consternation of my wife, that feeling becomes addictive after awhile. I've now done it several times. Just think, our land trust is offering you too a chance to share that nice feeling.

Weary