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Chairbacks/Gulf Hagas

A knowledgable hiker wrote:

>The trail is in generally good shape. Water shouldn't be a problem
>except in the higher elevations of the Barren-Chairback Range, just
>north of Monson. For trail details and maps you'll want the ATC
>Guide to the AT in Maine, which will have all the info you need.
>
>A couple of suggestions: Unless you are looking for the challenge,
>prepare a couple of food drops in advance and resupply using the
>Crawford Pond road north of Cooper Brook Falls lean-to and the St.
>Regis road north of the Chairbacks. This will allow you carry less
>weight than if you try to do the whole thing with a full pack.
>
>Second, plan to take a day and explore the Gulf Hagas trail which
>loops of the AT. Beutiful area and many folks miss it since they're
>either low on food or eager to get to Katahdin.

>From the late seventies to the mid-eighties my mother and step-father
(Shirley and Keith Hodsdon) owned and operated Chairback Mt. Camps on Long
Pond, living there year-round.  Mom fought hard to keep the paper companies
from clearcutting around the Chairback area.  Eventually she managed to slow
the process and negotiated a permanent set-aside of the lands within a small
radius from the camps.  

Many a thru hiker or section hiker stopped in at the camps for a brief rest
and ended up staying for days...  fishing and resting up for the next leg of
their trek.  Mom always fed hikers and offered them shelter at the camps and
I'm sure there are some on this list who remember her energy and her love
for the wilderness.

The folks moved out of the Camps a number of years back and then Mom passed
away on Jan. 11, 1994.  Her ashes were scattered at Gulf Hagas...  a place
she felt was close to heaven on Earth.  If you are passing thru the area,
please stop at the Gulf and say a few words in her memory.  She did much to
keep the wilderness wild.

Sincrely,



Gary
                                                  
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  Stopwatch Video & Film                        Gary K. Foote
  North Conway, NH 03860                   Owner/Entrepreneur
  VOX/FAX 603.356.7111              gk_foote@stopwatch.mv.com
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