Maine
Hike this remote mountain for one of the best views in Maine
The earlier night time’s rain beaded on fern fronds alongside the path. I rigorously navigated over slick tree roots, respiratory within the wealthy scents of damp earth, soggy moss and sodden leaves. After a stretch of dry climate, the forest was lastly stuffed with water.
Earlier than lengthy, the quick entry path ended on the well-known Appalachian Path. There I turned proper, following white painted path markers up the west ridge of Barren Mountain. Rising 2,670 ft above sea stage, it’s one of many many peaks traversed by the AT, and an open ledge beneath its summit affords a wide ranging view of the area.
It had been 9 years since I final hiked the mountain. That day, a number of elements performed into my resolution to return.
First, a good friend jogged my memory that it’s a beautiful hike. Second, my canine was in daycare, so I didn’t have to fret about her struggling on the steep, rocky sections. Third, it rained, which meant I’d lastly discover some colourful mushrooms to {photograph}.
Barren Mountain is the primary main peak of Maine’s well-known 100-Mile Wilderness, if you happen to’re trekking from the south. The 100-Mile Wilderness is taken into account essentially the most distant part of the Appalachian Path. It doesn’t cross any main roads for about 100 miles, however components of it are accessible by aspect trails and gravel woods roads, if you happen to’ve obtained good instructions and a DeLorme atlas.
As I adopted the path up the mountain, cautious to not slip on moist rocks or roots, my respiratory quickened. A refreshing breeze swept by way of the forest as a thick layer of clouds swam overhead.
About 1.5 miles into the hike, I got here to a aspect path resulting in Barren Slide, a cliff and rock slide that provides an open view to the west. Sadly, the path was closed as a consequence of peregrine falcons nesting on the cliff. Listed as endangered in Maine, they’re protected, particularly throughout nesting season.
Fortunately, farther up the path, Barren Ledges affords an identical view that’s arguably extra spectacular. I continued upward to succeed in that overlook in only a couple tenths of a mile.
Hikers typically come collectively at overlooks. Such was the case that day. I arrived to seek out a few girls who deliberate to camp that night time on the close by Cloud Pond campsite. As we loved the view, chatted and ate lunch, two AT thru-hikers joined us.
“Through-hiker” is a time period used for long-distance hikers — people who find themselves in it for the lengthy haul. They often carry massive backpacks with seen tent rolls and different tenting gear, so that they’re straightforward to identify. In addition they go by particular path names. On this case, they had been Beer Woman and Wizard.
As we sat on the open ledge, one hiker observed two massive, darkish shapes transferring throughout the floor of Lake Onawa beneath.
“I feel they’re moose,” she stated, her voice tinged with pleasure.
Certainly, they didn’t transfer like canoes or every other kind of boat, they usually had been too massive to be deer. The main form was bigger than the second, main us to consider it was a cow (feminine moose) and its calf. I solely want I’d had binoculars.
Southwest of us, Borestone Mountain loomed over the lake. Maine Audubon owns and maintains a well-liked mountain climbing path to the highest of that mountain. I imagined hikers on its summit, staring again at us on Barren.
Past, mountains marched throughout the horizon. The Bigelows and Sugarloaf had been amongst them.
Refueled with a BLT sandwich and an apple, I continued on to the summit. This stretch of the hike included a pleasant, flattish part by way of an extremely mossy forest. The path even went a bit downhill earlier than the ultimate steep climb to the height.
Topped with the rusted bones of a hearth tower, the summit of the mountain is marked by a traditional brown signal created by the Maine Appalachian Path Membership. The membership maintains the overwhelming majority of AT in Maine by way of the work of volunteers. Should you’ve ever considered getting concerned, please attain out. It’s a giant job. They all the time may use extra assist.
The 24-foot metal fireplace tower is lacking its picket cab, which lies in a dense stand of spruce bushes not distant. Did it blow off or was it eliminated? On-line descriptions of the tower state that it’s harmful to climb, although a metal ladder remains to be part of the construction. Luckily, the bushes are so stunted on the height of the mountain that you could get pleasure from views with out climbing any rusty ruins.
The height was my turnaround spot. From there, I retraced my steps to the trailhead for a hike that was about 7.5 miles whole. However many hikers proceed to Cloud Pond, which tacks about 2 miles onto the out-and-back hike. I wasn’t feeling that bold.
My mushroom speculation ended up being right. The forest was stuffed with fungi of all shapes and colours. Ghostly white coral mushrooms sprouted from logs. Yellow-orange mushrooms with spherical, noticed caps appeared to glow towards the deep, velvety moss.
At one level, I handed just a little lady who was mountain climbing along with her household, and she or he exclaimed, “I’ve seen so many mushrooms!”
Glad to fulfill somebody who shared my enthusiasm, I requested her if she’d seen any pink mushrooms. She stated “no,” and I advised her to maintain an eye fixed out. Farther down the path, I observed a mushroom with a brilliant pink cap tucked beneath the branches of an evergreen tree, so I gathered some small sticks and positioned them within the form of an arrow pointing to the mushroom. The arrow blended in with the forest ground, but when anybody would discover it, it’d be the little lady. I hope she noticed it.
Instructions: There are two entry factors to Barren Mountain that I do know of — one close to Otter Pond and one simply earlier than the AT crosses Lengthy Pond Stream. Each require navigating logging roads in areas with little to no cellular phone reception.
To achieve the Otter Pond trailhead, which I used for this hike, drive to the city of Monson, then flip proper onto Elliotsville Street. Drive about 7.6 miles, then flip left onto Bodfish Street (also called Mountain Street.) Drive about 3 miles, previous the Borestone trailhead, and also you’ll cross a slim bridge on personal land. Preserve going about 0.5 mile, then flip left onto a slim gravel highway. Drive about 0.7 mile to the top of that highway and park in a small parking space. (The highway is rocky and will not be appropriate for some automobiles.) From there, a well-maintained path results in the AT. That is on personal land, the place indicators state that day mountain climbing is permitted however in a single day parking is just not. Preserve that in thoughts when planning your journey.
Extra articles from the BDN
PALERMO, Maine (WABI) – Maine State Police shared some good news on social media this weekend.
Their 10-month-old bloodhound Millie, and her handler, Corporal Eric Sucy, alongside Maine Game Warden Julia Horst, found a missing five-year-old girl with autism in a swamp.
State Police said the young girl was found around 5:30 p.m. Friday off Rowe Road in Palermo.
We’re told the girl was waist-deep in the swamp but thankfully unjured.
State Police say Millie is “proving herself time and again with her dedication, sweet disposition, and incredible nose.”
Copyright 2025 WABI. All rights reserved.
Maine
Maine gov to receive human rights award amid battle with Trump admin on trans inclusion in girls' sports
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Maine Gov. Janet Mills will be one of the recipients of the Human Rights Award from the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization. A ceremony will be held next month.
Mills will receive the award because of her battle with President Donald Trump’s administration over transgender athlete inclusion in women’s and girls’ sports.
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Governor of Maine Janet Mills attends the PEN America Spring Literary Gala at The American Museum of Natural History on Thursday, May 15, 2025, in New York. (Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)
“I am honored to receive this recognition named for former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, a heroic champion for civil rights and the rule of law that governs our nation and inspires the world,” Mills said in a news release.
“Throughout my career as a District Attorney, Attorney General, and now as Governor of Maine, I have fought to uphold the Constitution of my state and my country. I feel it is the responsibility of all Americans to speak in defense of their principles, for the rights of others, and for the rule of law which protects us all. As a member of the generation of Americans who were inspired by the career of Robert F. Kennedy, I am truly humbled and grateful for this award, which recognizes how his remarkable legacy should inspire all of us today.”
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Democratic Gov. Janet Mills delivers her State of the State address, Jan. 30, 2024, at the State House in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
Mills, along with Justice Department pardon attorney Elizabeth Oyer and immigration and reform activist Jeanette Vizguerra, was given the award “for their moral courage and willingness to act on their convictions – even at great personal risk.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) sued the state of Maine in April as Mills bucked the president’s executive order to keep males out of girls’ and women’s sports. Maine’s transgender participation policies have been a source of consternation, leading to a public spat between Trump and Mills during a meeting with the governors in February. The USDA lawsuit was one of a few filed against the state.
The USDA announced a funding freeze and a review of federal funding to Maine for the state allegedly refusing to provide equal opportunities to women and girls in educational programs. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said at the time that the state must agree to protect female athletes from trans inclusion before funding would be restored.
Maine sued the USDA over the funding freeze and accused the department of “withholding funding used to feed children in schools, childcare centers, and after-school programming as well as disabled adults in congregate settings.”
President Donald Trump signs an executive order barring transgender female athletes from competing in women’s or girls’ sporting events, in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The state dropped the lawsuit against the administration as the USDA agreed to restore federal funding earlier this month.
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Maine is still facing other legal battles over the issue.
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The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set news policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com
Ashley Luszczki is a government relations specialist at the Maine State Chamber of Commerce.
From setting high water quality standards to creating the Land for Maine’s Future program and enacting the nation’s first extended producer responsibility (EPR) law for packaging, Maine has long embodied its motto — Dirigo (I lead) — in environmental policymaking. These bold policies have helped protect our natural resources and strengthen our communities. Real leadership, however, also requires a willingness to adapt when necessary to ensure policies remain effective, practical, and aligned with evolving realities.
In 2021, Maine led the nation by passing a landmark EPR law for packaging, shifting the financial burden of managing packaging waste away from municipalities and taxpayers and onto the producers that generate it. Following a multi-year stakeholder process, the Board of Environmental Protection voted 4-1 in December 2024 on a detailed rule outlining how the Stewardship Program for Packaging will be implemented.
However, the rule didn’t undergo legislative review before advancing. That decision has left critical concerns raised by Maine’s business community unresolved, including ambiguous definitions, significant cost uncertainty, and growing misalignment with the EPR packaging laws enacted in other states such as California, Colorado, Maryland, Minnesota, and Oregon. A similar law recently advanced through the state of Washington’s House and Senate.
Without addressing these issues, Maine risks launching a program that could burden businesses and consumers with excessive costs and risks discouraging the kind of innovation and investment our economy needs.
Recognizing the need for course correction, Sen. Joe Baldacci, D-Bangor, submitted LD 1423 this session. His legislation proposed what we consider common-sense changes to clarify the law’s definitions, better align Maine’s program with national peers, and prevent unintended economic harm.
The Environment and Natural Resources Committee recently voted to support several improvements championed in Baldacci’s bill including updating the definition of “consumer” to ensure Maine’s businesses aren’t taxed twice — once for the packaging of goods they use and again for what they sell, updating the definition of “producer,” and making enforcement clearer and more equitable across complex supply chains. Importantly, the legislation empowers the Stewardship Organization (the entity who will oversee the program) to review fee structures and assess whether they meaningfully incentivize the use of more recyclable packaging.
The Maine State Chamber of Commerce supports these changes, is grateful for the committee’s willingness to act, and encourages the Legislature to recognize the benefit of these changes when LD 1423 advances to the Senate and House. We believe these updates will help ensure that Maine’s EPR packaging program functions as intended: efficiently, fairly, and sustainably.
Unfortunately, Maine will continue to be an outlier. Unlike other states, Maine’s law makes no exemption for federally regulated products like infant formula, surgical instruments, or chemical solvents, which must adhere to strict federal packaging requirements. Failing to account for this puts businesses selling products in Maine at a disadvantage by forcing them to comply with standards that are unworkable in some cases. This misalignment risks making Maine a less attractive market for innovation and expansion and will cost producers significantly more in Maine compared to states like California where their products and packaging are recognized and exempt.
We commend Baldacci for working to address this issue in LD 1423 and we appreciate the support from committee members like Rep. Dick Campbell, R-Orrington, and Rep. Tammy Schmersal-Burgess, R-Mexico, who voted to exempt federally regulated medical products for humans and animals in a minority vote of the committee.
While the Maine State Chamber wishes the full committee had greater aligned Maine’s program with other states, we are thankful for Baldacci’s leadership in bringing LD 1423 forward, and to the committee for their openness to supporting changes brought by the business community that we believe will strengthen the program from the outset. Baldacci has proven to be a thoughtful leader who recognizes that bold environmental policy and a strong economy aren’t mutually exclusive — they must go hand in hand. With these necessary adjustments, Maine will be one step closer to achieving that balance.
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