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}.
Advertisement
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.
White blazes mark the Appalachian Path in a mossy forest on Barren Mountain on Aug. 19, in Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness. (Courtesy of Aislinn Sarnacki)A yellow-orange mushroom glistens with raindrops within the woods of Barren Mountain on Aug. 19, in Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness. (Courtesy of Aislinn Sarnacki)
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.
Advertisement
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.
Bangor Each day Information Outdoor contributor Aislinn Sarnacki takes a photograph of the view from Barren Ledges on Barren Mountain on Aug. 19, in Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness. (Courtesy of Aislinn Sarnacki)
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.
Advertisement
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 stays of a hearth tower stand atop Barren Mountain on Aug. 19, in Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness. (Courtesy of Aislinn Sarnacki)
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.
Advertisement
A red-capped mushroom stands out towards the forest ground of Barren Mountain on Aug. 19, in Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness. (Courtesy of Aislinn Sarnacki)An extended, rock staircase leads up a steep slope on Barren Mountain on Aug. 19, in Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness. (Courtesy of Aislinn Sarnacki)
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.
Maine State Police responded to more than 50 crashes and road slide-offs Saturday after southern Maine woke up to some light snowfall.
Police were responding to several crashes on the Maine Turnpike (Interstate 95) and Interstate 295 south of Augusta, state police said in a Facebook message posted around 10 a.m. Saturday.
Maine State Police spokesperson Shannon Moss said that as of early Saturday afternoon, more than 50 crashes had been reported on the turnpike and I-295.
Advertisement
“The Turnpike has seen 24 crashes and slide offs primarily between Kittery and Falmouth with a higher concentration in Saco,” Moss wrote in an email. “The interstate has seen about 30 crashes and slide offs also in the Falmouth area but now in Lincoln and heading north.”
Moss said no injuries have been reported in any of the crashes.
“So far it appears visibility and driving too fast for road conditions are the causation factors,” Moss said.
State police reminded drivers to take caution, especially during snowy conditions, in the Facebook post.
“Please drive with extra care and give yourself plenty of space between you and the other vehicles on the roadway,” the post said. “Give the MDOT and Turnpike plows extra consideration and space to do their jobs to clear the roadway. Drive slow, plan for the extra time to get to your destination and be safe.”
Advertisement
« Previous
One man killed, another seriously hurt in New Gloucester crash
Next »
Creating vintage fashion at Lost & Found Markets in Portland
New rules that went into effect in August changing who pays real estate commissions have resulted in more paperwork and some anxiety for home buyers and sellers but have had little, if any, impact on home prices in the state’s hot real estate market.
The changes, which stem from a settlement in a lawsuit accusing real estate agents of conspiring to keep their commissions high, altered the way commission fees are set nationally.
For decades, most home sales in the United States have included a commission fee, typically between 5 and 6 percent of the sale price.
The typical Maine home went for around $400,000 this fall. A 5 to 6 percent commission on a $400,000 home would be between $20,000 and $24,000, split between the agents for the buyer and the seller.
Advertisement
Before the changes in August, the split for each agent was predetermined by the seller, who paid the fee for both agents. That usually resulted in fees being baked into the list price of a home.
In some states (although not in Maine) agents were able to search the multiple listing service, a catalogue of homes for sale, by the commission split, which critics said incentivized agents to steer clients toward more expensive properties with higher commissions.
Now, fees are negotiated sale-by-sale. Buyers and sellers are now each responsible for paying their own agents, meaning a buyer may have to come with more cash up front if a seller doesn’t want to pay the commission fee for a buyer’s agent. Sellers are also no longer allowed to include commission fees in their listings.
Tacy Ridlon, a listing agent with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate The Masiello Group in Ellsworth, who has been in real estate for 32 years, said it is a bit jarring to have a conversation with buyers about whether they are willing to pay part of their agent’s commission.
Once the commission is established and the agreement signed, she said, the buyer’s agent then approaches the seller’s agent to see what part of their commission the seller is willing to cover, if any.
Advertisement
Ridlon said 3 percent for the buyer’s agent is a typical starting point.
“We have to start high. If the seller is willing to offer 2 percent for the buyer’s agent, then our buyer only has to pay one percent… If the seller is not offering anything, then we ask the buyer to pay a certain amount. Some can pay and some can’t. For some it’s very difficult because they don’t have a lot of money to play around with.”
The change has resulted in some confusion for many buyers and even some agents around the country, as rules differ from state-to-state. Photo by Kate Cough.
Some agents said they found the changes minimal; others find the paperwork and negotiating with buyers daunting. One agency owner said the ruling has done little to bring prices down.
“This ruling has done nothing to save buyers or sellers any money,” said Billy Milliken, a designated broker and owner of Bold Coast Properties, LLC, in Jonesport. “If anything, it’s made the cost of buying a home even more expensive.”
Milliken said his sellers have had no problem agreeing to pay both buyers’ and sellers’ commissions. The cost has been embedded in the price of the property.
Advertisement
“The real loser is first time home buyers who are not educated in buying a home and also have limited cash resources,” said Milliken. “It puts them at a disadvantage.”
The change has resulted in some confusion for many buyers and even some agents around the country, as rules differ from state-to-state.
People are slowly getting used to the changes, said Monet Yarnell, president of the Midcoast Board of Realtors, who owns her own agency, Sell 207 in Belfast, adding that Maine’s real estate practices were already more transparent than many other areas of the country.
“I think it was a little confusing in the beginning, more doom and gloom,” said Yarnell. But sellers are still incentivized to offer something to the buyers’ agents, she said. And the changes have increased the level of communication between agents and their clients.
“It’s more how the money flows rather than the actual dollars.”
Advertisement
Ridlon, in Ellsworth, said she has been fortunate that most sellers have offered some compensation toward the buyer’s agent commission. “I have not had a buyer who can’t do the 3 percent.”
Ridlon had one seller who was not willing to pay any part of the buyer’s agent’s commission. The property had a lot of showings, but many of the buyers asked for closing costs to be covered or for concessions in lieu of picking up part of the commission.
“That didn’t really work for my seller either,” she said. “Then he relented and said he would pay one percent.”
The property sold.
Debbie Walter sold her condominium in Stockton Springs via Yarnell and then bought another condominium in New London, N.H., with another real estate agent.
Advertisement
“We’re kind of guinea pigs,” said Walter. “We were very concerned about that whole piece, both as sellers and buyers.”
Fearful the sale of their house might not proceed smoothly the couple readily agreed to pay a 3 percent commission for the buyer’s agent.
When they made their offer to buy the condominium in N.H., they offered as buyers to cover their buyer’s agent’s commission as well. But the seller in that case took an equally cautious approach and offered to cover 2.5 percent of the buyer’s agent’s commission, which Walters’ agent accepted.
“It was very stressful,” Walter said. Offering to cover their buyer’s agent’s commission, she said, created “one less headache for the whole closing procedure.”
Tom McKee, president of the Maine Realtors Association, said the settlement and new rules have had little impact.
Advertisement
“It hasn’t changed anything for me,” said McKee, who is with Keller Williams in Portland. Now that the commission split is no longer listed in the M.L.S., said McKee, “there are just more questions in the transaction.”
McKee said there is no set percentage, that everything is negotiable.
“If we do our job right and are meeting with the client first, they already understand.”
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has proposed new rules governing judicial conduct complaints that would keep members of the high court from having to discipline their peers.
The proposed rules would establish a panel of eight judges — the four most senior active Superior Court justices and the four most senior active District Court judges who are available to serve — to weigh complaints against a justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Members of the high court would not participate.
The rule changes come just weeks after the Committee on Judicial Conduct recommended the first sanction against a justice on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in state history.
The committee said Justice Catherine Connors should be publicly reprimanded, the lowest level of sanction, for failing to recuse herself in two foreclosure cases last year that weakened protections for homeowners in Maine, despite a history of representing banks that created a possible conflict of interest. Connors represented or filed on behalf of banks in two precedent-setting cases that were overturned by the 2024 decisions.
Advertisement
In Maine, it’s up to the Supreme Judicial Court to decide the outcome of judicial disciplinary cases. But because in this case one of the high court’s justices is accused of wrongdoing, the committee recommended following the lead of several other states by bringing in a panel of outside judges, either from other levels of the court or from out of state.
Connors, however, believes the case should be heard by her colleagues on the court, according to a response filed late last month by her attorney, James Bowie.
Bowie argued that the outcome of the case will ultimately provide guidance for the lower courts — a power that belongs exclusively to the state supreme court.
It should not, he wrote, be delegated “to some other ad hoc grouping of inferior judicial officers.”
The court is accepting comments on the proposal until Jan. 23. The changes, if adopted, would be effective immediately and would apply to pending matters, including the Connors complaint.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25822586/STK169_ZUCKERBERG_MAGA_STKS491_CVIRGINIA_A.jpg "Meta is highlighting a splintering global approach to online speech")
