Maine National Monuments

9/10/2022 We hit Millinocket (picking up the Katahdin Woods and Waters NSB) and, although we had some thought of not bothering, we stopped at the VC for the Katahdin Woods and Waters NM. We were very glad we did, because the friendly ranger warned us against going north on the route we planned, because near the end it hit some seriously tough gravel/rocky roads. Instead, she gave us the park map which took us a lot further east, then north on pavement (here finally leaving the NSB), to meet up with the gravel roads we expected. We had some trepidation about this, just for a couple of hours on rough roads in general, and me about this kind of rough christening of my less-than-a-year-old car. Ken set a good pace, hitting 30 mph in a some sandy/gravel spots, but then having to crawl around big potholes, loose rocks and rock stumps sticking up in other areas. We had the good map from the NPS VC which we appreciated because after a point the GPS didn’t know the road we were on existed, and the phone either had trouble loading the map, or mysteriously wanted to take us in the wrong direction. Sometimes paper works best! We even crossed a one-lane bridge over some swift-running water. Eventually though, after transitioning from the roughly west road to the park loop road, and having a very rough climb near the end, we came to an open area with a magnificent view of Mount Katahdin to the west and lakes and islands to the south. We spend some time here, enjoying the views, the quiet, and the comfortable temperatures while also taking credit for Mount Katahdin NNL. This is Maine’s highest peak and a complete illustration of glacial geology. We chatted for a bit with a young man that amazingly had mountain biked there, the second of a double lap around the loop as part of his training for a race somewhere. Sadly, we headed back around and east, and although it still took concentration it was a lot less stressful since we knew that nothing really serious waited for us. We did stop at Lynx Lake for a short walk to an observation platform and a view of the lake and bog. We had been watching for moose based on what the ranger said, but we didn’t spot any.

The VC in Millinocket

Pretty stream to cross on the way

Pretty swampy area

Okay, we're heading in ...

First view of what?

Ah, Katahdin!

Happy to be here

Now this was worth the mumby ride!

Pretty surroundings

Cool 360 with us

Ken photoing ...

... the Waters part

A little closer view

Back to the mountain ...

... with us

The boardwalk to ...

... and a 360 of ...

Lynx Lake

One more look ...

... and time for us to leave

National Monuments - Maine