AMC to Expand Trail System in Maine’s New National Monument

One of the highlights of my travels in 2018 (which I very well might discuss in my upcoming 5 Dream Days of 2018 blogs) was the weekend we spent this summer at AMC’s Gorman Chairback Lodge. Smack dab in the heart of Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness in the North Woods, this last great stand of wilderness in northeastern United States is not easily accessible. You have to drive 45 minutes on rutted timber roads from Greenville, Maine to access the lodge, but once you see the pristine waters of Long Pond and hear that unmistakable yodel of a loon echoing across the lake, you immediately realize it was worth the effort to get here. Now word comes that The National Park Service has contracted the AMC to build a series of hiking trails in the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, giving visitors more access to this large swath of green space. As of now, development has been limited to the main Loop Road, a 16-mile dirt road. With the AMC trail addition, each trail will extend one to two miles from the Loop Road. AMC’s trail crew started work in October 2018 and will continue work through fall 2019.