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| $21.13 on Amazon |
Covering what is arguably the most remote section of the Appalachian Trail, the Appalachian Trail Guide to Maine is the ultimate guide for anyone who is looking to strike across Maine’s wilderness from the New Hampshire border to Mount Katahdin on the Appalachian Trail.
The Appalachian Trail stretches roughly 2,100 miles from Springer Mountain in Georgia, along the spine of the Appalachian Mountains to the summit of Mount Katahdin in Maine. Along the way the trail travels over some of the roughest terrain of the Appalachians and explores the last vestiges of wilderness that are left along the eastern coast of the United States. The trail itself is a National Scenic Trail and is owned by the National Park Service and managed by the Appalachian Trail Conference (ATC). ATC publishes guidebooks for each state that the trail travels through.
What’s in a Appalachian Trail Guidebook?
Each guidebook is similar and provides thru-hikers (people who complete the entire Appalachian Trail on one long hike), backpackers and daytrippers and excellent resource for any size trip along the Appalachian Trail.
The Appalachian Trail Guide to Maine covers the entire 281-mile length of the trail in Maine. From the Mahoosuc Range in the south to the windswept and tundra covered summit of Mount Katahdin.
The book includes 7 separate maps that cover the entire length of the Trail in Maine. The chapters in the book are keyed to these maps to make it easier to find the trail descriptions or maps of the section that you are considering hiking. The maps are printed on tear-proof and waterproof paper and are of excellent quality. In addition to a topographic map with the trail route shown, you are also given a vertical relief map (to show you how much you have to go up and down along your route) and on the back of each map, a quick guide to the trail that is broken down by the mileage from landmark to landmark. This makes it unnecessary to carry the book with you when hiking, the map has all the information that you will need. Because they are waterproof and tear-proof, they are very easy to fold up and slip into your pocket without having to worry about damaging the maps. Should you want the security of the entire book, it is fairly small and can easily be packed in your backpack
Each section is first introduced by an overview of the entire section that corresponds to the map. Then the trail descriptions for each sub-section of trail (generally broken up by road crossings) are given. The book begins at Katahdin and works its way south to the Maine-New Hampshire border. The descriptions include information on the location of the section, it’s length, the estimated hiking time, any elevation gain or loss, lean-tos and campsites that are available in that section, road access to the section, side trails, any points of interest along that section and suggestions for further reading should you want to know more about an area.
The trail descriptions for each section go into some detail about the hike you will have on that trail. Major features along the trail are described; as are steep pitches, trail junctions, side trails and more. The descriptions are accurate and detailed and easy to follow.
In addition to the trail descriptions, the Appalachian Trail Guide to Maine also includes several different chapters that cover basic information about the development and management of the Appalachian Trail, what hikers should be bringing when on the trail, a natural history of the Trail in Maine, a complete index that makes finding sections easier and an accident report form should the worse happen you or a hiking partner when out on the trail.
Who Needs This Book
Anyone who is considering hiking different sections, or the entire Appalachian Trail through Maine should get their hands on this book. The Appalachian Trail Guide to Maine provides the ultimate reference guides for hikers by providing quality trail descriptions and high quality maps that make planning your trip and carrying it out as easy as possible.
The book is both an excellent introduction to the Appalachian Trail in general and especially for the Trail in Maine.
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