Katahdin An Historic Journey

Maine historian John Neff's compelling and comprehensive narrative traces the history, legend, and legacy of Mount Katahdin--the spectacular peak that looms over Maine's Great North Woods--from the earliest Native American stories to colonial exploration through the logging industry's peak to today's conservation successes and opportunities.

Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument is 87,563 acres of mountains, rivers and forest. It is composed of land donated by Roxanne Quimby, cofounder of Burt's Bees, but the beauty of the monument was born long ago out of molten lava and ice from glacial activity, creating a spectacular landscape. From old trails cut deep into the wilderness to sporting camps, logging and a devastating wildfire in 1903, the area has seen and survived many changes. It was declared a National Monument by President Barack Obama on August 24, 2016, and is now overseen by the National Park Service. Join local author and guide Eric Hendrickson as he reveals how an industrial forest has been returned to a pristine wilderness for future generations to enjoy.

The mother moose was standing by her three-week old calf. She gave me a cold hard stare and then laid her ears back. I could actually see the hair rise up on the back of her neck just before she put her head down and charged. Barely into my second month as a Baxter State Park ranger and a big animal was angry and running straight at me. She could kill me or cause serious injury with one flail of her hooves. This was surreal. I was a ranger, for Pete’s sake. How was I going to explain this in my weekly report? The Bear Dogs of Katahdin is Steve Tetreault ́s true account of his time spent as a ranger in Maine ́s Baxter State Park, a wilderness area of over 204,000 acres. In this collection of anecdotal stories, Steve describes his life as a new ranger in a strange place, meeting new people--and learning about his wild neighbors. If you are a lover of the outdoors in general, or perhaps Maine and Baxter State Park in particular, you will appreciate Steve ́s depiction of a park ranger ́s life from the point of view of a young and idealistic person.

This magesterial and thrilling history argues that the story of American mountaineering is the story of America itself. In Continental Divide, Maurice Isserman tells the history of American mountaineering through four centuries of landmark climbs and first ascents. Mountains were originally seen as obstacles to civilization; over time they came to be viewed as places of redemption and renewal. The White Mountains stirred the transcendentalists; the Rockies and Sierras pulled explorers westward toward Manifest Destiny; Yosemite inspired the early environmental conservationists. Climbing began in North America as a pursuit for lone eccentrics but grew to become a mass-participation sport. Beginning with Darby Field in 1642, the first person to climb a mountain in North America, Isserman describes the exploration and first ascents of the major American mountain ranges, from the Appalachians to Alaska. He also profiles the most important American mountaineers, including such figures as John C. Frémont, John Muir, Annie Peck, Bradford Washburn, Charlie Houston, and Bob Bates, relating their exploits both at home and abroad. Isserman traces the evolving social, cultural, and political roles mountains played in shaping the country. He describes how American mountaineers forged a "brotherhood of the rope," modeled on America’s unique democratic self-image that characterized climbing in the years leading up to and immediately following World War II. And he underscores the impact of the postwar "rucksack revolution," including the advances in technique and style made by pioneering "dirtbag" rock climbers. A magnificent, deeply researched history, Continental Divide tells a story of adventure and aspiration in the high peaks that makes a vivid case for the importance of mountains to American national identity.

The character of Baxter State Park and the great mountain at its heart can be powerfully conveyed through two words: forever wild. The mountain was known as Ktaadn, or the greatest mountain, to native peoples who first frequented Maine s interior northern forest. They were followed by colonial adventurers who explored its cirques and massive granite walls, by those who studied its geology and flora and fauna, and later by loggers who came to extract the virgin timber from nearby valleys. Finally, recreational climbing and camping led to an effort to protect the rugged beauty of these mountains, lakes, and valleys. When calls for preservation went unheeded, former governor Percival P. Baxter, beginning in the 1930s, purchased some 201,000 acres over a period of 30 years and gifted them to the state. Today, Baxter State Park is the guardian of this vast wilderness area for all to enjoy. Baxter State Park and Katahdin draws on rich collections of archival images dating back to the 19th century."

How did a mountain get the name Moose's Bosom? And what's afoot with the name Toenail Ridge? Avid hiker Steve Pinkham provides informative, quirky, and sometimes downright hilarious answers to these questions. Arranged alphabetically within regions are capsule histories highlighting natural features, origins of place names, and intriguing facts and local legends. Pinkham also delivers sidebars about selected trails, towns, and other points of interest. This book includes all significant peaks and hills throughout Maine.

When Thoreau ventured into the Maine woods in 1846, he was one of a handful who did so simply to see what was there. Now, hundreds of thousands of people pursue "the wildest country" either for itself, as Thoreau did, or as the terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Using Mount Katahdin as his lab, Eric Pinder contemplates what draws people to the mountains. Are the urbanites trekking the trails with cell phones, synthetic fabrics, and GPS units having remotely the same experience that Thoreau did? Pinder's interviews with these hikers create a vivid portrait of the communion with nature they seek, and of the world they are trying to escape.

“Want to know what wilderness means to people who live it for over two thousand miles? Then read this extremely interesting, informative, intelligent, and thoughtful book.” —Roger S. Gottlieb, author of Engaging Voices: Tales of Morality and Meaning in an Age of Global Warming “There is no doubt that Bratton’s book will be of value to students and scholars of leisure studies, recreation, and religion. Those who are familiar with the Appalachian Trail sense intuitively that a journey along its length kindles spiritual awakening; this book provides the hard data to prove it’s true.” —David Brill, author of As Far as the Eye Can See: Reflections of an Appalachian Trail Hiker The Appalachian Trail covers 2,180 miles, passing through fourteen states from Georgia to Maine. Each year, an estimated 2–3 million people visit the trail, and almost two thousand attempt a “thru-hike,” walking the entire distance of the path. For many, the journey transcends a mere walk in the woods and becomes a modern-day pilgrimage. In The Spirit of the Appalachian Trail: Community, Environment, and Belief, Susan Power Bratton addresses the spiritual dimensions of hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT). Hikers often comment on how their experience as thru-hikers changes them spiritually forever, but this is the first study to evaluate these religious or quasireligious claims critically. Rather than ask if wilderness and outdoor recreation have benefits for the soul, this volume investigates specifically how long-distance walking might enhance both body and mind. Most who are familiar with the AT sense intuitively that a trek along its length kindles spiritual awakening. Using both a quantitative and qualitative approach, this book provides the hard data to support this notion. Bratton bases her work on five sources: an exhaustive survey of long-distance AT hikers, published trail diaries and memoirs, hikers? own logs and postings, her own personal observations from many years on the trail, and conversations with numerous members of the AT community, including the “trail angels,” residents of small towns along the path who attend to hikers? need for food, shelter, or medical attention. The abundant photographs reinforce the text and enable visualization of the cultural and natural context. This volume is fully indexed with extensive reference and notes sections and detailed appendixes. Written in an engaging and accessible style, The Spirit of the Appalachian Trail presents a full picture of the spirituality of the AT. Susan Power Bratton is professor of environmental studies. She is the author of Six Billion and More: Human Population Regulation and Christian Ethics, Environmental Values in Christian Art, and Christianity, Wilderness, and Wildlife: The Original Desert Solitaire.