PORTLAND, Maine — The last leg of the Appalachian Trail runs from Monson to Baxter State Park through an area known as the 100 Mile Wilderness, a name that’s a bit misleading. Although wild and remote, the region has been logged for decades and contains a patchwork of gravel roads. Still, its challenges are not to be underestimated.
Greg Westrich, the author of the new guide “Hiking Maine’s 100 Mile Wilderness,” knows the rigors of the area firsthand. When he and his wife tackled this stretch of the Appalachian Trail, there were more than a few times when they nearly quit.
For starters, Westrich passed a kidney stone in Gulf Hagas. The troubles did not end there.
“The last afternoon, near the end of Rainbow Lake, my wife sobbed that she couldn’t walk anymore. … If there had been a road handy, I think she would have hitchhiked home," he wrote.
No such road existed, so they pushed on and reached their goal.
Among the book’s lessons is that no one should go hiking in the 100 Mile Wilderness without being well equipped and well prepared. The area has no stores, no places to stock up on supplies, and little to no cellphone coverage.
Don’t get the wrong idea, though. Westrich didn’t write the book for grizzled Appalachian Trail thru-hikers.
“This guide isn’t for them,” he notes. “It’s for the hikers who want to explore and day hike the larger region.”
Readers will find information on 45 different hikes. I asked Westrich to recommend three for 207 viewers: one for accessibility, one for kids, one for beauty. Watch our conversation to see what he suggested and to learn much more about some of Maine’s best hiking terrain.