Tag Archives: Katahdin Woods and Water

‘Summit Farm’ On The Way To ‘Katahdin Woods and Waters’ National Monument (Maine) — With Quite The View & Barn.

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by Anura Guruge
on May 8, 2022

Click to ENLARGE.
All taken by Anura Guruge, on April 26, 2022.

The view across the road.
Overview of where the Farm is relative to the access road.
Enlargement of the map shown above.

As you are driving up along Route 11, headed for ‘Katahdin Woods & Waters‘, you will more or less simultaneously notice two things: first the huge barn & then that the trees have been cleared on the other side & you see the mountains. On a clear day you can see Katahdin.

The barn, built in the early 1900s, is impressive. I parked the car, about 1/4 mile from it & then hiked up and down the road a couple of times taking pictures. In the process I was lucky enough to meet the lady who had inherited the barn (the previous year). She told me that she is in the process of trying to get it registered (& eventually funded via grants) as a historic monument.

It took ‘a second’ for something else to sink in. The original settlers at this farm had cleared HUGE tracts of lands to create these OPEN fields. Much of that would have been done in the early 1900s prior to the availability of heavy, mechanized equipment. I am sure they use horses & cattle to clear much of the trees that would have once been there. Impressive. Sobering. From then on I paid particular attention to the cleared fields. You should also look around. It is quite amazing.

Just wanted to share this. Definitely worth stopping & walking around.

‘Katahdin Woods and Waters’ National Monument (Maine), 6 Years On, Still Remains ‘Underfunded’.

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by Anura Guruge
on May 1, 2022

Click to ENLARGE.
All taken by Anura Guruge, on April 26, 2022.

Entrance closed & padlocked. I CHECKED. SMILE. Padlock is under the box.
Click to ENLARGE & read here. Wikipedia link.

To be fair ‘Baxter State Park‘ was also closed — though that did not preclude I from being able to hike it, 3 days running, in glorious solitude when I truly had the Park to myself.

There is, however, a BIG difference between Baxter State & Katahdin Woods and Water (KWW). KWW is a National Monument. Yes, it is — & has been since 2016. So, you would have thought that it would have got some TLC from ‘Washington’. Not so, & from what I could see, the locals were v. cool with that.

The access road to the Monument, from Route 11, i.e., Swift Brook Road, was in pretty rough shape. Yes, I understand that it is closed, but it was rough. Roads around & IN Baxter were in much better shape.

You then encounter the ‘National Park — NO!‘ sign. (Topmost image) What is most incongruous about that sign is that it says “This Road Owner“. Ahh! Ahh? The National Park Service did NOT acquire the access road?

As my 3rd image shows the access road, indeed, was closed.

I, of course, walked in & hiked about 1.5 miles in. Nothing to see. SMILE. Just trees.

There was NO GATEHOUSE, let alone Visitor Center. Maybe they are further up the road. I don’t know. There is only so much I am willing to hike — especially if the views are boring.

There was supposed to be a National Park Center in Millinocket — at ‘#200 Penobscot Avenue”. I drove up & down it twice & never saw it. Couple of lots that had been torn down around the #200 mark!

So, I am not sure what is happening.

I spoke to a few locals. They weren’t sure either.

My MOST FAVORITE place in the whole World is a National Monument: ‘Canyon de Chelly‘. That is now a mature & well run National Monument. Yes, it is still early days for KWW. I hope it evolves to be in the same league as Canyon de Chelly.