Who:
Will Wattles
Pee Dee Group ex-com member, webmaster, newsletter editor
Where:
Florence, SC
I spent three days pedaling 190 miles in the mountains of Maine. I made a small contribution to clean air and energy conservation by traveling from my summer home and not using my car at all.
Saturday, the last day, I awoke in my tent on Flagstaff Lake, a part of the 35,000-acre Bigelow Preserve in the mountains of Maine. The preserve grew out of grassroots opposition to a proposal to develop the mountain range into a ski resort. Six miles of my route also included a rail trail created with Trail Enhancement funds.
I appreciated the kind of clear day that Maine still enjoys but not as often as in the past. Much of the land I traveled through is private property with roads open to the public. I camped, leaving not a trace, next to a waterfall in an uninhabited township that I learned about from a friend who works as a forester.
Many miles of my journey took me on unpaved roads with no utility poles, a welcome relief from sprawl. I saw moose, deer, ruffed grouse, a red fox, blue herons, loons Canada geese and kingfishers.
