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Fit Maine
Outdoors

5 ways to enjoy the outdoors close to home

Fit Maine Fit Maine March 26, 2019
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Fit Maine March 26, 2019
Fit Maine

Fit Maine
Let's do fun stuff that also happens to be good for our bods.

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fitmaine
END-OF-SUMMER CAMP for grownups at @evansnotchlod END-OF-SUMMER CAMP for grownups at @evansnotchlodge with the stupendous @guidesgonewild and super-cool Ashley Leedberg of @twoloonsguideservice! Sept. 23-25! The weekend is packed with summer-camp essentials like hiking, paddling, arts and crafts, campfires, and s’mores. Could there also be ax throwing? Absolutely. And since this camp is for adults, there will also be cocktails. It’s a welcome opportunity to adventure in a stunning part of Maine, meet people, and try something new. It’s also a weekend to chill the heck out on the heels of what can be a hectic time of year. Read all about it in this week's @portland_phoenix
CANOE SKILLS! There’s a certain kind of majesty CANOE SKILLS! There’s a certain kind of majesty to paddling a canoe.  . Maybe it’s the sense of self-determination we feel while sitting in the stern, our paddle acting in accordance with our will as we propel our way downriver or across a lake like bold explorers of yesteryear. . For centuries, canoes were an integral means to travel, explore, and trade for cultures around the globe—and in some places they still are. The Pesse canoe, uncovered in 1955 in the Netherlands, dates back to sometime between 8040 and 7510 BC and is the oldest known canoe.  . In modern Maine days, if you’re paddling in a canoe, it’s likely you’re doing it with leisurely goals—another noble purpose.  . If you’re new to paddling a canoe, or you’ve spent plenty of time tooling around Maine’s rivers and lakes but would like to broaden your skills and elevate your on-water confidence, sign up for a Penobscot River Canoe Trip this summer with Master Maine Guide Greg Sarnacki of @forageriverguide The Penobscot River Canoe Trip is hands-on learning at its finest. The one-day class begins at a field training site in Mattawamkeag, where you’ll gain some paddling know-how on dry land before sliding your canoe into the Penobscot River for an afternoon on the river. You’ll learn paddle strokes and signals, rescue techniques, and what a Prusik knot is. And you’ll practice reading the water and navigating small rapids. You might even find yourself floating in the Penobscot with your legs flung over the bow of a canoe to help stabilize it while one of your classmates climbs back in. It’s all part of the on-the-water experience that will leave you feeling like a more confident and competent paddler.  Read more in this week's @portland_phoenix 📷 from 2020, when the class was co-led by Greg and John of @mainesoutdoorlearningcenter (pictured cooking up lunch). Greg has since launched his own guiding business, but this canoe class remains the same! #canoe #canoeing #paddling #canoeskills #canoerescue #mainepaddling #canoemaine #207 #maine #maineoutdoors #outdoors #idocoolshitinmaine
BIKING + ACHERY. A smashing Sunday pairing from th BIKING + ACHERY. A smashing Sunday pairing from the adventurous minds of @gorham_outdoors. The Bike and Bow Biathlon consisted of four rounds of bow-and-arrowing followed by a bike ride on the trails at Shaw Cherry Hill Farm in Gorham. @heather_steeves had me smoked by round 2, so I put my focus on archery accuracy (if I hit a bullseye, I could get straight back on the bike for the next round and maybe make up some time). Turns out that wasn't a wise strategy, either. My arrows preferred to hover near, but never ON, the bullseye. Even still, we had a grand time and Heather and I even made the podium! Cool first-place plaque belongs to her! #archery #biking #mountainbiking #trailride #bikeandbow #maine #207 #gorhammaine #gorhamoutdoors #getoutside #maineismygym #idocoolshitinmaine
WATERFALL HUNT. The key to a successful waterfall WATERFALL HUNT. The key to a successful waterfall hunt is your stealth approach. Movements should be slow and steady as you draw closer, lest you risk scaring the waterfall off. . Consider scenting yourself with smells familiar to the waterfall by showering with water before your hunt. I’m also an advocate of catch-and-release waterfall hunting, so the falls can live their fullest life as important members of the natural ecosystem and other hunters will have the pleasure of capturing them, too—with their eyes and cameras.  . Last year, on a cool bluebird day common during a Maine spring, @sailorgirl2001 @moveandbestill and I plotted out a day trip with a single goal in mind: See many waterfalls. It’s a respectable way to spend your time in the shoulder season, when waterfalls are fat from melted winter snow and your hiking legs aren’t quite ready for miles in the mountains. . Plus, waterfalls are highly irresistible in any season, whether they spill modestly through a gorge or tumble dramatically down a 90-foot rock face. . Feeling a healthy sense of “get out of Dodge,” we selected Coos Canyon, Angel Falls, Cascade Stream Gorge, and Smalls Falls. All are in the Rangeley/Sandy River Plantation region and can easily be combined into a one-day, waterfall-hopping road trip adventure. . Read more in this week's @portland_phoenix! #waterfall #maine #207 #hiking #outdoors #spring #getoutside #rangeleymaine #angelfalls #smallsfalls #maineismygym #idocoolshitinmaine
DESERT CAMPING! Er, desert-adjacent. While my tent DESERT CAMPING! Er, desert-adjacent. While my tent stayed cool under towering pines in a traditional-looking campsite, the @desertofmaine was mere steps away. Dirt transitions quickly to sand in this part of Freeport, making it a unique place to spend a couple of nights. The new owners are doing some pretty neat things with the place, too. The campgound boasts a cool self-serve camp store that takes cash or credit cards. Need ice or bug spray or a bottle of ginger beer at midnight? No problem. The bathrooms are sharp-looking, there are games for playing, and this year there are several sweet new A-frames, too. Met some nice folks who congregated here for an Aliner RV meetup as well. As for the desert, it's taken a new shape since maybe you've seen it last. (Literally. The forest continues its slow reclamation of the sand. What once was a 100-acre desert is now down to 20. Nature, amiright?) There's a Gem Village with a maze and hobbit house and a sand play area. And that old spring house that was buried by sand decades ago? They dug it up! (The wood structure didn't survive, but you can now see the original well and stone walls.) Around the desert's perimeter is a network of trails, too, one of which meandered right behind my campsite. Also, the gift shop has ice cream and books and art and cool shirts. The Desert of Maine is a place for kids - a geological wonder paired with hermit folklore and things to climb on. But as a grownup, I find it fascinating, too. Learn more about the desert's history (including the story of the Hermit of Maine, a musician and artist who lived in a cabin on Desert Road and entertained desert visitors while they waited in long car lines to get in) on the Desert of Maine website. Or go to there and learn while your feet are in the sand. #maine #207 #desertofmaine #maineoutdoors #camping #idocoolshitinmaine #getoutside #roadsideamerica
ACADIA BIKE RIDE. 25-ish miles on the Park Loop Ro ACADIA BIKE RIDE. 25-ish miles on the Park Loop Road at Acadia National Park was a fine way to shake the dust off our bikes this past weekend. #acadianationalpark #acadia #maine #207 #bikeride #biking #cycling #bikemaine #outdoors #maineismygym #idocoolshitinmaine
SACO HEATH + MY MOM! As a kid, I spent a great de SACO HEATH + MY MOM! As a kid, I spent a great deal of time digging in the backyard in search of ancient burial grounds, sitting in the warm and squishy mud puddle that formed at the end of the driveway every time it rained, and charging into the woods near the 7-11 to climb into long-abandoned cars.  . When I returned from my suburban explorations—shrub scrapes on my shins and dried mud flaking from my ears—my mom, Judi, would simply say, “Well, the dirtier you are, the more fun you had!” . It’s a philosophy I continue to live by.  . Judi lives states away in Illinois, so we aren't able to adventure together very often. . So, in honor of Mother’s Day—and all the women in our lives who embolden us to get out and explore, dirt be damned—I’m regaling a pre-pandemic afternoon my mom and I spent meandering the boardwalk at Saco Heath in Saco in this week's issue of the @portland_phoenix . Saco Heath is an ecological gem sitting just beyond an unassuming parking lot off Buxton Road in Saco. The 1,218-acre preserve includes woodlands and a raised coalesced bog. . We found pitcher plants patiently awaiting their next meal. We also encountered cool-looking leaves on plants neither of us could identify, and we pointed them out to each other and leaned in for closer looks. We marveled at the late-summer colors and how the afternoon sun made everything look so serene. We spotted tunnel-web spiders, too, but decided not to lean into them.  . That’s the wonderful thing about superb outdoor spaces like Saco Heath. They’re places where we can be curious and crouch and take photos of plants to identify later. But they’re also a memorable backdrop for time spent with the people we love—especially the people who taught us to embrace adventure and to not be afraid to get dirty. It just means you had a lot of fun. . Read all about it in this week's @portland_phoenix #moms #mothersday #maine #outdoors #sacomaine #getoutdoors #207 #maineismygym
EAGLE ISLAND. Paddled out to Eagle Island in Casco EAGLE ISLAND. Paddled out to Eagle Island in Casco Bay to take a gander at Admiral Robert Peary's place - even spotted the Arctic explorer through the window! In season, visitors can tour inside and learn more about Peary's life and explorations (Eagle Island is a National Historic Site), but for now @heather_steeves and I were content to enjoy the views, the lichen-covered stone, and early blooms. . Also: yay for the first paddle of the season! . #kayaking #maine #paddling #cascobay #207 #mainepaddling #outdoors #getoutside #maineismygym #idocoolshitinmaine
Turns out @heather_steeves and I both like to spea Turns out @heather_steeves and I both like to speak positive words of mountain biking confidence to ourselves, but out loud. Mostly "look where you want to go!" "Forward, forward, forward," and "holy $#!+ don't fall off!" . We also yell "Weeeeee!" a lot. . #mountainbiking #maine #207 #outdoors #gorhammaine #getoutside #maineismygym
HIKE + PICNIC! Hikers are lured onto Maine’s tra HIKE + PICNIC! Hikers are lured onto Maine’s trails by the promise of paths carved through tall pines and expansive summit vistas. Sometimes they’re after a bit of trail solitude—the chance to hear their breath and the chirping of birds—or the challenge of steep terrain they’ve yet to conquer.  And sometimes it’s largely about the snacks.  Not that a summit vista isn’t motivating in its own right. Of course it is. But I believe every view—be it from a mountaintop or a pondside patch of ground—is further improved by the presence of a sandwich. And some granola with chocolate chunks in it. And maybe a whoopie pie.  Additonal thoughts on the pleasures of hike and picnic pairings in this week's issue of the @portland_phoenix 📷 by @troberge09 ⛰️ Cliff Trail in Harpswell #maine #hiking #picnic #spring #207 #outdoors #maineoutdoors #harpswellmaine #maineismygym #idocoolshitinmaine
LUCKY DAY at Saddleback. Skiing in short sleeves, LUCKY DAY at Saddleback. Skiing in short sleeves, decked with shamrocks and green dresses. #stpatricksday #skiing #maine #207 #winter #springskiing #outdoors
You don’t see a lot of people sliding onto the c You don’t see a lot of people sliding onto the chairlift at a local ski mountain with a sleeping bag, a sack of clothes, and a pack basket brimming with cheddar soup and the makings for an Old Fashioned.  But such a sight can occasionally be witnessed at Shawnee Peak in Bridgton.  There’s a yurt on top of that mountain (a cabin, too). If you’ve skied there, you’ve probably seen it—a red cylindrical dwelling tucked into the trees just off the Sunset Boulevard trail, with a gathering of Adirondack chairs around a firepit in front.  It looks like the rustic homestead of some peaceful mountain steward who might welcome passing skiers around her fire of an evening to regale them of adventures past.  In fact, that yurt can be your home for a night or two, and it can be your basecamp for present adventures, which you can regale friends with over a future fire.  The yurt is available to book year-round, but staying there in the winter is particularly unique. To get there, guests ride the chairlift up with their overnight stuff, and they can ski out right from the yurt’s front yard. It’s an off-the-grid experience—outhouse, no electricity, and just the bare essentials—but with the revelry of a popular ski mountain close at hand. During the day, you’ll hear the chatter of passing skiers. At night, all is quiet once the groomers cruise by. . Read all about it in this week's @portland_phoenix 📷 by @life_of_bs #maine #207 #yurt #skiing #getaway #idocoolshitinmaine #maineadventure #outdoors #getout
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