The Map is Not the Territory: A Northern Maine Adventure

[epicxcrider]

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Getting out to inspect the road it was clear this was the work of beavers. The dam was built down the middle of the road, leaving no room to get by. We tested with a stick and found the water on the high side was fairly deep and the roadbed quite soft.

We had a considerable amount of time on this road already, turning around was not an attractive option. I decided to push forward. Putting the FJ back in 4-Low I put one tire up on the dam, the other on what was left of the road bed and inched forward. The dam was surprisingly stable - more so than the road bed - allowing me to creep across until the dam curved into the woods. At that point I had to cross over the dam entirely into the soft road bed - a little extra gas and I was through! Josh then followed without incident and we were moving South again! The beaver dam remained intact with only a small trickle of water flowing over where we had compressed it.

The road slowly began to show signs of logging traffic until it joined the Telos road several miles later, and we were back to highway speeds.
Approaching the Telos checkpoint we saw something we hadn’t seen in hundreds of miles - a speed limit sign! The checkpoint limit was 25 mph for a half mile beforehand. I’m guessing this keeps the speed reasonable for the logging trucks through here. We stopped in a the checkpoint to check out and see about getting a refund for the days we had paid for but wouldn’t be in the park.

I worried about getting our money refunded because we had paid for two full days and nights of camping. Luckily the gatekeeper was friendly and with instructions to contact the main office, wrote on our receipt that we had checked out a day early. South it was!

Another 20 miles of dirt, then we crossed the Penobscot and for the first time in a few hundred miles I turned off the center diff lock. We were back on pavement. We all felt a bit of disappointment at the thought of on-road driving, luckily it wouldn't last long

 

[ini88]

Great photos! I love Maine. Next time you guys do a trip invite me

 

[nk14zp]

Glad to see you are having a good trip.

 

[2 E L O]

Sounds like an awesome trip so far! Looking forward to more!

 

[sseaman]

Nice write up and great pictures!

 

[cshontz]

More please. This is inspiring, and updates have become the highlight of my day.

 

[epicxcrider]

Working on it! Had a busy weekend and have to fix the FJ... Will write more ASAP!

 

[epicxcrider]

Our next stop was Ripogenus Gorge, only a few minutes up the road. Turning East on the Golden Road, the pavement disappeared just as quickly as it appeared - we were back on the dirt! After a mile or two on the Golden Road we turned on to Frost Pond Rd and headed for the Gorge. On Frost Pond Rd a series of run down rental cottages and a small garage were left rotting in the woods... the yard only house was strewn with junk. Arriving at a large dam at the base of Ripogenus lake, we left the Land Cruisers behind and Walked across the large dam, admiring the gorge below.

The dam had been built in 1920 to control the flow of water for moving pulp but now only is used to generate electricity and increase water flow for river rafters on the Penobscot. Walking across and down the bank on the other side, we saw warning signs for fast moving water and steep cliffs.. Why not explore it?!

Steep climb down!

Everyone including Chirp carefully climbed down the cliffs to the river to have a look around. Down below the dam was a remarkable gorge and rock formations. One large boulder in particular was perforated like Swiss cheese.

Stay, Chirp

New Backstreet Boys album cover​

We admired the riverbed for an hour or so, then made our way back across the dam. Josh wandered away into the woods with some TP while I looked over the maps for a campsite.

See the nest - top center?​

 

[r3run33]

very cool trip; hey in the begginning you mentioned a B-52 plane crash; do you have a location on that? I would like to visit the spot next time I'm up there. thanks

 

[kjp98TJ]

going north out of greenville, on lily bay road, look for prong pond road on your right. there are small black signs with a white plane on it marking the way.


great report btw. we may have been up there fishing the penobscot (big eddy) around when you were there, last week of sept. surprised you guys didn't go into mckay station. farther down the gorge, is the power station. water roars out of the man-built tunnel there. and actually, there is where the water level is controlled.

 

[epicxcrider]

Searching the Maine Atlas for a place to camp I settled on the base of Ragged lake - about 30 minutes away. Heading southwest just before sunset, the road was at first some nasty potholed pavement but then switched to extremely packed dirt.
We had probably been on the road for 10 minutes before we came across a southern cove of Ripogenus lake which offered a spectacular view. Logs that had been destined for the falls must have ended up here - they were piled high on each other creating a massive logjam. I wondered if the loggers had driven unsuitable logs and stumps down to this cove to get rid of them.

After exploring for a bit I had to tighten down the Hi-Lift on the front bumper. As I was re-positioning the jack, a State Forest Ranger pulled over with his lights flashing...

Luckily all he wanted to know is if everything was okay and to tell us to get moving - log truck traffic would be starting up shortly. We thanked him and were on our way Southwest towards Ragged lake.

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A short time later we pulled off the Greenville Rd onto a small dirt road heading towards the lake. A few more turns and we found a single tent site almost on the earthen dam at the base of the lake! It was a great place to set up camp with a view of the lake and complete with a picnic table, outhouse, and fire ring. We all took a walk onto the dam to admire the view..

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On the dam, we noticed the large amount of dried driftwood piled up at the base of the lake - perfect firewood! Everyone grabbed a huge log which was made easier by how dry the wood was, after a few trips there was quite a pile to cut up.

While everyone else set about making camp and preparing food, I grabbed my chainsaw and started cutting firewood. Erek split as I cut and before long he had a great looking fire ready to light. We all grabbed some beers and sat down to light the fire.

I’m now having a hard time remembering what we ate for dinner - I blame that on the box wine - but I’m sure we ate something. The fire raged and once the beer was gone out came the boxes of wine and Erek’s tequila.

As it grew later in the night Erek wanted to show us how to play hot potato - with coals from the fire. Obviously, we accepted the challenge and began tossing a red hot coal in a circle around the fire. Chirp did NOT like this game, and made her position heard with a lot of barking. Eventually the game died down. The rest of the night is a blur

"Erek brought cookie dough that was originally destined for the manifold box, but, instead, cooked up some great cookies at 500+ degrees in the campfire. They were horrible." - Josh

Really Tall

Too Tall

The Fire Marshall

Hot Potato

No Loitering​

 

[epicxcrider]

Some more good photos

Thanks for wearing the hairnet​

 

[epicxcrider]

DAY FIVE - Monday 9.26.11

Waking up the next morning was rough - more so for some than others. I was up first thanks to chirp licking my face again, so I started making some noise around camp. Josh moaned at me through the screen of his tent, and I saw Kevin asleep inside his. I found Jason's tent set up, his sleeping bag and pad were by the fire and he was nowhere to be seen. Erek had also gone missing...

I took a walk out towards the dam and saw Erek's tarp set up out there, now remembering him setting it up last night.

We shot the **** watching the last of the sunrise and reflecting about drinking too much as he packed up his gear. Walking back by the FJ I spotted Jason asleep in the backseat - who knows why. Everyone was accounted for and amongst the hungover groans we all started to get ready - today was going to be a busy day.

Breakfast was oatmeal for some, coffee for me this morning as I looked over the maps planning our route south. I found a good route bringing us the scenic way to Gulf Hagas, several hours south - quite a few miles away. The roads looked more traveled here - we were starting on the fabled Golden Road - but then again, the map is not the territory.

We packed up, turned South on the Golden Road and set our sights for for the 100 Mile wilderness

 

[BillTex]

“After a mile or two on the Golden Road we turned on to Frost Pond Rd and headed for the Gorge. On Frost Pond Rd a series of run down rental cottages and a small garage were left rotting in the woods...”

Might this be the (former?) Prey’s (Pray’s)? cottages? We were in this area a few times back in the late 80’s and early 90’s…used to be small compound with rental cottages and a “general store”.

Man I have been drooling reading this thread…

Bill

 

[kjp98TJ]

Might this be the (former?) Prey’s (Pray’s)? cottages? We were in this area a few times back in the late 80’s and early 90’s…used to be small compound with rental cottages and a “general store”.

Man I have been drooling reading this thread…

Bill

yeah, i think there was still an "open" sign in the store window. pretty much deserted.