Article on the IAT

[B the Hiker]

http://www.middletownpress.com/arti...500ba098c7fc1692500542.txt?viewmode=fullstory

I have no idea why my hometown (Middletown, CT) paper is running an article on the IAT, bt whatever. If you're having a lazy Sunday morning, it's worth the two minutes it takes to read it.

Brian

 

[rup]

So where exactly does it go at the Baxter summit?? Some trails meander thru BSP, but I don't see any trails leaving BSP. Do you pick it up again in Gaspe??

 

[Lost Dad]

While canoeing the E. branch of the Penobscot River last summer, I stumbled on to the IAT just outside of BSP. The chance encounter got me a bit curious so I took a look and found this excellent map of the first bunch on miles of the IAT. After this first section, it does run on a lot of roads in ME.

http://www.internationalatmaine.org/Pages/SIAIAT_PDF/iateastbranch2012.pdf

You can see from the map that the IAT starts in a remote corner of BSP near the "new" Katahdin Lake area where there is a new (though possibly old route of the AT?) trail leaving the park

A lot of this first section is located on land owned by Roxanne Quimby who is one of the people behind the effort to create a national park in Northern Maine.

A more complete guide of the Maine section:
http://goaroostookoutdoors.com/trails/international_appalachian_trail_iat_maine

 

[RoySwkr]

So where exactly does it go at the Baxter summit?? Some trails meander thru BSP, but I don't see any trails leaving BSP. Do you pick it up again in Gaspe??

I believe that Baxter Park wants nothing to do with the IAT, and actually closed part of the trail down from North Peaks to prevent excessive use by IAT hikers. Hence the official trail now begins outside the park as shown on the map.

 

[tomcat32]

From a previous post it was said that the IAT started on Katahdin and headed down North Peaks Trail, which is now closed below treeline. In the new Maine Mountain Guide there is a hike starting at Katahdin Lake that covers the first stretch of IAT heading north.

 

[Stan]

So where exactly does it go at the Baxter summit?? Some trails meander thru BSP, but I don't see any trails leaving BSP. Do you pick it up again in Gaspe??

Though it appears that the IAT starts at the Park boundary, it is a simple matter to get to the "start" from Baxter Peak. Go down Chimney Pond Trail, road walk to Avalanche Field parking (a road walk in Baxter Park is more of a wilderness experience than some trails along the AT), take the trail into Katahdin Lake and onto the IAT from there.

I can't address and won't speculate about the Park's official stance towards the IAT. They do have a link, albeit slightly outdated, to the IAT and one could logically apply the Park's AT policies to the IAT if they were looking for guidance on connecting to the IAT from within the park.

The IAT offers ideas for hiking in Maritime Canada and presumeably other places as well so it is a useful tool in that regard. I like the idea of the IAT and, having trudged on some short sections, appreciate it attracting me to such places. Visiting the IAT has economic value to some local economies in desparate need of it, even as modest as hikers may provide. This in turn inspires modest support, maintenance etc. for the trail which inspires modest use which inspires ... pretty soon it's not so modest anymore. Hey! There are less effective an more damaging ways to stimulate local economies!

It also has some symbolic substance similar to International Peace Parks such as Glacier/Waterton and Campobello Island.