Most hikers know trails don’t just happen, someone has to build them. Scott Bennett understands this as well as any other hiker, maybe better. He’s the chairman of the paths committee of the Great Pond Mountain Conservation Trust. In that capacity he plays a critical role in proposing new footpaths and improving existing ones on the trust’s property, called the Wildlands in East Orland.
I joined Scott a couple of weeks ago, when he led a hike on the newly improved Oak Hill Path to talk about the stone stairs that were recently constructed there. He led about 20 of us on the moderate uphill hike. We all stood on the steps, while Scott explained the amount of work involved in placing the rocks for the stairs.
“The Maine Conservation Corps (MCC), had a four-person crew here for two days gathering the rocks and setting the stairs in place. They used a grip hoist winch and ropes to elevate the rocks uphill to the site, where we are standing. The rocks were placed here to stabilize this trail from eroding under foot traffic,” he explained.
The stairs wind around a corner and up Oak Hill past a ledge through a shady, young mixed forest.
We admired the stairs as we climbed them and continued on the hike on a dreary, overcast day with no views. Scott humorously pointed out the views we would have been able to see if the weather had been clear. For instance, “That’s where we would see Bucksport and the Penobscot Narrows Bridge,” he joked as he pointed south.
During the hike Scott told us about a new path that had yet to be opened, called the Esker Path. I arranged to hike with him last weekend to take a look at it. We walked down a short path off Valley Road, only a few hundred feet from the south gate, and stopped in the middle of an old slash pile from the previous landowner’s logging operation. Scott explained how the volunteers cleared the trail through the slash pile, then, we moved on to the major construction of 130 feet of bog bridging.
“We had about 20 kids volunteering from KidsPeace in Ellsworth, who hauled in the logs, which were rough-sawn, live-edge planks. We cut the base logs on site and went to work. It took the Maine Conservation Corps’ four-person crew and our volunteers one day to put it all together,” he said.
The primitive bog walk is an impressive construction that leads to an unusual natural feature called an esker.
Both trail projects totaled almost 100 hours of work by the trust’s volunteers, in addition to the MCC. I asked Scott about how a trail project gets created. He was quick to give credit to the members of various committees in the land trust’s organization.
“We involve everyone to participate in the decision to build a path, including committees from the Stewardship Committee to the Forestry and Natural Resources Committee. We take advice from the public, who are invited to look over our proposed routes. No paths would be built at all if it weren’t for everyone’s participation,” he responded.
He also mentioned one volunteer consultant, Pete Colman, who has worked on Acadia trails for 20 years, as a contributor.
The trail work continues in the Wildlands with new paths still to be constructed and yet to be opened. In fact, Scott told me about a newly proposed path that will enable a hiker to complete a 30-to-45-minute loop through some unique terrain and brook crossings.
The time on the path with Scott soon came to an end. While walking out, I was struck by just how much thought, planning and effort goes into making a trail network. There are signs and blazes, as well as all the rest of the specialized construction like bog bridging and stonework to be done, before a path is complete.
If you’re looking for the perfect place to get away from crowds, check out The Wildlands property of the Great Pond Mountain Conservation Trust. The footpaths and network of gravel roads make it the getaway that’s nearby. If you hike, walk, ride horses, bicycle or participate in a number of other non-motorized activities, you’re welcome to use the property.
Some of the paths are for foot traffic only, while gravel roads are limited to bikes or horses. Passenger vehicles also use some of the same gravel roads to access the interior parking areas. The multi-use aspect of the property creates a unique setting. The scenery, by the way, is really outstanding.
The total acreage of the Wildlands, located on U.S. Route 1, south of Ellsworth, is around 4,300 acres in two parcels. It includes terrain such as two 800-foot mountains, five miles of foot paths and 15 miles of multi-use trails.
Directions and some rules and regulations: To find the south gate of The Wildlands, take U.S. Route 1 from Ellsworth nine miles. The south gate is across from state Route 176 to Surry. The gate is only open to vehicles to the interior of the property on the weekends, and the hours are 8 a.m. to dusk. For more information, go to the Great Pond Mountain Conservation Trust Web site, greatpondtrust.org.