Editor’s Note: This is part two of a two-part series. The first part appeared on Saturday, Aug. 22.
When ultra-runner Scott Jurek sped to the top of Katahdin July 12, setting a record for the fastest supported thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail (46 days, 8 hours and 7 minutes), the achievement was undoubtedly great. But upon celebrating at Baxter Peak, he broke a number of Baxter State Park rules.
As a result, Jurek was issued three summons: one for drinking alcoholic beverages in public places, one for littering, and one for hiking with an oversize group.
Furthermore, this high profile event stirred park officials to action to address some of the ongoing issues Appalachian Trail hikers are causing in the park.
“Long distance hiking and hiking in general is something that the park and the AT have as a priority at heart,” Baxter State Park director Jensen Bissell said in a recent phone interview. “It’s not our intent [to move the Appalachian Trail]. But we need to address the issues in order to meet our mission at Baxter State Park.”
News of the clash between Jurek and Baxter State Park quickly spread among the thru-hikers on the trail.
“Many of the hikers are upset with what’s happening with Baxter State Park, and many thoroughly understand why Baxter State Park took that stand,” Paul Renaud, co-owner of the Appalachian Trail Lodge in Millinocket, said.
“There’s a possibility that if things don’t change for hikers, the trail could be taken out of the park,” Renaud said. “But I don’t think that’s going to happen. Nobody really wants the trail to be taken.”
Last month, Renaud attended a meeting that included members of the Baxter State Park Authority, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Maine Appalachian Trail Club and the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association. All gathered to discuss ways to deal with the increasing number of thru-hikers and the predicted spike in Appalachian Trail usage in the coming years, as well as the repeat infringements of Baxter State Park rules by Appalachian Trail hikers.
“Everyone up in this area is trying to come up with solutions to see if we can curb the problems we’re having,” Renaud said.
Solutions
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is working fast to prepare for the anticipated spike in Appalachian Trail visitation and thru-hiker numbers next year, Metheny said. They’re ramping up workshops and training, overhauling the ATC website and launching a new registration system that will help thru-hikers spread out their start dates and locations.
“We found that in interviewing hikers and doing some polls, many said they would have chosen different dates to start if they knew that there were going to be that many people [hiking with them], that they were going to be sharing campsites with 40 other hikers during the first week of their hike in Georgia,” Hawk Metheny, New England Regional Director of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, said.
Appalachian Trail Conservancy is currently promoting alternative thru-hike start locations, start dates and hike schedules.
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy also plans to work with gear stores, ridge runners, hostel owners and other trail resources to educate hikers about Leave No Trace ethics and practices. This extra programming will likely be paid for through fundraising, Metheny said.
The Maine Appalachian Trail Club maintains about 95 percent of the Appalachian Trail in Maine — that’s 265 miles of trails, much of it remote.
“The AT in Maine is known of the wildest and ruggedest section of the entire 14-state AT corridor,” Maine Appalachian Trail Club president Lester Kenway said. “And it’s all maintained by volunteers, with the exception of a few seasonal employees.”
“One of the biggest challenges we have in the northern part of the trail — that is Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine — is keeping the trail itself to an acceptable standard because of constant erosion,” Metheny said. “Much of the trail is old fall-line trail, which wasn’t designed for sustainable use. So sustainable trail design is our focus going forward.”
The Maine Appalachian Trail Club is currently working on a 25-year backlog of trail projects to correct erosion issues on the trail, Kenway said. This work includes constructing water bars and stone stairs to stabilize crumbling slopes and building bog bridges and stepping stones to span areas where thousands of boots have compacted the trail into a muddy mess. Maine Appalachian Trail Club also is working to replace 44 old privies on the trail with much more sustainable composting outhouses.
“Essentially, we’re at the limit of our resources to do what we’re doing now,” Kenway said.
“We used to worry more about the impacts of more hikers being on the trail,” he added. “But when the trail became a national park, we realized it was for everybody and to just focus on doing what we’re doing and not worrying.”
Concerning the trail in Baxter State Park, a solid plan hasn’t yet been announced. But the trail community is already working on better educating hikers about park rules.
“We’re sending posters about what to expect when they get to Baxter State Park to all the hostel owners along the route from Mass. to here,” Renaud said. “Part of it will be up to people in the hiker service business to try to educate the hikers and why it’s so important to respect the mountain when they get here.”
“Education is part of it,” Metheny said. “But we’re looking at potentially more of a permitted or regulated system for the number of hikers who hike up Katahdin on any given day. We need to make sure what we do is sustainable for the resource and is an overall better experience for everyone … It’s something we’ll be working on over the coming months and implementing for next hiking season.”