Whenever I venture inland from my coastal home to the wild woodlands north of Bangor, Maine, I’m awed by the region’s raw beauty.
Mountains cradle pristine lakes and serene ponds. Tumbling waterways splash dense woodlands. Eagles soar and moose romp. The result: a vast outdoor playground laced with trails and blessed with an abundance of riches.
Let me tick off just a few highlights: 5,267-foot-high Mount Katahdin, Maine’s highest peak, overlooks the region. The 100-Mile Wilderness, considered the most arduous section of the 2,170-mile Appalachian Trail, shimmies through it. The Allagash Wilderness Waterway, a National Wild and Scenic River, flows northward from here. The state’s largest lake, 117-acre Moosehead, is a mere drop in the region’s bucket.
Some come for paddling, hiking, boating and fishing; others for wildlife watching or…