The Map is Not the Territory: A Northern Maine Adventure

[epicxcrider]

Sorry, no pics for this update :/

After a short time there was a fork in the road - Jason was pretty sure left was the path we wanted and it was more travelled so left it was. Unfortunately as the sun was setting we found ourselves at a cul-de-sac, road had once continued but was now blocked by a felled tree and had not been travelled in quite some time. Disheartened, Josh and I conferred and decided we should backtrack and make for the cabin.

Driving South again, I decided to give the other fork in the road a chance thinking to myself “one last try”. As I made the sharp left I saw headlights on the horizon and we pulled up alongside a full size Chevy. Most (all?) of the occupants were having a road soda(read: beer) and after making sure we weren’t lost (I don’t think we looked lost...) they informed us that there was no path North to Pittsburg any longer. We made a quick u-turn and back-tracked past Diamond Pond and out to Rt 26.

[epicxcrider]

We arrived at the cabin at around 9:00 and Erek got us set up with gas and electricity while everyone unloaded the vehicles for the night. The musty smell told me right away that this cabin was a true hunting, fishing and more importantly - drinking cabin. Blown out speakers had been turned into cabinets, there were fading pictures plastered all over the walls of people in huge sunglasses with huge hair, giant perms, and denim jackets. It was awesome.
We cooked some food - Erek even made a salad - and enjoyed some beers before heading out to the tiki bar.

Nick B editing and Jason being mysterious


True Dat


Tiki Bar!

Erek proved pretty adept at making a fire and despite all the wet wood, most of us were able to see / breathe. The trail choices of the day were discussed and everyone agreed that we had quite an adventure despite not having left New Hampshire yet. Maybe it was the beer talking.

One by one everyone trailed off to bed until Erek Josh and I were the only ones left. We unanimously decided on a wake up time of 7:00 (since it was probably 1:00 now). We should be able to get out quickly as we didn’t have to break camp.

The 5 star accommodations

[epicxcrider]

Trip Carnage so far:

Nick:
- Both Upper Control Arms (aftermarket) Ball Joints AND bushings
-Muffler heat shield
-Driver's side mirror plastic


Josh
-Rear bumper plastic
-Exhaust system

[drbandkgb]

cool read

[epicxcrider]

DAY THREE - Saturday 9.24.11

221 Miles

Top tunes for the day: The XX

“Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world
She took the midnight train goin' anywhere”

7:00 Saturday morning I awoke to Journey blasting through the giant speakers in the tiny cabin, immediately putting a smile on my face. I jumped out of bed and ran downstairs with Chrip hot on my heels leaving the groans of Nick B, Jason, and Kevin behind me. Journey continued blasting well into the 6th song on the album until everyone had made it downstairs. By then the smell of coffee and oatmeal had permeated the cabin and things were moving along. I spent about an hour pouring over the atlas and the GPS, trying to find the elusive back way into Maine. Everyone enjoyed the use of the last flush toilet -for who knows how long- as we packed up and got ready to roll.

Really, I promise

Josh thought it would be smart to top off fuel so we made a quick (way too long) trip to the gas station where everyone got lost inside. We each pumped about 4 gallons of gas which took 45 minutes, then took off North on Rt 3. We pounded pavement for approximately 10 miles until we reached the turn we were looking for - a small unmarked dirt road going east. I radioed Josh "this is it, we're in uncharted territory now". I had heard there was a way to get to Maine from Rt 3 in New Hampshire but I had not found a map, route, or any other evidence of this route existing. On the map there were some roads which connected but most were either gated or "impassable" once they reached Maine.

Into the woods
Our small convoy headed West through the mist on the narrow gravel path, unsure of what would lie ahead and loving every second of it. I put it in 3rd, threw the center diff lock on and hit the gas reaching 50 MPH quickly for a fully loaded SUV. This road was a blast, winding up and down left and right around banked corners through the North country.

Both Josh and I discovered locking the center diff countered some of the body roll we would normally experience and let the rear get a little loose in the corners, adding to the fun After an hour of banchin’ it through the woods we came to a point where my planned route broke from the well travelled road. With the spirit of adventure calling, I pulled off the main track and into the waist high grass where there was once a road....

[McZippie]

With the spirit of adventure calling, I pulled off the main track and into the waist high grass where there was once a road....

Darn Cliffhangers

Nice report, thanks... Hope there's more to 'read' real soon!

[epicxcrider]

I cautiously crept down the road (field) until reaching a bridge spanning a small brook. Hopping out to scope out the underpinnings of the bridge I was shortly joined by a surprised looking Josh, though he was not the least bit apprehensive about the road (field) ahead of us. The brook had washed into the trail ahead but the ground underneath seemed firm enough. I put the FJ in 4-Low and bumped up on to the bridge, crept over, and dropped down into the grass. Josh followed without incident. After splashing our way through the wet section the trail seemed pretty solid aside from being overgrown.

The GPS showed this overgrown stretch of “road” going South for a mile, then turning due East for a total of 5 miles before the next intersection. Creeping in 4-Low through the hood-high wet grass, I hoped there would be no sink-holes or other large obstacles out in front. The map showed a number of small stream crossings but the first had been a bridge and the second a culvert. I wasn’t concerned until we came across a culvert that had been pretty well washed away...

Josh and I jumped out to take a look and found the culvert was still structurally sound. Without much delay we decided to simply drive over. The steel was slippery but keeping to the high side and stacking a few logs both vehicles made it over without incident.

It wasn’t long until we reached the next stream crossing. A culvert had been washed out but was now sitting proud of the ground, there was no way to go over it. There was a deep ditch on the high side of the road, and we would have to go low. It was going to be tight - especially for the LX - but I was confident we would be able to make it through.

With Josh spotting I drove up off the road to the left and started down into the washout below the culvert. Maneuvering down the side of the washout was made even trickier by the grass obscuring the sink-holes in the banking. The FJ got a little tippy as I descended further, but thanks to good spotting by Josh and backing up to re-orient I was able to get into a good position and down into the ditch. My bumper made first contact with the banking on the other side, but it was too late to back up. A little extra throttle and the FJ pulled up and out onto the firm roadbed.

Josh’s Turn
The LX is significantly longer, making the transition up the banking a bit harder. He wasn’t afraid to push a little dirt around and in short order had scraped his way up with the front and down with the back. The rear bumper seemed a little dislocated but was still hanging on, so off we went!

[epicxcrider]

There was about enough time to get comfortable in the driver’s seat again and we were at another washout. The road beyond the culvert was washed out leaving a section just wide enough for a vehicle to pass - carefully.

Too far left and the vehicle would have started slipping sideways off the roadbed and a rollover was certain. Too far right would have ended with a sunk wheel or entire rear axle. I looked around for a winch point but finding nothing, we would just need to be extra careful. I pulled forward and hard left, then cut hard right to get back on the road. Everything was fine until I felt the right rear start to sink.....

I hit the throttle and the FJ banged into a hole and bounced out thanks to the extra momentum. The road had collapsed under the weight of the vehicle leaving an even larger hole for Josh to get through! I got in position to spot him through and slowly he inched along swinging the front tires wide left, then hard right. The rears would have to go over the hole - there was no other way. Using the same tactic the LX surged forward and bumped over the hole, making it bigger in the process. We were through!

Luckily, this would be the last obstacle on this road Half a mile later we rejoined the heavily travelled logging road and started picking up the pace. I was glad to be finished with the challenges. For now....


Maine
As the trail came to an end I took a quick look at the map and noticed we had just crossed into Maine! There had been a lot of effort getting here so far and this seemed like a big milestone for us - I felt pretty excited as I radioed Josh’s truck the good news.

Back on the nicely graded dirt we started pushing the limits of the trucks a bit to make up some time. Locking in the center diff to help the turn in, Josh and I were reaching speeds of 55 mph on the windy loose dirt track.

Center Diff: Locked
Again I feel the need to stop and explain - this time about the center diff lock.
Both the FJ and LX-450 are all-wheel-drive vehicles, meaning all four wheels are getting power, but all four wheels can rotate at different rates. With the center diff locked the system behaves like a traditional 4WD - both front and rear axles rotate at the same rate.
Normally on dirt roads the center diff would be stay open and the Torsen diff does it’s job sending 60% torque rear and 40% front while allowing for better cornering and constant traction. Loaded down and at high speed Josh and I both found that locking the center diff kept the vehicle grounded over potholes and loose gravel where otherwise it would become unstable. Very quick turn-in and just a little slip in the rear end helped keep things fun - but still extremely stable - around the corners

We rallied onward for a bit and ran into some like minded folks. I still had not found a viable route to bring us Northeast so I stopped to ask if they had any knowledge of the area. Unfortunately they knew little more than us so we started East without a sure plan....

[cshontz]

More please.

[epicxcrider]

OK

After rounding a wide sweeping right hand turn I found our tentative route to be blocked by a locked gate... that a Maine Warden had just unlocked! What luck!

Quickly we parked and I ran up to ask “Hi! Do you think you could let us through?!” He replied rather seriously “Sure, do you have the keys?” I was a little taken aback but he explained the area was gated from all sides and I would need keys to leave. With proceeding out of the question I stepped out of the way to let a vehicle with Jersey tags pass through - he had been escorting them out of the locked area - and inquired about a route to Maine.

The Warden finished locking up and walked over to where we were waiting. I caught him looking inquisitively at both trucks and when I explained our origin and destination he was happy to show us a route. I spread the atlas open on the hood and using his pen he quickly marked a series of turns which would bring us to Eustis. He also informed us the road from Eustis to Jackman was in use for wind farm construction and we might run into security there.

After a quick portrait and some expedition banter we sped Southeast along Lake Aziscohos towards Green Top Mountain and Tim Pond Rd.

The Maine Atlas
We obtained a valuable bit of information from the warden regarding the Maine Atlas - and why using the newest one is critical. See, the roads on the Atlas are labeled as highways, roads, local roads, dirt roads, and trails. gates on the roads and trails are marked by o----o meaning locked, or x-----x meaning gate or rock - sometimes unlocked. Other obstacles are marked by an O - Impassable or O with the bottom half filled in - sometimes passable (think flooded road). Game wardens each have their own territory, and every year Delorme gives each warden a map and asks them to mark each gate and impassable / sometimes passable points. The warden might not be able to check a certain area, or may not remember every road in his / her territory and therefore the map is inherently inaccurate. The Map is Not the Territory

Stopping only for a quick view of Lake Aziscohos I led on quickly until about 11:00 when Josh radioed “It’s burrito time, let’s pull over here.” He quickly loaded the Lexus burrito cooker while everyone milled about and Chirp and I walked along the nearby stream. Shortly everyone was at battle stations and off we went, Chirp in the back using Jason to dry the water from the stream.

We made good time to Eustis, I still had half a tank of fuel and 12 gallons on the roof. After a quick check with Josh found he had the same, I turned left on Rt 27 looking for the road North: Goldbrook Rd.

Starting up Goldbrook Rd it was very clear this was a wind farm installation. CB channels were clearly marked and there were signs directing drivers to Phase 1 and Phase 2 of construction. There was no gate or security - simply a sign that read “heavy construction traffic - pass at own risk”. So we passed. Right of the bat the road wound back and forth up out of view into the low, rolling mountains. Again locking the center diff I gassed the FJ and our small convoy began climbing, climbing, climbing. A few uphill miles quickly passed and out of habit I casually glanced in the rearview mirrror noticing the absence of headlights behind me. Not 5 seconds later Josh radioed “Hey we stopped back here.... we smell rubber again.”