Outdoors

Published
October 16, 2011

Outdoors Calendar

Autumn Exploration Camp, 9 a.m. to noon today, Merryspring Nature Center, Camden. Nature discovery activities for children ages 6 to 12. $25 for members; $30 for non-members. Register by Wednesday. FMI: Call 236-2239 or visit www.merryspring.org Mushroom walk, 10 a.m. Saturday, at Macdonald Woods on Kents Hill Road in North Wayne. Bring a basket with […]
Published
October 16, 2011

Deirdre Fleming: Moose-gut studies help determine population’s health

This fall, Maine wildlife biologists want the guts. For the second year, state biologists will be collecting cow moose gut piles — as many as they can get from the 750 hunters who have cow-only permits in northern Maine. The study is a new effort to determine the health of Maine’s moose population. And if […]
Published
October 16, 2011

Biking: Two rides that are sure to thrill, even if the colors don’t

Bikers, hikers, tourists and nature lovers anxiously await the middle days of October, when their outdoor adventures are highlighted by the colors produced by the trees of Maine and New England. Unfortunately, this foliage season hasn’t been worth the wait. Weather patterns that have fluctuated between rain and record October heat, not to mention the […]
Published
October 16, 2011

Hunting: For a chance to hunt moose, head north

Strolling along on a crisp, clear September afternoon, we paused on a rocky outcrop. I slowly took in the scene while my guide bawled out a nasal moan through a sawed-off traffic cone. I knew where I was and why, but it didn’t really sink in until I heard the first bull grunt. At long […]
Published
October 16, 2011

Allen Afield: In Maine, red maple trees don’t get any respect

Red maple reminds me of the famous comedian Rodney Dangerfield. His big break came on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1960, when he started a routine about getting no respect and continued this line for around a half-century. This maple species gets no respect either, so otherwise astute outdoors wanderers may overlook this tree’s importance. […]

Published
October 16, 2011

Mountain Memories

For the past 27 years, outdoorsman John Christie has marked Columbus Day with a hike up Bigelow Mountain.
Published
October 16, 2011

North Dakota hunter tells tale of bagging 7-foot bear

Tony Weber killed the bear with a single shot, but getting it out of the woods proved difficult.
Published
October 16, 2011

Birding: Windy, rainy days often make for best birding

The past couple of weeks have been exciting ones for the fall landbird migration. In today’s column, I will describe a recent field trip to make a couple of points about the nature of the autumnal migration. October 3 was a rainy, windy day. Realizing the promise of productive coastal birding, Luke Seitz, one of […]
Published
October 9, 2011

Hiking: Challenges of Pacific Crest Trail differ from AT trek

Right about now, northbound Appalachian Trail thru-hikers are pushing hard through the 100-Mile Wilderness to get to Katahdin before the cold weather arrives and the park closes for camping on Oct. 15. A similar scenario is playing out on the other side of the continent, as hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail race through the […]
Published
October 9, 2011

Allen Afield: Compromise works for habitat and business

The woods behind my boyhood home in Windsor stretched five miles north before hitting a public gravel road, big woods by Maine standards, complete with remote valleys, ridge tops, wetlands, ponds and streams. When I was in my early 20s, a utility company built a power line that passed behind my house, an ugly swath […]

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