Walking Through 100 Miles of Wilderness

Curiosities on Maine's Appalachian Trail

The wilderness started just beyond the town of Monson with a warning etched onto a wood sign.

There are no places to obtain supplies or get help until Abol Bridge 100 miles north. Do not attempt this section unless you have a minimum of 10 days supplies and are fully equipped. This is the longest wilderness section of the entire A.T. and its difficulty should not be underestimated. Good Hiking!

Maine and their simple wood signs, sometimes announcing vital information with no fanfare, sometimes trying to scare you away, this one the latter. Our group was planning to cover the mileage in five days, maybe rolling into a sixth and we picked up the first three days’ worth of food at Shaw’s Hiker Hostel in Monson.

We stayed at the hostel for a night, hiking zero miles the next day, and another night before we headed back to the trail…