Bald Mountain off-limits to public now
Copyright © 2002 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP — Bald Mountain, among the most popular and accessible hiking trails in the Mt. Blue-Tumbledown Mountain region in western Maine, is no longer open to the public.
Staff photo by DAVID LEAMING
The "stay out" message is unmistakable. A large tree has been dropped chest-high across the trail head off of Route 156, and the path is plastered with "No Trespassing" signs warning violators they will be prosecuted.
One sign is a public notice that states that "Bald Mountain's private property and, as of Oct. 1, 2002, it became necessary for the landowner to close the land for public use."
The trail closure comes during the peak of fall foliage season when hikers are flocking to the region. The mountain, with an elevation of 3,000 feet, is a favorite climb for families and school field trips because the bald rock summit overlooking scenic Webb Lake and the Mt. Blue region can be reached in less than an hour.
That now has changed and area residents are baffled as to the reason and the timing.
For years, the land has been in Tom Oliver's family, part of a large tract that goes from Temple to Weld. In a brief telephone conversation, Oliver's wife, Kate, declined to comment on the closure.
"It is closed until further notice," she said before hanging up.
Bruce Farnham, longtime manager at nearby Mt. Blue State Park in Weld, said he is as much in the dark about the trail closing as everyone else.
"This is completely unexpected. It is such a heavily used trail and there has always been access as long as I have been here," he said. "The landowner has been good all these years to let people use it."
At the busy Weld General Store five miles away, owner Jerry Nearing, the Appalachian Mountain Club trail coordinator for nearby Tumbledown Mountain, said people are baffled and shocked.
"But it is private property and the landowner doesn't have to give any notice or reason for closing it off," he said. "The public took the land for granted, and that is one thing we are learning — you cannot take access to people's land for granted anymore."
The trail closure is an example of what the Tumbledown Conservation Alliance has been warning people of ever since a third of the Mt. Blue-Tumbledown region went on the market in 1998. Of the half-dozen or so popular hiking trails in the area, only one in the state park is on public land.
The organization, a coalition of area land-conservation groups, has been working with state and federal agencies to bring some 33,000 acres into either public ownership or protect it from development.
In the current phase, there is $3.4 million worth of public funding already in place to buy 11,660 acres on Tumbledown and nearby Little Jackson Mt. Another 3,800 acres would be owned by the state. And 7,800 privately owned acres of woodland would be protected from development, according to spokesman Conrad Heeschen.
The organization must raise $200,000 by November as a local match for the state and federal funds. To date, $60,000 still is needed. The alliance's Web site is www.tumbledown.org
"This is devastating. Hiking Bald Mountain is a family tradition for so many people," said Wilton resident Lori Lewis.
"I know adults who were carried up there in baby backpacks by their parents and now they are hiking the trail with their own children."
She said she noticed the "No Trespassing" signs when she went up to the area to hike last weekend.
"No one is arguing the owners' right to their land," she said, "but this is so sad."
Betty Jespersen — 778-6991 bjespersen@prexar.com