Top 5 Travel Days of 2015, Mountain Biking with Maine Huts & Trails
I was fortunate in 2015 to spend 5 days in Acadia National Park and 5 days visiting all the huts on the Maine Huts & Trails route. Seven years after the Poplar Springs Hut was first built, the nonprofit group is making good on its lofty goal to build 12 eco-lodges in the Maine wilderness. There are already four huts in the system across a 45-mile span. I loved the entire route, especially the chance to not only hike, but also mountain bike and paddle through the dense woods.
One of the highlights of the trip was a chance to ride with local Jon Boehmer who knows a thing or two about mountain biking, having lived in that legendary mountain biking town of Crested Butte, Colorado, for 6 years. Boehmer led my wife and I on some of his favorite singletrack runs, many that branch off from the Narrow Gauge Pathway, a rail trail that hugs the Carrabassett River. Meade is a gem of a trail that lines the banks of the river, bopping up and down around tall pines and over roots and rock bridges. Sargent and Crocker Town are more technical runs, with short uphill and downhill turns thrown into the mix. Boehmer also took us to the nearby Sugarloaf Outdoor Center, where you can rent bikes and venture onto their vast network of trails that loop around lonely ponds, with that mountain view always looming in the background.
We rested our legs on a downhill run on the Narrow Gauge while watching families swim in the boulder-strewn river. Then we headed uphill on a tough climb to the Poplar Hut, our lodging for the night. Lisa and I said goodbye to Jon and thanked him for a memorable day of riding. To top it off, we walked down to a nearby waterfalls and watched the water careen down the craggy old rock into a cool pool of water. There was no one else enjoying this serene scene. Well, at least not yet, but word will spread.
Last October, I made the wise decision to spend four days in Zion National Park with two of my close friends from college. On our last day, we climbed 1500 feet above the canyon floor on one of Zion’s steepest ascents, Angel’s Landing. The trail starts gradually on switchbacks through a pine forest, soon entering a shaded section called Refrigerator Canyon. The grade increases rapidly, along with your heart rate, when you enter Walter’s Wiggle’s, a series of zigzags that leads to the first overlook. This is where the fun begins. The canyon wall extends out to a precarious perch, Angel’s Landing, which can only be reached by clambering up rock steps while holding on to a chain cable. Look down on either side of the narrow trail and you’ll spot the valley far below.
Having sat next to my brother at a number of his workshops, including stops at Harvard and the Seattle Film Festival, I know firsthand how incredibly inspirational his talks can be. Jim’s already worn so many hats in the entertainment world—talent agent to stars like Alan Arkin and Helen Hayes, screenwriter, director, theater director, documentarian, award-winning producer—and known so much talent that have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams and others that have failed miserably. In fact, he’s distinctly qualified to understand and analyze why some people can make a good living pursuing their creative ambitions and others stuff those dreams away in a dimly lit office far from their film, art, or journalism schools. Take it from a guy who’s worked as a full-time travel writer and screenwriter for the past two decades, Spielberg is not going to call on line one and you’ll be marketing far more than you’ll be writing. 
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