Maine Chapter Website

AMC released a new Activity Digest feature on its website, enabling members to sign up for a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly e-mail summary of upcoming chapter activities. Members can sign up through the AMC Member Center. If you log in to the Member Center for the first time during the month of February, you will be entered in a raffle to win a new pair of Tubbs® “Venture” Snowshoes. Can’t wait? You can also view over 1,900 chapter activities and major excursions now. For more information on how to log in to the member center continue

Did you get your April 2009 AMC Outdoors yet? Check out page 37- Mainer and avid four-season hiker Bill Brooke received Third place in the “People Outdoors” category in the 14th Annual AMC Photo Contest! The landscape shot from East Baldpate looking west toward West Baldpate and Old Speck is truly awesome. You can check out this and other top photos in the Winners’ Gallery. Congrats Bill!

The Land for Maine’s Future (LMF) program invested its last dollar in July of 2008. That is why a diverse coalition of more than 235 organizations, and a broad, bi-partisan list of legislators, have come together in support of a land bond to ensure the Land for Maine’s Future program can continue conserving Maine’s working farms, forestlands, and rich natural heritage. AMC is urging its members and anyone who cares about land conservation in Maine to please contact your legislators and ask them to urge the Appropriations Committee to support for a significant Land for Maine’s Future bond this year. continue

You are invited to attend AMC’s first ever Spring Fling clubwide event April 24-26, 2009 taking place at the newly refubished Mohican Outdoor Center, located near the Delaware Water Gap in Blairstown, NJ. Join your AMC friends from near and far for this fun-filled weekend featuring various hikes along and around the AT, a visit to a local wolf preserve where you can see wolves and other animals in a natural setting, enjoy a few hours paddling on Catfish Pond (canoes, kayaks and all gear provided!), and of course, making S’mores around the campfire.

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Are you planning some hikes or outdoor trips with your family this summer? Worried what might happen if one of your children gets separated from you? This presentation is for you and your family! On April 4 at the South Portland Public Library, MESARD (Maine Search and Rescue Dogs) will give a presentation on how to “stay found.” Participants will learn basic survival skills, what kids should have in their pack, and see a search dog demonstration. This free program is designed for families with kids ages 4-12 but all are welcome. Pre-registration is required. Please visit the calendar page listing for more information.

AMC Maine Chapter leader Spencer Meyer will share his experiences winter hiking in Baxter State Park on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 in Hampden, ME. The Katahdin summits are rare territory for all but the sturdiest hikers in three seasons; hiking in Baxter in winter requires a higher level of physical ability and mental toughness. As many trips were part of the Maine Chapter’s Winter Hiking Series, all attendees can experience winter hiking vicariously from the comfort of a chair. Expect Spencer to present excellent photographs and intriguing stories that demonstrate the stunning beauty and rugged challenges of Maine’s greatest state park in winter conditions. This event is free and open to the public

This event will be held at the Meyer residence at 84 Summer Street in Hampden, ME. Please contact Jeff Aceto at 207-650-5674 or acet...@suscom-maine.net for directions. A potluck dinner will begin at 6 pm followed by the presentation at 7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring a potluck item and their own dinnerware (plate, utensils etc.). Drinks will be provided and plastic-ware will be available.

Please click on Baxter Winter to download a pdf flyer for this event.

Don’t forget to join us on Monday, March 16, 2009 for March’s potluck presentation on circum-navigating the Atlantic Ocean by sailboat! AMC Maine Chapter members Gust and Jan Stringos will present a slide presentation on their journey in 2005 and 2006 around the fringe of the Atlantic Ocean at the Waterville Public Library at 73 Elm Street.

A potluck dinner starts at 6 pm and the presentation will be at 7 pm. This event is free and open to the public.

For more information, please click on around-the-atlantic-by-sail to download a pdf flyer for this event.

Come and learn WFA and CPR on April 4-5 while enjoying a weekend on the beautiful cost of Maine. This 2-day course will provide you with a pragmatic approach to treating injuries and managing emergency situations in the backcountry. Upon completion, participants receive SOLO WFA and AHA CPR certificates. The weekend will be held at the AMC’s Knubble Bay Camp in Georgetown, ME. Friday and Saturday night lodging, plus bkfst and dinner Saturday, and bkfst on Sunday are included. The cost of the program is $145 members/$155 non-members. Contact Gail Fensom (52 Mooers Rd., Nottingham, NH 03290, 603-244-2500) for registration.

That’s what Don Briggs in Iowa has been doing for 10 years. He was frustrated with the lack of ice climbing options. So the physical education instructor at the University of Northern Iowa took matters into his own hands. He took a garden hose with an attached shower head and turn on the water! It freezes to the metal bands holding the silo together, and voila- a vertical ice fall! See the full story here.

What was AMC up to in 2008? Here’s a recap!

- Volunteers and staff managed 1,844 miles of trails.
- Worked with nearly 4,000 students in grades 5-12 through ‘A Mountain Classroom’.
- Served over 9,000 youth from the Boston and New York City regions.
- Fought to protect two Clean Air Act requirements that affect power plant emissions.
- Participated in the first meetings of the Renewable Energy Facility Siting Commission.
- Made significant contributions to developing siting criteria and wind energy policies in New England.
- AMC’s Maine Chapter constructed a new log shelter at Trout Pond (part of AMC’s Maine Woods Initiative), dubbed Phoenix.
- AMC launched its new member center. This online arena is the perfect place for AMC members to make the most of their membership and personalize their AMC experience.

Thanks to all those that made the above possible! Let’s see what 2009 will bring!