Willh, I've been curious about northern Maine for eons, but have never had a chance to get there. I've main(e?)ly been wondering how it would compare to da UP.
It has long appeared to me from a distance that in the northwest corner of Maine:
1. The Moose population is probably many times that of the human population.
2. The roads are few and far between, often logging roads or "two tracks" at best, not unlike many in the Huron Mountains in "da UP", only more so.
Yeah, this is something that has been on my mind as well.
In fact...I would definitely say the two areas are very comparable just in a general sense. The trees look the same, the population in both is minimal and the population is dead set on quads and snowmobiles year round. There are trails EVERYWHERE.
Some key differences - northern Maine has a strange dichotomy not seen very much in the UP. That is...they grow MANY potatoes there and the potato economy is a huge deal to the people. In fact...around this time of year the schools ALL let out for a full week or so to allow kids to go make some money helping to harvest the potatoes.
Bc of this huge potato economy...whenever you're near semi major towns (Fort Kent, Madawaska, Van Burn, Caribou/Presque Isle, etc) the surrounding areas looks somewhat like I'd imagine Nebraska...plus huge hills and semi mountainous areas. It's really pretty...and you can see moose in these fields all the time...
But just outside of the fields you have huge sweeping endless forests.
You mention the Allagash region...and yes, it's exactly like it looks on maps. It's just an endless forest of nothing. There is a huge amount of logging but it's not nearly as visible as you would imagine. I've noticed that Michigan is big in just taking a forest and leveling it to the ground...leaving a big empty ugliness. That's not how they do it in Maine.
Estcourt Station? I actually have an interesting story about that area.
Back in 2003 during the month of May my wife and I were exploring some of the logging roads. We were being pretty reckless about this...especially given how rainy it had been and the back roads were now just mud pits. We basically went in the woods around the town of Dickey and drove approximately 100 miles into the forest. We saw no one. Suddenly around 5pm the sun was setting and we got nervous...and trying to get back to Dickey/Allagash...we ended up getting firmly stuck in the mud. There was no way around it.
So...that night and the next day my wife and I wandered north towards Estcourt Station/Lac Pohenegamook (the town across from Estcourt in Quebec) trying to get help. We slept on the edge of the road...etc. We never saw or even HEARD a single other person - and we walked over 30 miles.
Finally we arrived in Estcourt Station. We could find 0 signs of any inhabitants. I assume they must live out in the woods...I don't know. This was a sunday though and my wife and I realized that our only hope was to cross into Quebec. I should mention also that -no one- knew my wife and I were out here. We were actually due to drive down to Bangor on Sunday...and that was all anyone knew.
So my wife and I found the bridge to cross the river into Lac Pohenegamook. Like I said...it was Sunday. We got to the border and it was closed...only due to open the next day I believe. My wife and I debated about this...looked around and saw that there were cameras everywhere...but decided we had a severe enough situation to take the risk. So we just walked across, left Maine, the USA and entered Quebec.
In the end...we got a taxi ride back to Fort Kent. We got help from a tow truck guy in Eagle Lake who took us all the way back to our car, 100 miles in, through pouring rain. By the time we were there it was night...and literally 1 mile from our car the guys steering shaft broke. We thought for sure we were stuck yet again...but the guy was able to jerry rig the steering shaft just barely with a belt or something...got our car out...and we lead him slowly out of the woods back to Allagash and then to Fort Kent...all the time making sure the guy was doing fine...just trying to get him as close to the exit of the woods as we could and then give him a ride back the rest of the way in our car.
We got lucky tho and he made it back all the way...
But it was an epic event...and it just shows you how desolate Maine can be.
I don't know much about the Hurons...YET...but from looking at the maps I can deduce that they may resemble the north woods of Maine...but the scope and expanse is not comparable...
Now...all that said...I'm going to go out on a limb and say that OVERALL the UP FEELS much more isolated, rural and desolate than Maine. Even in Estcourt Station..you're still only 2 hours from a MASSIVE city (Quebec City)...the area may be remote in itself...but it is a very easy drive to bigger cities.
Such is NOT the case up here in the UP. This area feels far more remote.
One other point of interest - everywhere in Maine when you leave the towns the areas outside of town and in between the towns...still has many, many house just off the road.
I have noticed the dead opposite of that up here in the UP. As soon as you leave the downtown sections of towns - you're back in the wilderness. It's almost instant. The house are all huddled right around the town and little to none sprawl or radiate outward from the towns.
As a person who loves isolation and rural areas...I would put the UP far above both northern Maine and the Adirondacks (where I've also spent a lot of time)
Again...the only thing Maine has over the UP...is that endless sprawling forest in the western side of the northern half of the state. But no one lives theres, there are essentially no towns or stores and it's just not the same. Plus, again, it's just 2 hours from Quebec City, 4 hours from Montreal...and surrounded all over by towns larger than Marquette.
And...if you really think about it - the fact that its there, it's empty and no one lives there...it's no different than the huge empty lake around the UP.
So it cancels itself out.
Sorry for the long post!
~ Will
