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Waldron’s Warriors: Foot soldiers for Acadia hiking trails

On weekdays, Tim Henderson is a computer repairman. Come the weekend, he’s a Waldron’s Warrior, part of an army of volunteers battling vandalism of Acadia hiking trails, and teaching people about the park’s unique stone trail markers known as Bates cairns.

acadia national park hiking

As a Waldron’s Warrior, Tim Henderson helps to educate people about Bates cairns, and fixes damage to the stone trail markers by vandals. (Photo courtesy of Tim Henderson)

Officially, Ellen Dohmen chairs the Bar Harbor appeals board and serves on the advisory board of Healthy Acadia. Unofficially, she’s the doyenne of Waldron’s Warriors, having trained Henderson of Castine, Dave Hollenbeck of Mount Desert, and a cadre of other caretakers of cairns along Acadia hiking trails.

During peak season, James Linnane works at a Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce information booth. Off-peak, he climbs tough trails like Sargent East Cliffs, fixing cairns as he goes.

About 20 strong this year, the crew of volunteers is the brainchild of Charlie Jacobi, park natural resource specialist, who’s been working to stop the vandalism of Bates cairns, and random rock stacking that violates Leave No Trace® principles.

“It’s an ongoing battle,” said Jacobi, who first came up with the phrase Waldron’s Warriors in 2004, invoking the spirit of Waldron Bates, the Bar Harbor pathmaker who designed the cairns in the early 1900s, to recruit volunteers. “Warriors needed.”

cadillac south ridge trail

A vandal smashed and destroyed the lintel, or horizontal platform, of this Bates cairn, on the Cadillac South Ridge Trail. (Photo by Tim Henderson)

But at times it seems like a losing battle, especially with increased visitation this Centennial year. And it’s not just Acadia that’s facing vandalism of historic and natural resources. A few weeks ago, Death Valley National Park’s iconic Racetrack was defaced by a vehicle that drove across the playa, creating tire tracks that may take years to disappear.

The only thing is to soldier on, and that’s what Waldron’s Warriors do. Continue reading

Trail of history, tales of adventures in Acadia run thru Orono

ORONO, Me. – Carrying a map of Maine’s Ice Age Trail that he helped create, Harold W. Borns, Jr., shared some incredible stories about Acadia National Park geology during a recent Centennial event at the Dirigo Pines Retirement Community.

adventures in acadia

Joan Netland and Harold W. Borns., Jr., shared stories of their adventures in Acadia during an Acadia Centennial event at Dirigo Pines Retirement Community in Orono.

His friend Joan Netland brought some amazing memories from decades ago, of adventures in Acadia when she was a young woman.

She talked about a summer hike around Eagle Lake with a friend when they became desperate and dehydrated on the then-more-wild carriage roads and were forced to stop strangers for a drink of water or a ride on a bike. She also told a harrowing story about becoming disoriented and hiking down the wrong side of Beech Mountain after visiting the fire tower during the days it was staffed by lookouts.

During a presentation that was part of an official Acadia Centennial event, some of the about two dozen Dirigo Pines residents in the audience told stories about being among the first Friends of Acadia members, while others shared tales of knowing some of the early architects of the park.

adventures in acadia

Amanda Smith, life enrichment director at Dirigo Pines, helped coordinate the Acadia Centennial event, “Adventures in Acadia.”

We were there to share our adventures in Acadia, as co-authors of Falcon hiking guides to the national park and writers of this blog, during the free event at the retirement community. Amanda Smith, life enrichment director of Dirigo Pines, invited us to speak after reading our blog in the Bangor Daily News.

But little did we know that the audience would have even more interesting adventures in Acadia to share with us, than we with them. Continue reading

Cookie Horner: A circle of caring, from Acadia to MDI youth

One in a series of Acadia Centennial features

Throughout her life, Nina “Cookie” Horner has been about caring – first, as a young girl, for Acadia National Park; then, as a nurse at the local hospital and high school, for a generation of youngsters born and raised on Mount Desert Island, until her retirement.

cookie horner

The love for Acadia National Park is an all-season family affair for Cookie Horner, center, and granddaughters Ellie McGee, 16, left, and Helena Munson, 18, right. They’re seen here cross-country skiing in January on the Upper Hadlock Loop of the carriage roads. (Photo courtesy of Cookie Horner)

Now, as co-chair of the Acadia Centennial Task Force, she’s come full circle, helping to celebrate the past of the place she’s cared for so much, and inspire new generations with the same passion.

The task force, which Horner co-chairs with Jack Russell, has already approved more than 300 Acadia Centennial Partners, from big organizations like L.L. Bean and Maine Public Broadcasting Network, to individual artists and local businesses, to partake in and support the year-long celebration of the park’s 100th.

And nearly 100 events have been posted on the Centennial calendar, big events like the Somes Sound Windjammer Parade on Aug. 2 and the 10-day Acadia Winter Festival that starts Feb. 26, to intimate ones like the One Park – One Read, a series of reading sessions for children and adults at local libraries this winter.

“There’s been an incredible outpouring of support for Acadia,” says Horner. The Centennial also presents opportunities for local residents to show “community pride in this beautiful place,” and for visitors to “discover something new.” Continue reading