Maine Audubon Society

John Christie: Borestone sanctuary sits high on must-see list

The Borestone Mountain Audubon Sanctuary, developed, owned and operated by Maine Audubon, comprises more than 1,600 acres of northern hardwood and boreal forest that has been uncut for more than a century, three small ponds and two craggy summits just south of the Appalachian Trail and Maine's northern forest.

Originally operated as a fox farm in the early 1900s, the property was bequeathed to the National Audubon Society by its owner, ornithologist Robert T. Moore. Gifts by his son and daughter, as well as other generous donors, enlarged the original to its present size.

I discovered the sanctuary several years ago on a trip to climb Barren Mountain on the AT as part of my now-completed effort to summit every Maine mountain over, or near, 3,000 feet. Barren is the highest, at nearly 2,700 feet, and most accessible mountain of the Barren-Chairback range.

It happens that the access road to the Barren trail head passes the parking area for Borestone, and I learned about it for the first time on an information board at the sanctuary gate, which opens at 8 a.m. daily from Memorial Day through Oct. 31.

My summer hiking schedule has been fine-tuned over the years to annually include some undiscovered mountain or two, which now requires a bushwhack, as I don't think there's a mountain of any size in Maine with a trail I haven't bagged.

Another tradition is to revisit my favorite hikes, whether in the mountains or Down East, where the Cobscook Trails and the Bold Coast beckon irresistibly.

Borestone falls in the latter category, and I'll often climb it early in the summer and then again in early October to enjoy the foliage gaudily displayed in the mixed forest there.

The trail head is at about the 800-foot contour, so the entire 3-mile hike to the 2,000-foot East Peak involves an ascent of only about 1,200 feet.

The first 1 1/3-mile climbs about 500 feet to a seasonally staffed visitors center perched on the shore of tiny Sunrise Pond. Don't haul your fly rod, as I made the mistake of doing my first time up, as there's no fishing allowed. In fact, I'm told there are no fish in any of the three connected ponds which include, east to west, Sunrise, Midday and Sunset.

Not only is fishing not allowed, neither are pets, fires, hunting, firearms, trapping, collecting, off-road vehicles, camping or alcoholic beverages. It's the pristine Maine woods at its best.

At the visitors center you'll find wildlife and natural exhibits, helpful staff -- and even a composting toilet. A modest fee is collected there from non-Audubon members (adults $4, seniors/students/school and nonprofit groups $2, children under 6 free).

Education: Idea's and Creations: Maine Audubon Society

We went to the Maine Audubon Society on a field trip. We explored the pond with our eyes and scooped up things in our fishing nets. We had a great time inside looking at the "stuffed animals" and the things that they had caught in the pond (tadpoles, worms, fish, etc.) that they had out for us. They had a baby and adult animal matching game for the students and a draw the animals you see activity. Great trip!

Habitat, journal of the Maine Audubon Society

Maine audubon news

Annotated checklist of Maine birds, a complete, up-to-date survey of birds found in Maine

Proceedings from the 1992 conference on the loon and its ecosystem, Status, Management and Environmental concerns : August 22-24, 1992, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine

Maine quarterly Audubon