You've got to hand it to officials at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife. They're tough.

Yep. You wanna have some koi fish around as pets, you're gonna pay. Of course it may take them 15 years to find out that you have them, but then watch out!

Like the poor Freeport restaurant owner Cuong Luy. Real criminal he is.

After considerable ado (mostly about nothing) the DIFW has decided to allow Ly to keep his ornamental fish, but only if he does so away from public view.

Which to Ly kills the feng shui of it all.

Further, Ly's koi must have microchips implanted in them for future tracking, he must submit to regular fish tank inspections and must notify the state within 24 hours of the demise of any of his koi.

Brilliant!

Yet more evidence of why more and more people are losing faith in their government at all levels.

How much has this charade by state fish and wildlife officials cost to date? How much will this ridiculous ruling cost in the future?

Mr. Ly says he has suffered "great unhappiness" since his precious pets were conficated by the DIFW.

Funny, I'm suffering great unhappiness too, given that the DIFW is wasting an inordinate amount of time and money on this silly issue and is making themselves look pretty foolish in the process.

Take Mr. Ly at his word. An honest man's word. Give him his permit and be done with it. No strings attached.

And the next time I go for a plate of cashew chicken at the China Rose in Freeport I want to see those fish happily swimming around, entertaining hungry diners and filling the room with good feng shui.

A special Halloween aside (and why you should never, ever, ever say you've seen it all):

Portland attorney and former gubernatorial candidate Thom Connelly was arrested along I-295 this AM dressed as Osama bin Laden, waving a fake rifle and carrying a sign "I love TABOR."

I swear when that news flashed I came pretty close to needing some Depends!

It's quite a world we live in, ain't it?! Hardly a dull moment. Especially here in dear old Maine...

This Thursday evening November 2nd I'll be giving a slide program on my trek across the mountains of Corsica on the GR20 Route last June.

And I'd sure enjoy having some of my Trail Head friends come along for the show. If only to heckle me from the last row.

If you're interested it's the Traveler's Club at the Maine Audubon Gilsland Farm Nature Center in Falmouth from 7-8:30 PM.

I can promise you a rugged walk up and down some amazing mountains amid some pretty spectacular scenery. But sorry, no popcorn.

Hope to see you all there.

The incredibly rugged mountains of Corsica present one of Europe's toughest hiking challenges.

My buddy Phil climbing the chains (yes, chains!) up the Cirque de la Solitude. The drop beneath him is several thousand feet.

Evening in high camp, Refuge d'Ortu di u Piobbu.

That's me and my bad knees somewhere on the GR 20.

Phil enjoys a cold Biere du Corse and a bowl of wild boar stew at the Refuge d'Asinau.

What a wild weekend on the weather front, with the heavy rains and sustained high winds.

I fully expected some livestock to fly by the house, like in the tornado scene of the Wizard of Oz. But no cow took flight that I'm aware of.

One good result of the storm winds: 80% of the ugly political campaign signs appear to have blown away.

I like that. A lot.

I much prefer the natural autumn colors on our street corners, the oaks and maples and such.

I can do without all the political crap. Seems this year Mother Nature can too.

Yep, the Nature Conservancy has bitten hard on the Plum Creek deal, agreeing to pay the big bad timber barons some $35 million to preserve 345,000 acres of forestland around Moosehead Lake..

Do the math and it works out to $101 per acre. That's cheap real estate these days. And a small price to pay to conserve a huge chunk of Maine's north woods.

Smart, too. The conservation easement will preserve 270,000 acres of land against future development while allowing timber harvesting and recreational access to continue ad infinitum. The remaining 75,000 acres will be purchased outright.

Yes, there's the matter of the two resorts and 950 house lots to be developed. But development is happening in the Moosehead region already, with more on the way. Better if it were planned and concentrated as Plum Creek has proposed, rather than sprouting willy-nilly as has been the case.

This conservation easement will be the second largest in the U.S. and will create a contiguous swath of protected lands from Baxter State Park west to Canada and north to the St. John River. A million and a half acres.

Read the above again if you would please. And then, when you get off the floor and back into your chair, kindly tell me what anyone truly interested in a balanced approach to conservation and economic development could possibly see bad in this deal.

It's a plum. And it tastes good. And I hope the folks at LURC swallow it whole when the time comes to give the project the final thumbs up.

Kudos to the forward-thinking people from the Nature Conservancy, Appalachian Mountain Club, Forest Society of Maine and others who've negotiated hard to make this happen.

And to Plum Creek and what I view as a commendable effort to work forthrightly with the State of Maine, conservation organzations and a concerned public to craft a workable, balanced plan.

Your thoughts?

Uh oh.

I can feel the rumbling coming up the Turnpike.

Looks like Cabela's is on its way...

That's right. Maine's next big outdoor retailer is clearing a wide swath with plans to settle in on a big plot of land in Scarborough.

Nebraska-based Cabela's has given up its fight against Maine sales tax on its in-state catalog and Internet sales and looks to be ready to move forward with a new store here.

Hmmm. Wonder what's happening around the water cooler at the Kittery Trading Post and L.L. Bean this morning?

Actually, I think it's a good thing. Competition is healthy. Keeps 'em all honest and helps us outdoor shoppers with prices and selection.

And I know I'll need something from Cabela's when it opens...

...SUGARLOAF USA OPENS!

And The Bag, too, of course!

There's been reports of 6-8" of snow up at the mountain, so things are looking pretty wintery indeed.

I am so ready...

You?

The Mountain from Oh My Gosh Corner last Sunday morning. Hear there's as much as 8" of snow up there now...

OK, so I couldn't be outside hiking on this beautiful fall day.

Work, you know.

You too, eh?

But at least I had my camera with me while I traveled about.

And was able to enjoy some of the fall color that's still left on the trees...

Near Capitol Park, Augusta.

Baxter Woods, Portland.

Near Back Cove, Portland.

I came out to my car the other morning and found a surprise tucked under one of my windshield wipers...

A 4-pack of teef!

Not something you see every day. And certainly not in a handy 4-pack.

Jeez, now I have a set of teef for nearly every day of the week!

Wonder if it was my most recent post that initiated this pleasant little gift?

So, my wisecracker Trailheaders out there, who dun it???

Beavers...

Masters of their domain.

Able to dramatically alter their environment to suit their needs using sharp teeth, ingenuity, muscle, creativity.

But beavers may have met their match. Because there's another creature in the woods that can compete with them toe-to-toe, or tooth-for-tooth as the case may be...

Hikers!

Especially those who've been out on the trail for awhile. That odd-ball, slighlty off-kilter variety. The kind that carries a pair of "teef" in their backpack!

You might think that this was the work of busy beavers...

...but you'd be wrong!

A hiker with "teef" can do just about anything a beaver can!

GEAR HERE!!!

Just a reminder if you didn't already know...

It's 20% off everything in the store at Eastern Mountain Sports this weekend, October 21-22!

So between your outdoor and social plans be sure to stop in for a good look-see.

Must be something you need! I'm sure I can think of a few things.

Ching, ching...

I'm a woofer.

Or a WFR.

More specifically, a Wilderness First Responder.

Yep. All re-trained, re-certified and ready to go for another three years. For backcountry emergencies big and small.

You get injured out there on the trail--hang nail, pimple, mosquito bite--I can help!

Fortunately, and more seriously, so can many others, thanks to the intensive backcountry medicine training courses put on by SOLO and several other groups, including WMA and WMI.

Last weekend's 16-hour WFR refresher course (I took the full 80-hour course 10 years ago) was hosted by the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School at their L.L. Bean Mountain Center facility tucked deep in the woods in Newry.

The actual instruction was done by SOLO, the Stonehearth Open Learning Opportunities, experts in teaching wilderness and emergency medicine for 30 years.

For two very full days our class of about 20 students reviewed and practiced (through a combination of class work and scenarios) everything from patient assessment to the Big Three body systems (respiratory, circulatory and nervous), recognition and treatment of shock, dealing with head injuries, splinting all kinds of fractures from wrists to femurs and much more, all in a wilderness context, utilizing simple tools (i.e. whatever might be on hand while you're out in the woods).

Oh, and CPR, too. The new procedures: A ratio of 30:2 compressions to breaths. That's it.

It was fun and intense and always eye opening. I feel more prepared than ever to handle backcountry emergency situations. I've handled nothing more than a broken wrist, a dislocated shoulder, and some burns and scrapes and the like to date, but who knows? Spend enough time outside and stuff's gonna happen. To you or someone else.

I especially enjoyed the focus on the simulations. There's nothing like coming upon a screaming person in the woods, covered in blood and writhing in pain to jerk you into action. You know its fake but your body and mind are fooled and you go to work IDing the problem and fixing it as best and as quickly as you can.

It's good learning. Thanks SOLO. Special thanks to our instructor Gabe who was patient and knowledgable and skilled with the group process.

And thanks to the nice folks at HIOBS for the cozy digs and the hearty meals.

If you spend any amount of time out in the woods and on the waters you should get yourself at least some basic first aid training. A little goes a long way. You may not ever have to use it but...

What kind of first aid training do you have? Where did you take your course? Have you used your skills in the backcountry?

Emily of MA and Whit of RI display a leg splint.

SOLO instructor Gabe leads a post-scenario discussion.

Ken of NH unraveling a TIP femur splint.

That's me bound up with a burned hand and sprained ankle.

On the way back from the course I stopped in to the nearby Sunday River South Ridge Lodge base area... it won't be long skiers!!!

Think our trails, shelters and campgrounds are crowded now? A few too many people on our lakes, rivers and coast? The roads to and from a little too busy?

Well folks, it ain't gonna get any better.

Today the U.S. hits the 300,000,000 mark in population.

That's a lotta zeros (no pun intended). A lot less space for you and me.

And why I continue to avoid, as far as possible, the marquis outdoor destinations and seek out the little known places in the backcountry. A task that gets tougher and tougher. But it is oh so satisfying.

Like a couple weeks ago, for example, in the busy Adirondacks, just hours from many millions of people. We passed only 8 backpackers and never shared a lean-to in 11 days and 123 miles of hiking.

I felt like I was cheating the system or something. What a bonus, though!

But it wasn't all luck. Pick the right place and the right time of year and oft times you can find some precious solitude.

Anyway, guess we'd better get to loving our neighbors, 'cause we're going to have a lot more them, in town and on the trail!

The never ending struggle between automobiles and bicycles for a fair share of the road continues (note: bikes seem to lose more often than not).

And this stand-off between motorists and bicyclists is back in the news again today.

So it's timely that there should be a meeting in Portland this Wednesday night to discuss just that: Safe Biking in Traffic.

John Brooking, a local cyclist, has been leading the way in establishing a Bike Commuting Club, and this event is another step in that process.

Pete Phair from the Bicycle Coalition of Maine will lead the bike safety discussion.

It's obviously an important topic, so bike commuters and those who'd like to be, as well as drivers interested in knowing more about the rules of the road are welcome to attend.

Specifics on the meeting are available from the Bike Commuters Club.

As a bicyclist, do you follow the Rules of the Road? Motorists?

Want to get outside and hike next weekend and do it for a good cause?

You can, if you "Hike the River" on Saturday, October 28th at the Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry.

This fun fundraising hike will benefit the Maine Cancer Foundation's Women's Cancer Fund. Participants will get a cool 1st Annual Pumpkinhead Festival T-shirt and a BBQ lunch.

The 2-mile hike will leave from the Shipyard Brew Haus at the White Cap Lodge at 10AM and get you back in plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the day's Pumpkinhead Festival activities, like Warren Miller's new ski film Off the Grid.

The Maine Cancer Foundation has registration and pledge information.

On the long distance trail, when hikers take a day off they call it "taking a zero." Staying put. No mileage.

Well, that's what this hiker did yesterday. I took a zero.

Bad stomach grumblings, a nasty headache and sore throat were enough to knock me down good, calling for a day of rest. A sick day. No work.

But you know me, I don't rest up very well. I tried, but...

So, in-between cat naps and liters of OJ and slices of toast I entertained myself with some reading.

Quite a pile of reading. No shortage at all. Frustratingly so.

I continued with William Least Heat-Moon and Blue Highways, the book I had with me on the NPT, now traveling the blue roads through the high and lonely desert of western Nevada.

I am up to the climax Apollo 11 launch for the Moon in July of 1969 with Buzz Aldrin in Men from Earth, a fascinating and riveting history of rocketry, space flight and the space race between the Soviets and the US. Talk about the ultimate adventure!

I also poked through a couple of books I picked up in NY on the hike, too:

From the Trailhead is an anthology of stories on the Adirondacks by longtime outdoorsman and writer John Washburn. And only a few pages into it, No Place I'd Rather Be by Stuart Mesinger, a compilation of Adirondack lean-to log book entries, has already provided some good chuckles.

I'm a short way along with Tom Joad and family in Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, soon to be on their way west from the Dust Bowls of Oklahoma. (BTW, I read The Pearl while on the NPT... a fun, quick read).

And I'm still on Monhegan Island with Colin Woodard in The Lobster Coast and he explores the history of Maine's lobster industry. A tremendous read thus far.

A chapter here, a few pages there. Eventually I'll plow through them all. But by then, the stack will have grown high again and I'll be off on new adventures.

Oh, and never mind the brand new issues of Backpacker, Outside, AT Journeys and AMC Outdoors. Never even got to those.

In any case I am feeling a bit better today, semi-rested and almost ready for the weekend.

But I still think I need to take another "zero" again soon...

What's on your adventure reading list?

Just got wind late yesterday of a local trails project that needs warm bodies: Yours!

The scoop: The West End Trail Committee of the South Portland Land Trust is building a trail around Clark's Pond this weekend, both Saturday and Sunday, from 8 am to 1 pm.

Donuts and coffee in the mornings and burgers and dogs on the grill in the afternoon are the rewards for your precious labor. Can't beat that!

Your RSVP is needed today, though. So please, if you have the time and energy, lend a hand. Trail work is good fun, you'll meet some cool new friends and make a big difference by helping to expand our trails network. All good.

The South Portland Land Trust has the complete details.

Thanks!

I'm back! Did you miss me?

No, eh? Aww, you don't mean that!

Just walked out of the upstate New York woods Monday afternoon after 11 glorious days of hiking the complete Northville-Lake Placid Trail, 123 miles through the heart of the magnificent Adirondack Mountains.

Amazingly, we--my friend BB and I--did not see one other single soul for the last three days. On Columbus Day weekend no less. Can you believe that?

In fact we passed only 8 other backpackers the entire way. And just a handful of dayhikers, and a few campers at the two state parks we stayed at.

As for camping, well, you know how much I like to have a lean-to all to myself. Space. Peace and quiet. All that good stuff.

The N-P Trail didn't disappoint. We had an empty log lean-to each of the six nights we chose them. Incredible. Snug, dry, well maintained.

The scenery was top shelf. Dozens of pristine lakes and ponds, streams and rivers. Dark woods of spruce and fir. Colorful canopies of beech, sugar maple, red maple and birch. The leaves were a bit past their peak but brilliant nonetheless throughout the walk.

The treadway was muddy (a possible understatement here) much of time, so boots and socks stayed damp. A very active beaver population ensures frequent detours as they creatively alter the landscape and trailway, challenging both hikers and trail crews.

Four or five days of cold rain at first were matched by clear blue skies and temps in the 60s and 70s later on. Cool nights made for fine, if a bit frosty, sleeping, especially in the open front shelters. Perfect hiking weather all in all.

Deer sightings were frequent. A few chattering squirrels and chipmunks. Plenty of honking Canada geese. Owls and woodpeckers, chickadees and white throated sparrows. But no moose, dammit.

At 6.6 million acres the Adirondacks are big, big wilderness. With a capital W. A place you've got to explore if you haven't yet. And a good way to do so is to take an extended trip along the Northville-Placid Trail.

BTW, my sincere thanks to the dedicated folks at the Adirondack Mountain Club for a) building the N-P Trail way back in the late 20s, and b) maintaining it as a top notch wilderness experience. Terrific work! (My new member dues are on the way...).

I've got nearly a gig of digital photos and pages of notes to sort through. So they'll be more to come on this latest adventure...

What kind of cool outdoors stuff have you been up to lately?

End of the trail after 11 days and 123 miles.

Adirondack lean-to at Moose Pond.

Magnificent Duck Hole in the High Peaks Wilderness.

Busy beavers regularly alter the already muddy trail route.

Trailside cascade.

Evening light over the Cold River.

What will it be this winter, shorts or ski jacket?

Hard tellin' if you listen to the NOAA weather forecast.

Try this helpful statement for Maine:

"The outlook is for equal chances of warmer or cooler than normal for Maine."

Gee, thanks guys. That's brilliant!

I could've come up with that one.

So glad the government is on top of things. Makes make feel infinitely more safe and secure. Among other things.

As for the upcoming winter weather, this amateur meteorologist predicts the following:

It will be colder outside than it is now. It will snow. I will ski. And I will drink some beer.

You can bank on it.

Beyond that, who cares?

I've seen a lot of strange and very often stupid things happen around a campfire over the years, for sure.

A little too much Coleman fuel here. A errant hot marshmallow there. A heavy dose of Jose Cuervo all around.

Clothes set afire from popping sparks and flying embers. Boots and sneakers melted into globs.

Nearby grasses and overhead tree branches set aflame, requiring a bucket brigade to douse the conflagration.

Hot pots tipped and contents spilled onto tender toes. Hands and fingers crisped in similar fashion.

I've even witnessed friends trip and stumble onto the hot coals, but quickly pull away.

The list goes on.

Until today, however, I'd never heard of anybody falling into a campfire. Remaining there. And dying.

But that's apparently what happened to a Rockport man recently.

Yep, fell into his campfire and died.

Details of the tragic incident TBA by the state M-E.

Wonder if the demon alcohol played a role?

Hmmm...

Darwin Award?