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New Trail Honors Anniversary of Thoreau Visit

July 17, 2007 - Greenville -- On July 21, 1857, Henry David Thoreau stepped off a stagecoach in Greenville and began his famous trip up Moosehead, across the West Branch of the Penobscot to the East Branch of the Penobscot and down the river to Bangor.

The trek was Thoreau's third, longest and last trip to the North Woods it left an indelible impression on the writer. Following an earlier foray north as far as Chesuncook Lake, Thoreau asked "why should not we... have our national reserves, where no villages need to be destroyed, in which the bear and panther may still exist, and not be civilized off the face of the earth." Those words echo resoundingly today.

On July 21-23, the opening of the Thoreau - Wabanaki Trail will be celebrated in Greenville, honoring the 150 years since Thoreau made his last visit, and the Penobscot guides who made two of his three explorations possible.

The trail commemorates the route of his third and final trip but also incorporates his 1846 ascent of Katahdin and his 1853 journey to Chesuncook Lake. It is in these woods and along these waterways that Thoreau's ideas about nature and conservation were shaped through his own observations as well as through the philosophies expressed by guides Joel Polis and Joe Attean. Today his writings still inspire people in this country and across the world.

The festivities marking the trail's official opening are all free and open to the public. They begin on Saturday, July 21, with a canoe outing to Lobster Lake sponsored by the Sierra Club. For more information contact Darci Schofield at 207-695-2772. That evening they'll be a slideshow, "Plants Thoreau encountered in the Maine woods," given by Bart DeWolfe and sponsored by the Moosehead historical Society, Moosehead Lake Garden Club and the Natural Resource Education Center. The show will be held in the Greenville High School Auditorium.

Sunday's activities begin at 10 a.m. with the unveiling of a new kiosk on the waterfront. Throughout the day there will be exhibits and a silent auction held at the Greenville High School Auditorium and tribal artist displays at the lakeshore. At 11 a.m. Chewonki's "Birds of Prey" will be presented at the Community House.

Greenville High School Auditorium will host the Place Name Program by Penobscot historian James Frances from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., readings and dialogue by Thoreau impersonator Richard Smith from 330 to 5 p.m., "Recreation on the trail through the seasons", a slideshow featuring the photography of Bridget Beesaw, and a Dave Mallett concert with Thoreau - inspired tunes from 8 to 10 p.m.

Bridget Beesaw's photography will also be on exhibit at the Community House.

On Monday at 11 a.m. the festival will culminate with the unveiling of two sculptures at the Community House, accompanied by music from the Burnurwurbskek Singers and Dave Mallett.

Throughout the weekend there will also be a birch bark canoe building demonstration and rides on Moosehead Lake in a birch bark canoe, basket weaving, beading and paddle - making demonstrations, and an Old Town canoe will be rattled off. Thoreau -- Wabanaki Trail maps and T-shirts will be available for sale.

The trail is a broad-based, collaborative effort, initiated nearly 3 years ago by Maine Woods Forever, based out of Dover Foxcroft, as its first project to serve the general public. In addition to spearheading the Thoreau - Wabanaki Trail, the organization also sponsors several roundtables each year to draw together diverse groups focused on the future of Maine's north woods.

This article appeared in its original form in the Piscataquis Observer, July 11, 2007.


Lakes: Moosehead Lake
Regions: Moosehead


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