Early spring a good time to inspect gear

Have you resurrected all your warmer-weather outdoor gear from its hiding places? Do you know where your backpack is? Your camping stove and lantern? The cook kit, water bottles, eating utensils?

How about the sleeping pad and tent? Think back, did either of them leak last time you used them? Check out your water filter, I mean really check it out. Take it apart and be sure there’s no fungus growing inside. Inside there’s a great climate for molds and yucky stuff like that. I know this to be true. I found a colony growing inside my MSR Miniworks ceramic filter last year. You can bet I spent a good amount of time cleaning that puppy up.

There’s still a few weeks left before the ground dries out enough to make hiking more than a trudge through the swamp. Why not take the time now and give all your equipment a thorough cleaning and tune-up so that once the weather cooperates, you’ll be ready to hit the trail?

As you find your gear and give it the once over, you can decide if this is the year you finally replace the most battered and bruised items – those things that just can’t be patched again with duct tape or that won’t hold another stitch or patch. Better to find and fix that leak in your sleeping pad than to have to spend a night sleeping on a rock. And if you favor a dry shelter, repairing that leaky tent would be in order. Maybe it’s as simple as applying seam sealer. Or maybe it’s a more complex sewing/sealing job. Whatever! The time is now. Don’t wait until you’re out trying to enjoy the best Maine has to offer.

Sometime in the next few weeks I’ll yield this space to Brad Viles, a longtime hiking enthusiast friend, who will offer his assistance in picking out the perfect backpack for your particular needs.

Now’s the time to be planning some summer trips to use all that gear you’ve accumulated. If you need something to help with hiking ideas and/or places to go, I have a couple of books on my desk that can help.

Foghorn Outdoors has published the third edition of “New England Hiking, the complete guide to more than 380 hikes” by Michael Lanza (ISBN: 1-566691-381-0), March 2002. Should you be thinking about heading out of state, but want to stay in the New England area, this $19.95 book is for you. I’m not sure it’s the end-all guide for each and every hike, but it’ll give you enough detail to get by.

And even it you’re not headed out of state, there are 84 hikes in Maine that should provide you enough choices to consider. Hikes are listed by state, and in Maine they are broken down into three regions: northern Maine, Down East, and western and southern Mountains.

Each of the hikes is rated on a scale of 1-10 for overall quality and 1-10 for difficulty, each has mileage and estimated completion time, and each has a bit of description intended to give you an idea of what you’ll see. There is also information on whether there are access fees and where and what maps to obtain of the area.

Lanza makes selecting a hike easy by listing categories that might trip your trigger. There’s a (deep breath) top 20 list for fall foliage; top 10 for hikes to watch the sun rise; top 10 to watch the sun set; top 20 for hikes with children up to age 7; top 15 hikes for children age 8 and older; top 10 for scenic gorges; top 10 for coastline or island hikes; top 10 for moonlight hikes, top 10 for ponds or lakes, top 15 for waterfalls, top 5 for swimming holes, top 5 for easy backpacking; top 10 difficult backpacking; top 15 summit hikes; top 5 educational nature walks; top 10 for solitude and remoteness; top 15 easy and scenic; top 10 for bird watching; top 10 for mountain biking; top 15 for mountain ridges; top 15 for rugged mountain terrain; top 10 for cross-country skiing; and top 10 hikes under 5 miles.

The other book is the third edition of Cloe Chunn’s “50 Hikes in the Maine Mountains” (Backcountry Guides, Woodstock, VT, ISBN 0-88150-499-8).

If you were to draw a line from Rumford diagonally (northeast) across the state to Houlton, the area north of this line is where all of these hikes are located. I like the way the book starts out with the list of trails to hike; their general location, length, and difficulty; and a rating of views, kid compatibility, whether there are camping or cross country skiing facilities or waterfalls.

For example, if you were looking for a hike around Monson, you would find Borestone Mountain and Big Wilson Cliffs and Little Wilson Falls. Chunn rates the Borestone 4-mile hike as a 3 on a scale of 5. She says it’s a good hike for kids, has great views, and a nature center. The 3.5-mile Big Wilson Cliffs and Little Wilson Falls hike is rated 3 as well with good views and a good picnic spot.

Each of the hikes is described in detail and has an accompanying, albeit small, topo map. Directions on how to get to the trailhead are right up front as are the names for the appropriate USGS topo map, the Maine Appalachian Trail Conference map, and the DeLorme map. You get an estimated hiking time and figure for the hike’s vertical rise.

Downeast Bike Swap

I don’t have enough room here to tell you about all of the dates and events planned from now until October by the Bicycle Coalition of Maine (www.bikemaine.org), but I’ll give you a few of the highlights.

Coming right up on April 14 is the Downeast Bike Swap. It’s scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Deering High School gym in Portland. All things biking are on tap for buying or selling. You could even rent a table for $30 and set up shop for the day. Contact Bath Cycle and Ski at 442-7002 for more information.

The 14th Maine Bike Rally is scheduled for July 12-14 at Bethel. Activities include rides, seminars, meals, demonstrations, camping, ice cream social, races – you name it. Contact the Bicycle Coalition of Maine at P.O. Box 5275, Augusta 04332 or check out www.bikemaine.org. Early registration is recommended and will save you money.

July 27 is the coalition’s first Lobster Ride in Rockland. Rides of 100, 50, and 35 miles are on tap. Rest stops, support vehicles, and showers are available. Check out the coalition’s Web site for more information.

On Aug. 11, there’s a ride that sounds like fun. It’s the Tour de Farms IV, a celebration of cycling and small-scale farming at the Morris Farm in Wiscasset, owned by a preservation trust. There’s a “Holy Cow! Century,” a “Giddy-up and Go!” intermediate ride, and an 18-mile “Family Farm Fun Tour” followed by a barbecue. More details are available on the coalition’s Web site.

The BCM calendar is chock full of other events running right through October. If you’re into group bicycling activities, check this group out.

Jeff Strout’s column is published on Saturdays. He can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.