Hardy souls camp out to reserve space at Baxter

MILLINOCKET – Not snow, or arctic wind chills, or pitch-black predawn hours will keep the fleece-clad fanatics from their annual opening day.

Even the fact that just 20 percent of cabins and campgrounds were available in this, the first year of a new rolling reservation system at Baxter State Park, didn’t keep the die-hards away.

And so, the beginning of a new era at the park looked an awful lot like the old, as 55 dedicated campers crawled from their tents and snow caves and ice-frosted vehicles to stand in below-zero darkness and be counted at 5:30 Tuesday morning.

“Just your feet get cold standing in line, that’s all,” said Bernie Chadbourne of Ripley, a five-year opening-day veteran, dismissing the 16-below-zero overnight temperatures.

The guarantee that he and his son can continue their tradition of fishing together in Baxter on Father’s Day more than makes up for the weather, he said.

“I didn’t have a tent; I just hunkered down,” said Candace Muehleisen, a Houlton native who now lives in Portland. After three years of what these people refer to as The Line, she has learned that the keys to comfort are hand warmer packets, a chunk of styrofoam to stand on, and “about 20 layers” of clothing, she said.

The Tuesday morning turnout was a bit higher than park staff had expected, given the weather and a limited availability of sites, but substantially fewer than the hundreds who have shown up during the first few hours of opening day in recent years.

“It was a little more subdued this year. Usually I go to bed and throw in a pair of earplugs and I can still hear everyone,” said Tony Curro of Biddeford, who was the first to arrive at about 4:30 p.m. Friday.

He secured his reservation early Tuesday morning, then jumped onto the highway, planning to be back at work by midafternoon.

The new rolling reservation system, approved by the Baxter State Park Authority in 2003, states that reservations should be made no sooner than four months in advance of a camping trip. For example, those who want to spend Independence Day in the park should line up on March 4.

But last year, at the urging of longtime Park Director Irvin “Buzz” Caverly, the park authority also endorsed a limited opening day, when 20 percent of any given site could be reserved for any day in the coming season.

That meant just four of the cabins at Kidney and Daicey ponds were up for grabs, while popular campgrounds such as Chimney Pond and Roaring Brook were limited to two and four sites, respectively. For some prime fall foliage weekends, the allotted cabins at Daicey Pond were booked by 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Unlike every year in recent memory, the possibility of booking a summer weekend in the park remained when the doors closed late Tuesday afternoon.

As of the 4 p.m. closing time, 92 people had made 116 reservations – a far cry from the usual opening day total, when a majority of sites are booked for the entire season.

“This will really open up the park to Maine people,” said Larry Pierce of Scarborough, who calls his annual Katahdin climb a spiritual pilgrimage. “The whole concept of the park was that it be left to the people of Maine. … I think [Gov. Percival] Baxter would have approved” of the rolling reservation system, he said.

The park authority had intended that this smaller opening day be phased out over the next few years, but dozens of those who attended Tuesday’s event told officials that they would like to see the tradition continue.

The hybrid reservation system used this year is a good balance – increasing access while preserving an important part of Baxter’s culture, Curro said.

Parking-lot storytellers swap tales all night, keeping the Baxter legends alive, he said.

“You’ve got a lot of committed people who have been doing this for years,” Curro said. “It isn’t just for people to get a reservation. … These stories have to be passed down.”

For details on the new Baxter State Park rolling reservation system, call 723-5140 or visit the park’s Web site at www.baxterstateparkauthority.com.