The Man of Jack

Jackman, Maine is the spot to be if you are the outdoorsmen who loves to hunt, ride ATVs, explore nature and go fishing. I have been to Jackman three times now and every time it has been a new adventure. I have gone up there with my entire family and our 6 ATV's and two dirtbikes. The best place to stay is Mountainview Resort. At this resort, you can rent out your own four bedroom, two bath cabin with your own driveway. This is what my parents have done in the past.

     When you are up in Jackman it is like a whole different world. The people up there are so friendly, even though their appearance does not look it. The environment is so soothing, you are able to wake up in the morning, have a cup of Joe and sit on your porch to look out at the never ending green tree tops.

     The best part of the trip is to be able to spend the entire day in the outdoors. To get up at 8 in the morning is a pain but to go off into the unknown trails of Maine and Canada makes it totally worth it. When I was there we woke up at 8 and traveled the trails for 12 hours each day for 4 days. One lesson learned is to make sure you always stay together and have enough gas. There is a story behind this. In August of 2011, my family of 7 and myself set off to a place called West Forks which was 5 hours away. Getting there was an adventure on it's own due to the unmarked and mismarked trails. When we finally arrived there we had lunch and sat by the lake for a little bit. Before we were about to leave I suggested that we fill the tanks with gas but everyone thought that we would make it. They turned out to be wrong. With 7 miles left in the trip back to the cabin I was running low on gas, so I decided that it would be a fantastic idea to speed ahead of everyone and get as far as possible before I ran out of gas. I was 6 miles away when my ATV ran out of gas. As I waited for them to pass by so they could tow me I felt more anxious as each minute passed. Half an hour later they still hadn't passed and with no service it was useless to think I could contact them or anyone else of that matter. After two and a half hours  of walking three miles in timberland boots and many encounters with wildlife such as bobcats running towards me and moose stampeding by I was found just as the sun was setting. Luckily I was found when I was because if not then the search and rescue would have been deployed and it would have been hard to locate me as darkness of the night was approaching.

(Before I ran out of gas)

    If you are interested in visiting Jackman, then you should definitely stay in the cabins at Mountainview Resort. You must ride on at least a portion of the 10000 miles of ATV trails. Take advantage of fishing, and kayaking on one of the many lakes in the area.  At the Forks area, whitewater rafting is always an adventure.  One can also just sit back and enjoy the clean fresh air of the mountains. When you decide to go out on the ATVs then please make sure you stay together and always have some communication with anyone that could help you in case of any emergency.