DRAM 3, Dirt Roads Across Maine. The Legend Continues.

Mass_Mopar

Don't Litter
Welcome to the summit of Mt DRAM





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Spencer & crew had set off down the trail on the far side to size up the obstacle ahead. Without the deep snow cover of DRAM2, the rock obstacles were laid bare. Will and I hung back, taking in the views and stretching our legs. The wind was cutting across the top of the mountain like a knife and we were frozen stiff in short order.

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With the group reassembled, we debated the path forward. With the early afternoon upon us, we unanimously decided to head back the way we came. The rock garden on the back side was certainly passable, but at that point in our journey we weren't willing to sacrifice the time or tolerate the beating it would require.

We started the trucks up and eagerly got going on the last couple hours of driving in between us and camp.

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I had been looking forward to that night's lakeside campsite ever since Spence sent out the driver's packet. The wind was still steady but had calmed down from the previous night. The group chose a spot set back from the water's edge, and we all got going on dinner, fire, & setting up. I didn't take any chances, and threw a few extra bunjees around the rain fly to make sure I wouldn't have to endure another night like the previous one.



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The morning light of Day 3 brought the best weather we'd seen all trip. It boosted our spirits and made food and teardown go by quickly. Once again, we would be saying goodbye to a teammate today. The 4-runner crew would be departing that morning due to prior obligations, despite our hard work tempting Ashwin & Elise to continue on for a small part of the day with us. With their departure, we were down to 5 trucks and 6 DRAMers.

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We all knew what we were up against. Day 3 was the longest by far. Perhaps even more challenging than that was the stark knowledge that everything ahead of us was brand new; the DRAM2 route had been scrapped and DRAM3's was untested from here on out. I can probably speak for the team when I say I had one thing on my mind setting out:

LUBEC. OR. BUST.

To be continued....
 
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Stitebunny

Adventurer
I am really enjoying this too! As well as proper grammar, punctuation, and good text to picture ratio!
Nice job!
 

Mass_Mopar

Don't Litter
Beaver dams. Dead-ends. Hill climbs. Gunshots.

This was the day that would make or break our journey. I approached it just like the previous two days, but with a little more purpose in my actions. I knew that little things we did all day would add up to either success or failure, I was even prepared to accept an Apollo 13-style successful failure (whatever that may be).
In the moment, I decided to add a comment to the Maine-grey color my Jeep had become.





Onwards!



Besides the mountain, we hadn't run into a single dead-end all trip, thanks to the spectacular effort Spencer put into planning the route. That changed almost immediately when we drove down a road that appeared to go through on the maps, but, in reality, ended in a nice, wooded, cul-de-sac.

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Spence & Jonathan put their local route knowledge to the test with the we-ran-out-of-road problem at hand. After a small delay in another beautiful spot, we were back underway.



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Around one of the bends came the largest and deepest beaver dam we had encountered thus far. This dam was a thing of beauty. Fortunately this aquatic engineer had built it next to the road, as opposed to the engineering drop-out we dealt with on Day 2 who built his dam to include the road. All we had to do was cross the small run-off below the dam. Easy, right?





As the bravest man in the group, Will was volunteered to go first.



As Will sank into the depths without a trace, the rest of us started calling dibs on Will's gear and drawing straws to see who would dive down and tie up the tow strap to drag his truck out.



Thankfully Will had made it to the other side unscathed and reported a solid footing for the duration.

In turn, we all made our way through without drama.

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Day 3, as we would all find out, contained the entire spectrum of road type. How often do you get to drive over a 100' high ex-railroad trestle?









Smooth, fast roads seem to pair up well with slow, technical ones, which is exactly where we found ourselves next.
 
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Mass_Mopar

Don't Litter
One step forward, one step back, ten steps forward, two steps back...

The day alternated between smooth, high(er) speed, dirt highways and technical roads rife with hill climbs and washouts. With the rise and fall of the speedometer needle, our hopes of reaching Lubec followed.

The brief hillclimb we ran into after the trestle climbed 500 feet and at the top, ran parallel to a local resident practicing their aim. With a steady cadence of shots off to our right, combined with the lack of the distinct sound of any of those rounds sailing in our direction, we pressed on.

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Finally clearing some slower roads, we found a miracle. In my head, all I could hear was Jeremey Clarkson saying "a ribbon of perfection" in his british accent. The clouds cleared, the sun blazed, it was Stud Mill Road.









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Partway through Stud Mill, we paused for a late lunch before tackling the second half of the day



Resuming in a scant 15 minutes, it was already closing in on 1PM. We had quite a ways to go still, and immediately put our collective noses to the grindstone. We wouldn't lift for 4 hours.

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Exaustion, frustration, and steadfast determination mixed in a tense soup over the final 3 legs. Rather than a sprint to the finish, the terrain once again turned technical and slow.







Tip-toeing over culverts and washouts, with the light fading fast, we pushed on. The Dirt Roads Across Maine troop would not see the Atlantic by daylight. They'd see it by headlight.

To be continued...
 
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spencyg

This Space For Rent
Yeah....you just identified the largest routing headache of the entire trip. My route is 3 years in the making and there are still portions of it that need more thought.

SG
 

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