My Allure with Bald Mountain
2017-08-24

My Allure with Bald Mountain

Guest Blogger: Steve Dobson

During my last two years of Presque Isle High School, I had friends who worked for a local construction company in PI. He had the chance to buy a couple of core drilling machines and work them in the North Maine Woods on Bald Mountain.

My friends told me they were exploring for GOLD. I had a hard time believing them. Everyone thought gold was only in the Yukon, or in California, not the North Woods of Aroostook County. Every time I talked to them they would tell me that they had proof there was Gold in Bald Mountain. It still did not seem real to me.

Years after their job was done and they never spoke anymore about the project, yet I never stopped thinking about Bald Mountain.

Years later, in late November 2014, I had the opportunity to go on a field trip to visit Bald Mountain. As I recall there were two 15 passenger vans that left from UMPI early in the morning. We traveled to “Six Mile Gate” through Ashland, and into the woods. At our first stop one of the gentlemen stood on what I thought was a rock, but was informed that is not a rock but it is an “outcropping”. Our host told us about the prevalence of many minerals on and near Bald Mountain. I was intrigued…

Several of the group put on a jeweler’s monocle, and took out a geologist’s hammer. They hammered at the outcropping, and examined the small pieces that fell off using their monocle. It was with glee that the shared them and talked a whole another language. It was interesting for me to watch.

From there, we made several other stops to get to the actual Bald Mountain core deposits.

Our last stop was the most interesting for me. We stopped at a large outcropping. Our guide said on the right side of this outcropping was the possibility of minerals, and to the left there were none. One could see a very distinct difference in the makeup of this particular wall. To the left was solid “rock” to the right was a total different type of material. The right side of this wall was full of fossils. These fossils were found to originate from the South Pacific. Fossils from the South Pacific encased in an outcropping (or rock wall) in Northern Maine!

This was one of the most fascinating days I have ever spent on a field trip. I had the opportunity to meet some very interesting people and I learned a lot about something that had been interested me for a long time. Everyone should have the chance to experience a day like this during their life. I would suggest you begin with your own discovery of Bald Mountain.