Welcome to The Maine Outpost

Like some good ideas and a lot of bad ones, this one started on a chairlift – the Wayback Machine to be precise – that vintage two-seater known all-too-well by fans of Mt. Abram.

Two guys, both Mainers, both writers, one in his late 40s, one in his early 30s, both stoked for the winter to come and both working early ski-season legs into shape, lamenting how Maine’s media landscape didn’t have a dedicated place for folks who like to hike and bike and ski and paddle and camp in tents.

Months (more lift rides and a lot of Zoom calls) later, here we are.

Welcome to The Maine Outpost.

What do we hope to do? And why do it at all?

Mostly, we want to tell fun stories about all the cool outdoor opportunities here in this incredible state we call home – stories about adventures, about places, communities, people, events, outdoor gear, conservation, and responsible recreation.

Maine is an adventurer’s fever dream. Yes, the state’s outdoor recreation space is messy, fractured, and can be hard to know, but it’s also vibrant, growing, and fun as hell. If you look a little deeper, push a little farther, work a little harder, there’s adventure everywhere.

Adventure doesn’t need to be grand. It doesn’t need to be hard. But it does need the unknown, or more accurately, the not-known-until-you-try. Is the weather going to break before we get to the summit? Will the swell be pumping when we finally get to the beach? Is the portage trail marked? These unknowns turn a hike, a session, a paddle into an adventure.

Is anyone going to read these stories? Will we be taken seriously? Can we sustain this? Unknowns, all. The only way to find out is to try.

So where will this adventure (misadventure?) take us? 

We want to report on the stories that matter to Maine’s outdoor scene. That means covering legislative and policy issues. We hope to profile interesting and important people and groups contributing to the way we pursue our outdoor passions – advocates, makers, thinkers, and more. We’re working to curate an events calendar featuring outdoor-related events from across the state.

Mostly, though, we want to stoke and inspire by highlighting both the discovered and undiscovered corners of Maine. You won’t be handed a GPS track and turn-by-turn directions for the most-colorful-fall-hike-in-Vacationland, but you’ll get enough information to work with. Adventure story-telling can be as powerful as real adventure. It can transport you, inspire you, and teach you. It can break inertia and catalyze progress. And, when done well, it can be a lot of fun to read. 

We are firmly committed to putting content and readers first. Sure, we’d love to find ways to make a real living from this, but we’re focused on building out the site, writing and reporting our stories, and building a community first. Monetization, if it comes at all, will come after we’ve made something of value. 

While we may not harbor dreams of getting rich from The Maine Outpost, there is no denying the value of outdoor recreation to Maine. In March, the Department of Commerce published stats on the nation’s outdoor recreation economy. Here in Maine, the sector produced almost $4 billion in economic activity, representing 4% of the state’s gross domestic product – numbers that have almost doubled in the last decade.

Clearly, Maine’s outdoor economy is growing and important. Equally important are the activities that drive these numbers. Not surprisingly, boating and fishing are the largest segment, followed by RVing. Snow activities (we assume skiing and snowmobiling) are third. Hunting, shooting, and trapping are fourth. Climbing, hiking, and tent camping – the types of activities featured here in the Maine Outpost – land fifth on the list, adding more than $52 million to the state’s economy in 2024. Even bicycling made the list, contributing more than $7 million in 2024.

Before this editors’ letter sinks into TLDR territory, we’ll stack a few cairns to help guide you through the site. But first, know that this is very much a-work-in-progress-passion-project and there will be empty spaces as we build.

Learn more about Mitch Breton and Greg Peters, the “brains” behind The Maine Outpost, here.

Read all the stuff that marketers and brand managers suggest (value and mission statements and the like) here.

As we grow, you’ll see stories about Maine’s outdoor recreation economy and industry, about land policy, access, and conservation issues. You’ll get lots of adventure dispatches and profiles of cool people doing and making cool stuff. We’re going to cover the culture of Maine’s outdoor recreation spaces and share what we can about the food, drinks, art, books, films, music, and hospitality that add immeasurably to the joys of playing outside. Eventually, we plan to have an outdoor calendar that curates events and happenings in the outdoor space.

Regardless of what topic we’re covering, we’re committed to writing with grace, humility, humor, diversity, and accuracy.

We hope you’ll join us on this adventure. And that you’ll be inspired to strike out and find answers to some not-knowns of your own.

To close, here are some things we believe about outdoor recreation and about writing about outdoor recreation.

• Getting outside and moving through the landscape under your own power is empowering. 
• Nature is greater than all of us and indifferent to each of us. It doesn’t care what you look like, sound like, or feel like. It provides soul-nourishing, life-giving sustenance, but you have to show up and earn it.
• Outdoors sports should bring joy and awe, not anxiety and comparison. There is always someone doing more, going bigger, being badder. Find inspiration in them, avoid envy. Appreciate what you have the time and capacity to do and enjoy the f$@! out of it.
• It is ALWAYS better to go than not go (unless it’s truly dangerous, then it’s probably better to stay home – think high avalanche danger, small craft warnings, spring flooding, when the forest is on fire). 
• We all started as beginners. Practice kindness, grace, and patience for those who are just starting out.
• Be humble, seek out help and advice. Be giving. Freely and respectfully give guidance and advice when asked.
• Find and build community. Life is better when shared. So is getting outside.
• Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Your skills, gear, knowledge, fitness will never be perfect. Don’t let that stop you.
• Respect is paramount. Respect for nature, people, history, the future. Respect for yourself.
• Leave it better than you found it. Go the extra step. Actively be the solution, inaction won’t solve much.
• Speak up and fight for access, conservation, and preservation. 
• Have fun. That’s what it’s all about.

See you on the trails,

Mitch and Greg