Unplugged in Baxter State Park

Jul 25, 2026·
Ehsan Sharafian
Ehsan Sharafian
· 1 min read
hobbies

Some of the best reset buttons don’t have a power button at all.

This summer, a group of us from UMaine packed up and disappeared into Baxter State Park for a weekend completely off the grid. No internet, no electricity, no notifications. Just good friends, big mountains, and the kind of quiet you only find deep in the Maine woods.

Looking out over the Katahdin range from the summit of Doubletop Mountain

Trip highlights

  • 🥾 Hiking Doubletop Mountain. Steep, rocky, and completely worth it for the view at the top.
  • 🛶 Canoeing on still, mirror flat water.
  • 🔥 Grilling saffron jooje kabob over the fire, a little taste of home in the middle of the wilderness.
  • 🌈 A surprise double rainbow over camp to send us off.

The hike in followed a mossy stream through the trees, cool and green and completely silent.

A mossy stream along the trail in

It opened up onto granite ledges and rushing water, the perfect place to stop, soak our feet, and catch our breath.

Taking a break by the rapids

The river carving its way through the pines

And then, right as we started packing up to head home, the sky decided to put on one last show.

A double rainbow over camp

Watch the vlog

I put together a short video of the whole weekend. Take a look:

Highly recommend Baxter State Park for a summer adventure. Sometimes the best way to recharge is to fully unplug.

Camping Hiking Maine Adventure
Ehsan Sharafian
Authors
Ehsan Sharafian
PhD Candidate in Mechanical Engineering
PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maine. Focused on intelligent wearable systems that combine biomechanics, IMU-based sensing, machine learning, and real-time mobile applications for human movement analysis, gait assessment, activity recognition, and digital health.