Coburn Mountain Eclipse Hike

Date: April 8, 2024

Distance: 12.30 km (Less if the road is open)

Elevation gain: 604m

On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse was visible from southern Quebec and much of the eastern United States, and I wanted to make an adventure out of it. Joe, Tom, Finn, Isidor, and I made plans to see the eclipse from the top of a mountain. We decided on Kibby Mountain, Maine, which would see over three and a half minutes of totality and offered a relatively easy hike with excellent views. A few days before the eclipse, a snowstorm dumped several inches of snow, rendering most logging roads impassable to our rental car. Also, we heard that some locals had blocked the Kibby Mountain road until after the eclipse, so we quickly pivoted to Coburn Mountain, which is much closer to a paved road. 

We met at the rental car place and began the long drive out of Montreal. I hadn’t seen Joe since he moved to Dallas and it was great to catch up. 

As we drove east, further into the path of totality, we saw the first signs of eclipse-related chaos. In the town of Lac-Megantic the traffic had already begun. Families with telescopes staked out their territory on any open space. It was 10:30 and the eclipse was still five hours away. 

Past Lac-Megantic the traffic thinned out and the terrain became more rugged. We soon reached the border crossing. One of us had only brought a Nexus card, which caused some confusion, as the border apparently “doesn’t take Nexus”, and the nearest one that does is in Calais. We were eventually let through. A brief moment of panic ensued when we looked up Calais and realized that it bordered New Brunswick, nine and a half hours away from home. If they turned us around on the way back, we planned to try a crossing in Vermont which does take Nexus, but that would also take a very long time. But for now, we had to get to the mountain before the eclipse.

Coburn Mountain is located in Maine’s Great North Woods, a rural, mountainous, and remote region. On this day, though, it seemed like half the eastern US had driven north to catch a glimpse of the eclipse. We saw license plates from as far away as Texas and Arizona. The roads in the town of Jackman, Maine - population 783 - were completely lined with cars for miles, and vendors were set up along the sidewalks, advertising things like “eclipse goat milk soap” and an “eclipse quilt raffle”.

The logging road leading to the Coburn trailhead was snowed in, except for the first couple hundred metres, adding 3km each way to our hike. We’d need to walk briskly to see the eclipse in time. We plodded along the logging road, then turned right at the main Coburn parking lot, ascending the mountain on an ATV/snowmobile trail. This is one of the more popular snowmobiling destinations in the area. The ascent was slower than expected, so we changed our plan, hoping to see the eclipse from an open area that used to be the peak of a ski resort. As we ascended, the temperature began to drop, and the forest seemed darker. 

We arrived at the clearing about ten minutes before the eclipse. The area had some views to the east, including Mt Katahdin. Waves of light danced across the snow as the moon passed over the sun, a small sliver fading to nothing.

Then totality began. The forest cooled. Wind whipped up all around us. Birds fell silent. On the horizon behind Katahdin a reddish glow faded to night, and the stars shone. A ring of light surrounded the moon. Eventually the sun emerged behind the moon and light returned.

After the eclipse some of us went all the way to the summit, which has an observation tower with 360 degree views of Maine and southern Quebec. There’s a lot to explore here and I’d like to come back someday to do some more hiking.

The hike down was long but uneventful. On the way back there was a massive conga line of cars heading south, but we were the only ones crazy enough to drive this far from Quebec, so we were the only ones heading north. At the border, the guard didn’t mention the Nexus card at all and we were let through without incident. Several hours later we were home.

After seeing a partial eclipse last year, I wasn’t sure if the total eclipse would be worth it, but it was absolutely incredible and seeing it on a mountain was definitely worth the drive. I can confirm that this XKCD comic is accurate! I’m seriously considering visiting Spain or Australia for one of the next ones.