Dan Rhodes: Reflections from the High Peaks
High Peaks Alliance is pleased to share the second in a series of six guest op-eds from volunteer Dan Rhodes. In 2024, Dan and his wife settled in Kingfield with their son, building a life and making a home in the High Peaks region while Dan travels back and forth for his work.
In this series, Dan will offer reflections on life in Maine’s High Peaks region, community connections, and the value of conserving access to the lands and trails that make this place special.
Unexpected Solace at Shiloh Pond
The first time I visited Shiloh Pond, I did not know its conservation history. It was just a recommendation of a place to go, something new to do on a bright and beautiful summer morning. It does have a history, of course: linked to both the Town of Kingfield and the High Peaks Alliance. If you have not been yet, it is well worth an excursion.
We visited for the first time last June. After parking next to a gate blocking further vehicle access, we got out and made our way on foot to the water (having tragically forgotten to bring bug spray, an itchy mistake I’ve not since repeated). The walk is short, maybe ten or fifteen minutes down the forested trail if you, like me, have a little kid in tow. But when you get there, just past the stashed canoes and the “Fly Fishing Only” signs, you spill out of the woods onto the narrow banks of the pond itself.
Stillness & Scenery
Frogs and fry fled as we dipped our toes in the shallows, while a gentle breeze tousled the surface of the clear water. If you chance upon this place on a day when no one else is there, I hope the stillness and the scenery also strike you. Pines and boulders close ranks to ring the water’s edge in a way that is almost protective and, in misty morning light, hauntingly beautiful.
Except for the stashed canoes and the trail, there’s no real sign of human presence here. Paddling the pond’s perimeter didn’t take long, but long enough for the kind of quiet I love so much to make its presence felt through the utter absence of modern distraction. To the west, a few peaks, smaller in the foreground, taller beyond, crowd the horizon to give the place an unexpected gravitas.
I can’t quite articulate exactly what about Shiloh Pond struck me so much. Maybe it was the juxtaposition of absolute tranquility with its stone’s throw proximity to town. Maybe it was its primitive, wholly undeveloped atmosphere (fair warning–there are no bathrooms!). But when I’m there, the “why” seems less important than the mere act of presence in this place where simply being is solace.
For the People, For Millennia
Maybe to some it is just a pond. But I am grateful to the Town of Kingfield and the High Peaks Alliance for working together to ensure that it has been preserved for us to enjoy. Shiloh Pond, and other places like it, do something else important: they stand as a powerful proof of concept for collaborative conservation.
The High Peaks Alliance recognizes that land access conversations must be conducted transparently, and they must honestly account for the interests of all relevant stakeholders, including town governments, land owners, and land users. In a more lasting sense, the existing framework ensures Shiloh Pond will endure as it has for millennia, save for the changing of the seasons and the footprints we leave on the beach.
Take Action
This is the second in a series of six op-eds by Dan Rhodes. Stay tuned each month for future pieces exploring the intersections of everyday life, public access, and outdoor recreation in Maine’s High Peaks region.
If you value access to these lands and trails, we hope you’ll join us by volunteering, attending events, or supporting the High Peaks Alliance’s work to protect public access for generations to come.
