Saturday October 26th, 2024: We woke up early at Moose Brook State Campground and saw the sunrise light the sky up between the trees. The red sky 'sailor's warning' was true on this day as gale force winds were forecasted later on. We chose to hop over the State line to Maine and hike Old Speck Mountain, my last in Maine.

We drove over from Gorham and started hiking after 8AM, but we weren't the first on the trails that morning. We chose to take the Appalachian trail up as it was already raining and the forecasted winds were urging us to get up and down as quickly as possible. We climbed well manicured trail winding through the forest (with less leaves than yesterday), and followed a nice brook up the trail. Rain drizzled down on us and we donned our gore-tex rain coats. The temperatures were cold enough that we didn't mind wearing the gore-tex layer.  We finally got up to a ridge and could feel the full force of the wind from the windward side and added gloves and rain pants to our outfit. We were in a cloud and there were no views in any direction.  We continued over a series of bumps and false summit areas until we found the fire tower and got to the summit proper. At this point were were still in a cloud, it was hailing, and the gale force winds had begun. There was no views and the wind gusts made going up the fire tower downright scary. I went up about 1/3 of the way and came back down. We didn't linger long so after a few photos and videos we returned down the same way. We had passed a few solo and duo hikers along the way but on the way back down, we passed a few larger parties - one group of 6 women and 2 parties of what look like ill prepared college kids. We didn't stop for lunch until we were back on the leeward side, about halfway back down to the car. I had my first thermos of tea on this hike which is a sure sign winter is coming. On the descent we got a couple views as sun peaked through the clouds and we could see some wind vanes in the distance. We also got a couple of views of the peak we just climbed. We got down to the parking lot around 2PM, happy to have checked off my last Maine 4000 footer. 

Hike stats:
Distance: 11.87km
Elevation: 946m or 3200ft
Time: 5hrs 13mins

Maine: 14/14
NE 111 (115): #99

On our third and final day of our hiking trip to Maine we decided on leaving a short hike for last: Saddle back and The Horn. On Monday August 28th the sun finally shone and we finally had some dry conditions to hike in. We drove from the Cathedral Pines Campground to the base lodge of Saddleback Mountain Ski hill and walked up the obvious gravel road. There are a couple of hiking specific trails up the ski hill in the summer but they aren't well marked. There was lots of action was going on on the ski hill preparing for this winter's ski season. The sound of ski run vegetation being cut back was the dominant noise with whipper snippers and chainsaws in action. There was also a construction project for a mid-mountain hut being built and we also saw a micro-hydro dam project that was used to generate power for the hill's snowmaking. Somebody is definitely investing in this hill!

A winding 1500ft climb ended at the chairlift at the top. I looked over to my left and was startled to see a large bull moose walking under a chair! I shouted to my husband "Moose LEFT!" and I quickly pulled out my camera to take a shot. Normally I see moose in lowland swamps and never have I ever seen one this high before. Once we made some noise, I was sure it was going to do what moose normally do which was to run for cover. Instead, this bull continued straight on his path....right towards us! It was evident he wasn't intimidated! Glenn and I decided to scurry a few steps up the hiking trail that leads to the actual mountain summit and wait for him to pass. Sure enough, the bull walked by looked at us and kept going. He was only 30meters away! We were pretty excited about this animal encounter that we had not expected in the least!! 

The hiking trail leaves the ski hill just to the right of the chair and leads up to join with the Appalachian trail. You need to turn left here and continue over a few knolls to the Saddleback mountain summit. Here we met a few AT hikers having a break and drying out in the sun. We took some summit shots and told our moose story and headed back along the trail towards The Horn. 

The descent path down to the col in this section has got a few scramble-y moves that reminded me of Adirondack slab hiking. The rock here in parts was wet which made some moves even more tricky. The ridge here is exposed and so is the col and ascent on the other side. The col is mostly on exposed rock. The ascent up to the Horn is bit friendlier requiring less grunt work. The summit of the Horn is amazing. Both summits offer 360 degree views but the Horn's is my favourite. I definitely could have stayed there longer. We ate our lunch there and drank in the views. We chatted again with some of the AT hikers we met on Saddleback and one new one. I pointed out where they were headed as you could see the cell towers on Sugarloaf in the distance and could also see Spaulding and the Crockers. I have always been curious about thru-hiking and asked a few questions but could have asked many more. We had lingered enough in the sun and then parted ways and returned back to the Saddleback summit passing many other groups.

We dropped down to the ski hill and took the road down again and ended our hike reflecting on how great the hiking is in Maine. It's a shame I only have one more summit in Maine left (Old Speck). Up to 88/115 peaks!

​Stats:
Distance: 13km
Elevation: 2975 feet
Time: 4 hours, 20 minutes

.The first part of the adventure is on this day was the drive in to the trailhead. Caribou Pond Road is let's say, not the most car friendly road. After a wet summer of 2023, there were numerous ruts and wash outs to negotiate the best line through. Luckily a slow drive and 6km later, we found the gate and the parking lot and were on our way.

We started our walk in past the gate on the logging road and started up the AT to South Crocker. A short 2.1 mile ascent starts gradually to the campsite area, then steepens up and then relaxes a bit again before the summit. The ground and rocks on this day were pretty saturated still from the rain 2 days ago and the the sky was still quite cloudy and the air was humid. Sweat dripped off us pretty fast on this day and so we took of our hats and kept our brisk pace going. We passed a slower group of 3. 

We reached the summit of South Crocker but turned right immediately and headed to North Crocker. A couple of fast AT hikers passed us (2 young guys) who seemed to be having a great time. A sizeable descent insued on some looser rock and then up again to the treed summit of North Crocker. We sat down here for small lunch break and summit photos.

Back down the trail we just came up and back up to South Crocker, we went over to the viewpoint and summit area to see a glimpse of the ridge we were on yesterday in the distance. Clouds were starting to part and the sun was beginning to shine. Here we took a couple of photos and then pulled out the map and compass to get ready for our unmarked trail hike over to the third 4000 footer of the day, Mt Redington. We found the flagged herd path off the summit of South Crocker and headed down. In other trip reports, this trail was described as bushy and hard to follow. On our day, it was pretty nice most of the time with some really minor overgrown conifer areas. The flagged trail was pretty well defined and there were only a few logs to climb over and under. I found it better than most ADK herdpaths. We hit a logging road part way and turned left, then right at the cairn. We took a lovely ascent trail up to the Redington summit where we met 3 others on their descent down. We found  the summit and the small wooden sign on a treed summit with a small view. The sun had come out and with a large area with nicely placed logs, we took some time to eat another snack and drink some water. Now about 10km in, we had to decided if we wanted to re-trace our steps back to South Crocker and take a shorter way out or take a longer alternative route on logging roads out. We chose the latter. 

On the descent from Redingtion there is a junciton part way down before returning to the logging road and cairn from the ascent. We turned right here, and took a lovely knee friendly dirt trail ramp through thick forest. It linked us up with a logging road and we followed the flags out to Caribou Pond and back along the river back to the car.

Stats:
Distance: 18.64km
Elevation: 3300ft
Time: 6 hours 22 minutes

ttAfter a 7 hour drive down to Maine from Ontario, we settled into a tent site at the Cathedral Grove campground near Eustis. The forecast for the evening was no ideal as the remnants of Tropical Storm Hilary that hit California earlier in the week were moving their way across the continent. The overnight downpour was very heavy and combined with the oversaturated ground from a generally wet summer,  the mud and puddle abundance was at an extreme level.

At 7:30AM on Saturday August 26th, we met Greg from All Points Transportation at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain to shuttle us over to the Rapid Stream Trailhead near Mount Abraham. The shuttle ride cost us $90 USD, but it was worth it to save the extra mileage of doing an out-and-back hike as well as wear and tear on our car on the Rapid Stream 'road'. 

We began the hike at 8:15AM up the Fire Warden's trail that was a nice gradual hike up for the most part. We cross about a half dozen streams that were all flowing at max spring-like flow after the rain the night before. All were easily passed. After the last stream, the incline started to rise and sweat started to roll off our skin at the near 100% humidity in the forest. Finally we popped out onto a boulder field and got glimpses of our first views of the day. Thinking we were nearing the top, we continued up the exposed rock and even back into trees and out again before actually reaching the summit. Low lying clouds were still  lingering and our summit views were partially obscured. The summit of Mount Abraham has pieces of an old fire tower lying around as well as a large summit cairn and sign. It took us 2.5 hours to reach the summit and 3000 feet of ascent. The forecast was calling for a potential thunderstorm in the afternoon and so instead of taking our usual summit break, we scurried off the unprotected summit down into the trees and took our first break en route to the Appalachian trail. Sections of the trail through here were gorgeous - green moss, nice soft dirt trail, easy going. There are a few rock piles to get through as well so as with most New England trails, it isn't ever totally easy.

We reached the Appalachian trail and met up with a few thru-hikers, backpackers and day hikers  - our first people sightings of the day. We headed towards the Spaulding lean-to where the trail became more saturated and puddle like in the col. The trail up to the Spaulding summit was wet and when we took the short 150yd spur trail to the summit we were back in a cloud and had no views (there might not be any from this treed summit anyway). The summit sign on this mountain says 3988ft, and I am assuming needs to be updated as it's included on the 4000 footer lists.

We re-traced our steps off Spaulding and regained the AT on a ridge towards Sugarloaf. This section was longer than what the map had said in terms of distance by 600m. We turned right and climbed about 600ft to the summit of Sugarloaf, where we met up with a few groups enjoyed a break and looking at views of the ridge. We took some photos from the summit cairn and tried not to get the many buildings, cellphone towers, Helipad, or chairlifts in the shots. Luckily the thunderstorm forecast did not arrive and we were getting a brief period of sun and a view of the entire ridge we had just hiked. Seconds later we were engulfed in a cloud and rain started to come down on us. We quickly threw on our Goretex shells and wolfed down our last bite of zucchini bread and headed down the Tote Road trail to the base. This gravel road is loose and steep initially and only when it started to ease did I look at my watch to figure out that I must have stopped the GPS tracking of the hike at the summit when I rushed to put on my rain jacket. I re-started it but lost 1km of tracking. Luckily Glenn had his full track on his watch so we have some accurate stats. The total descent down the ski hill was a steep 2100 foot leg burner! Glad to have these three in the bag!

Stats:
Distance: 21km
Elevation: 4985ft
Time: 8:07 hours

Avery and West Peak are the tallest peaks on the Bigelow Mountain Ridge just outside of Stratton, Maine. These peaks are part of 2 popular hiking missions: The Appalachian Trail and the NorthEast 115er list. My goal is eventually summit all of the NE 115ers, a goal that will  take me decades to complete given the distance to travel to the areas to hike; especially the 14 peaks in Maine. As luck would have it my husband and I needed to travel through this part of the world to attend a wedding so we stopped to bag these two peaks en route. 

This trip did not get off to a good start however. Upon arrival at Cathedral Pines Campground in Eustis, Maine, we realized that after packing the car full of camping gear, hiking gear and wedding attire we had independently forgotten BOTH our sleeping bags. Seeing as though it was already dark and a thunderstorm was approaching, we hunkered down in our tent with multiple layers on along with towels and Gore-tex jackets thrown over top. We survived the cool July night albeit with much tossing and turning and general discomfort. This area of Maine is pretty sparse in terms of finding camping supplies but we did end up finding a store that we bought warm but short blankets for the rest of the trip.

After our chilly evening, we filled our bellies with hot porridge and coffee and set out for the Fire Warden's trail at 8:30AM. We found the trailhead at Stratton Brook Pond on our first try (other reports say it's difficult) and parked at the busy trailhead and set off towards the pond. This area is obviously a popular free camping area in the summer - we found many people sleeping in or beside their cars.

The Fire Warden's trail takes about 5miles/8km to ascend to the col on the ridge between the two peaks. It begins on a flat trail beside the ponds before turning into the forest for most of the remainder of the hike. The trail is marking with light blue blazes until the col where blazes turn white. The shade provided by the trees here is welcoming on a hot summer day. The trail ascends about 1000ft  before leveling off again further up. 1.6 miles in you reach the junction with the Horns Pond Trail and a trail register to sign-in for the day. 

​Continuing on a gradual up hill, you reach the Moose Falls campground complete with privy and a water spring. From this point on, the terrain significantly steepens.  For  about 600ft there is a section I will call 'The Staircase', where the trail follows steep rock stairs that is sure to get your heart pounding. Just when you're red in the face and covered in sweat you think "Are these stairs ever going to end?", the trail eases off a bit before hitting a Appalachian Trail camping area just before the junction on the ridge. Tent platforms and a caretaker's cabin can be found here. We thought we might see some AT hikers but instead the area was full of day hikers. It was only 11AM.

Once hitting the junction you can choose to take West Peak (0.3miles) or Avery (0.4miles) first. We chose to bear left to West Peak first. The mossy vegetation and well trod path lead up to a prominent rocky outcropping at the top of an obvious summit, complete with a summit cairn and sign. Beautiful views of Sugarloaf ski hill, the Crockers and Flagstaff Lake make this summit one to remember. It took us 3 hours from the Trailhead and 3000ft of climbing to get to this summit at 4145'. 

​After a quick snack, we descended back down to the col and junction and continued on to Avery. After a few scramble moves to get around the backside of Avery's first rock bump we continued on good trail to the actual summit. Here another summit cairn with sign will signify your accomplishment along with many views of the ridge. An old man-made brick square structure (supposedly an old fire tower base) can also be seen from Avery's summit. A plaque commemorating Myron H. Avery's efforts to extend the AT into Maine is also worth a read here.  We were lucky to hit this ridge on a sunny day - you can see for miles. Avery's summit is slightly less than West Peak's at 4088'. There is no advantage to do one over the other first in my opinion. 

Descending down the staircase and forested trail was fairly straight forward and before we knew it we were back at the ponds and out to our car. The totals for the day were:

Date: July 29th, 2018
Distance: 9.72 miles/15.65km
Ascent: 3022ft
Time: 6.5 hours
Map: Rangeley Lakes Region Trail Map
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The North Brother Mountain is located in Baxter State Park, Maine. Although in the shadow of it's more popular sibling Katahdin, the North Brother is worthwhile to to do for a few reasons. Firstly, at 4151ft, the North Brother is on the NorthEast 111 peakbagging list and for anyone interested in completing the 111 (115) peaks over 4000ft in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.  Secondly, it's a great hike for those not interested in the crowds or steep scrambly elevation gain on Katahdin. This is a great hike for a beginner mountain hiker.

Before the hike, we camped at Katahdin Stream Campground. It is home to 12 lean-to's, 9 tentsites, and 3 group sites, and the nicest smelling and clean outhouses I have ever used. Reservations are strongly recommended. That said, this campground can be busy as it is also home for Appalachian Trail (AT) thru-hikers that will or have completed their 3500km journey at the summit of Katahdin. The first day we arrived we heard lots of cheering and hoots of joy as the finishers rolled in.  Meeting the ranger on the first night, she warned us of bear actitivity and encouraged us to put our food in our car. Of course we did, but I woke up to my food being attacked by mice overnight. They had got into the car! Be warned as I lost about half my food.

The drive to the Slide Dam parking lot from Katahdin Stream Campground took about 10 minutes. Elevation at the parking lot is almost 1200ft, so were were looking at a 3000ft ascent. Our plan was to ascend the North Brother via a loop over Mt Coe and the South Brother. Unfortunately it had rained significantly overnight and our group of three wasn't interested in climbing a wet slide and not seeing any views. Our mission was to summit the North Brother as one of our group members was completing her final peak of the NE 111(115) list. We chose to hike the Marston trail.

The trail can be characterized by going up 3 big steps. It starts on a flat dirt path and then gradually ascends about 1000ft before the first junction towards Mt Coe. After turning left, the trail flattens out again and travels alongside an Unnamed Pond with a short lookout. For us, it was the best lookout of the day as low-lying cloud hung over the summits. After hiking around the pond the trail heads up again another 1000ft and then flattens out once again in a wooded saddle. Here, there is a final trail junction to head over to South Brother. Turning left to North Brother, you meet the last part of the ascent. The final up is a mainly above the treeline and over some boulders to the summit itself. In a few areas, you will have to scramble (using hands and feet) to get up and down these sections. 

Our summit day was not a pretty one as there were no views above the treeline. Stuck in a cloud and in the rain we carefully placed each footstep on the slippery rocks and finally saw the summit marker itself. As our group member Deb reached the summit, Mike and I blew up balloons and opened up a big sign for Deb's big moment. Standing on your 115th peak must have felt incredible, and I hope to one day feel that same sense of accomplishment.

We returned down the same way we came and finished the hike in 5.5 hours. We ascended a total of 3193 ft and hiked 13.1km. We were back to the campground in time for a late lunch and warm up of soup and tea! 

Mount Katahdin is located in Baxter State Park in the State of Maine. It stands at 5267ft and has 2 prominent peaks: Hamlin and Baxter. Both of these tall eastern peaks are on the NorthEast 111(115) peakbagging list and so our hike was to summit both peaks via a loop on September 20th, 2016. Our Plan A was to ascend the Helon Taylor Trail followed by a traverse of the famous Knife Edge Ridge then summit Baxter Peak at 5267ft and then continue on a saddle over to Hamlin Peak at 4756ft and then down the Hamlin Ridge Trail. This route is the classic way to summit Katahdin as a day hike and we are all have a background in rock climbing with exposure and are comfortable in that environment. There are other ways to get to Katahdin's summit and you should pick the route that is right for you.

Our group of three tent camped at Roaring Brook Campground the night before the hike. This campground is home to 9 Lean-To's, 10 tent sites, and 10 bunkhouse beds. Reservations are strongly recommended. The campsite has clean outhouses and a small brook as a water source (better to bring water in). After waiting for a sunny weather window for 3 days, we woke up at 5am to the unexpected weather change of rain. In fact, it had rained hard all night and we woke up with our spirits dampened. Poor weather such as rain, wind, and low-lying clouds were NOT optimal conditions for hiking the famous Knife Edge Ridge. We had to make a Plan B.

We decided to try to loop in the opposite direction as planned, hoping that the weather forecast would hold true and that by the time we got up on the ridges we would be able to do the Knife Edge. Starting just behind the Ranger Cabin, we took the Chimney Pond Trail up to Basin Ponds. The trail is rocky but has been engineered well for drainage of water. I decided to take off my gaiters an hour into this hike. 

Heading onto the Hamlin Ridge trail, we started to gain elevation and quickly. Rocky boulders started appearing and the rock was wet from the overnight rains. As soon as we crossed the treeline, we entered into a cloud and began our scramble up some boulders. Reaching the Hamlin Peak summit marker 3 hours and 3600ft later, our bodies were dripping of sweat. The humidity levels were definitely high today.

​Donning our shell jackets, the cloud we were in was windy and drizzling water vapour on us. We descended down some slippery rock boulders onto some small ball bearing type rocks. These rocks if stepped on incorrectly will sit you down on your butt before you know it. Crossing the saddle, we lost approximately 400ft of elevation gain hiking through gravel paths and alpine scrub.

We continued on over to Baxter Peak, the highest point on Katahdin at 5267ft by ascending 900ft of rock steps to the summit. In some places red rock stones the size of a nalgene bottle create a path upwards and is easy to walk on. The grade of the ascent is manageable, especially after already ascending 3600ft. The summit sign on Baxter Peak of Mt Katahdin cannot be missed. It's a large sign and great for photos. Unfortunately today there were two compounding problems. One, we had no views being in a cloud, and two, there were about a dozen AT thru-hikers finishing their epic 3500km journeys with beer and wine to boot. AT hikers ascend the Hunt Trail from Katahdin Stream Campground. Luckily we were able to squeeze a quick summit pic in with our group amongst the crowds. At this point, we had hiked 10.5km and ascended over 4500ft. We sat down and had a lunch break beside a large rock cairn.

Looking over to where the Knife Edge is supposed to be, we saw nothing but cloud. One of our group members had done the ridge before and knew that under these less than ideal conditions, our goal of doing the Knife Edge Ridge was not meant to be on this day. Instead, we decided to descend the Cathedral Trail, a trail that descends right off Baxter Peak and connects with the Chimney Pond trail we started on to make a loop.