While planning a peakbagging trip to Maine (see HERE for full report), I saw that people usually climbed the three peaks on the east side of the Caribou Valley, as named on the USGS map, (Sugarloaf, Spaulding, and Abraham) in one day, then climbed the peaks on the west side (Redington, South Crocker, and Crocker) separately. Of course, other routes to these peaks are popular, especially doing Abraham from the southeast. After studying the maps, trip reports, and consulting some recent hikers (thanks, Jay H and Yvon), I thought it should be do-able to climb all six in a single day hike.
I drove in on the CVR (or CPR) and parked at the steel bridge. The road is passable for a small SUV or pickup truck beyond that, but gets much rougher. I didn’t think the short distance gained was worth the risk, even with a small SUV. Going south (east) on the AT, Sugarloaf was the starter for the day (at 4250 ft). I thought I was sweating a lot, even though it was cool, and tried to convince myself that my problem was not the mountain but the high humidity, which didn’t get better throughout the day with warmer temperatures. After a short climb, I descended the steep south side of Spaulding, past the campsite, and up the excellent side trail to Abraham. The rocky terrain on the upper part of the mountain was not exactly kind to the feet, but the views were spectacular.
Back to the junction with the AT, I started what I thought was going to be a bushwhack heading northwest down to the logging road which goes generally north back to Caribou Pond. I was surprised to see a pretty well-used herdpath with flagging which went west, rather than northwest as I had planned, but was too good to pass up. Reaching a well-built road, I followed it about a mile west (not north as I wanted) but it then made a huge horse shoe turn to the east and northeast and headed up the east side of Caribou Pond. Reaching the junction at the bridge at 3.6 miles with the CVR, it was time begin the climb of Redington by the old logging roads (2.6 miles to the summit by GPS track). I was surprised to meet forum member ‘Mountain Eagle’ and ‘Capuchine’ (hope I got the spelling right) from Montreal who were friends of Yvon and Pinpin Jr.
After Redington, I climbed South Crocker by the herdpath (wow, that is a “real” unimproved, old-fashioned herdpath, not like those easy Adirondack herdpaths I am used to) and then followed the AT to Crocker and back down to the CVR and car. Total for the day was about 22 miles and 7000 feet ascent—but I had to drive the dreaded CVR only once!
I drove in on the CVR (or CPR) and parked at the steel bridge. The road is passable for a small SUV or pickup truck beyond that, but gets much rougher. I didn’t think the short distance gained was worth the risk, even with a small SUV. Going south (east) on the AT, Sugarloaf was the starter for the day (at 4250 ft). I thought I was sweating a lot, even though it was cool, and tried to convince myself that my problem was not the mountain but the high humidity, which didn’t get better throughout the day with warmer temperatures. After a short climb, I descended the steep south side of Spaulding, past the campsite, and up the excellent side trail to Abraham. The rocky terrain on the upper part of the mountain was not exactly kind to the feet, but the views were spectacular.
Back to the junction with the AT, I started what I thought was going to be a bushwhack heading northwest down to the logging road which goes generally north back to Caribou Pond. I was surprised to see a pretty well-used herdpath with flagging which went west, rather than northwest as I had planned, but was too good to pass up. Reaching a well-built road, I followed it about a mile west (not north as I wanted) but it then made a huge horse shoe turn to the east and northeast and headed up the east side of Caribou Pond. Reaching the junction at the bridge at 3.6 miles with the CVR, it was time begin the climb of Redington by the old logging roads (2.6 miles to the summit by GPS track). I was surprised to meet forum member ‘Mountain Eagle’ and ‘Capuchine’ (hope I got the spelling right) from Montreal who were friends of Yvon and Pinpin Jr.
After Redington, I climbed South Crocker by the herdpath (wow, that is a “real” unimproved, old-fashioned herdpath, not like those easy Adirondack herdpaths I am used to) and then followed the AT to Crocker and back down to the CVR and car. Total for the day was about 22 miles and 7000 feet ascent—but I had to drive the dreaded CVR only once!
