Adventurous
New member
Participants: HuiYeng (7summits) and myself
Peaks: Sugarloaf, Spaulding, Abraham, Redington, South Crocker, North Crocker, Bigelow Avery Peak and Bigelow West Peak.
We arrived at Deer Farm Campground in Kingfield Friday evening. We found Kingfield to be in an ideal location for hiking the 4k’s – a few restaurants, a grocery store and it’s only 15-20 minutes from the trailheads.
Day 1 – Sugarloaf, Spaulding and Abraham – we decided to hike Sugarloaf from the ski area using Tote Road. Even though we started before 9am, the sun was fierce and hiking on the rocky ski trail only made it worse. There wasn’t anywhere to hide from the sun and it was reflecting off the rocks only making it that much hotter. After much weaving, we arrived at the summit – gorgeous views although as HuiYeng put it, polluted by the structures. We stayed long enough to have a snack and for HuiYeng to bandage her poor heels once again.
Next destination – Spaulding. The half mile hike down Sugarloaf to the AT is rocky and steep but the trail over to Spaulding has good footing so you can move quickly until the last half mile before the summit. That’s a steep climb up to the 150 yard spur path to the summit. We get to the summit to find it totally viewless – by far, one of the most disappointing summits that I have been on.
From Spaulding – it’s just under 4 miles to Abraham. We have another steep rocky descent down to the campsite. We passed the campsite, where we should have cooled off in the stream and refilled our water, but didn’t. We continued on to Abraham and the day kept getting hotter. We decided that if there was anyone on Abraham that came up from the Firewardens trail, we would offer them money to give us a ride back to Sugarloaf. The thought of climbing back over Spaulding and Sugarloaf was not appealing. We soon came to an exposed section on the way to Abraham and where we could see the summit. We continued on, baking in the hot sun until we reached the remains of the tower. This was the first time we were disappointed to see the summit empty!!! We walked over to the large cairn a short distance away and rested for a bit. Knowing that we still had a long way to go back to the car, we started the hike back. Our goal was to reach the campsite to refill water. After leaving the exposed ridge, we were so hot that we had to get rid of a few layers of clothes. HuiYeng forgot that I was now hiking in my bra and boy shorts and burst out laughing when she turned around and saw me hiking down the trail. When it’s that hot…you just don’t care!!!
Back at the campsite, we filled our bladders with the cold water from the stream. We also took the opportunity to soak our hair in order to stay a bit cooler. We continued on to Spaulding – this climb seemed to keep going and going and going. We had a snack break below the summit and kept going. We did pass a few guys who happily engaged us in conversation…wonder why
Once back on the Sugarloaf summit, we decided to head straight down. The bugs were intolerable as was the heat. We didn’t want to be on a dirt trail and the grass felt much better. Straight down still took us an hour. We decided that we would go out to dinner, take a shower and go to bed. On our way back to 27, I spotted “The Rack” which was open. We stopped and had the best wings ever. We decided that Sunday would be a rest day and that we would come back another weekend to finish. We both woke up in the middle of the night and started talking about Sunday – we decided that we would do Redington and the Crockers afterall.
Day 2 – We drove out to the CVR – which is exactly 1 mile past Sugarloaf. HuiYeng’s heels were in rough shape so she opted to hike in her crocs as far as she could. We followed it until the parking lot before the metal bridge – about .5 miles before the AT. Beyond that, you would need a high clearance vehicle to get over some of the ruts and bridges. We hike up to the AT crossing – there is no signage here at all. There were two trucks parked here and I happened to look to the right and saw a footbridge. We continued hiking down the CVR. There are cairns and arrows marking the turns up to Redington. The views of the surrounding peaks are outstanding from this road, especially after the T – we thought it would be a great place to camp and stargaze. We continued on to the herd path that led to the summit – HuiYeng decided to change into shoes at this point but probably could have made it all the way up in her crocs. Partway up, we spotted the herd path that came over from South Crocker – we would be taking this path later on. We reached the clearing on Redington and started to search for the canister. I found it on a tree – my first canister. We signed the log and found a spot in the shade to eat our left over chicken wings.
We went back to the South Crocker herd path and started our hour hike over to South Crocker. The path was fairly easy to follow although very thick in some places. We followed it until it dumped us out on a road…hmmm hadn’t expected this. We searched around for the continuation of the herd path and after several trial and errors, we located it. As we approached the summit of South Crocker, there were quite a few herd paths. We just kept following the path that felt right and eventually ended up on the summit rock. We followed the path off the rock and found the AT once again.
We continued on to North Crocker. The hike down was quick but the hike up North Crocker didn’t seem to end. We were thrilled to see the sign of North Crocker – there were no views but there was a path cut that led to a view. We followed it to a decent viewpoint and had our sandwiches there. Tired of being in the heat and anxious to get back to the campground we left and went back to South Crocker. We continued on the AT to the crossing of the CVR. The trail descends steeply to the South Crocker Campsite. HuiYeng decided to switch back to the crocs for the last mile back to the CVR.
Day 3 – Monday was supposed to be the hottest of the three days and we had a 13 mile hike planned for our NE115 completion. The Firewardens trail to the junction with Horns Pond Trail is a pleasant walk – there is only one steep section and it’s really short. Once again, HuiYeng decided to wear the crocs. I have to give her a ton of credit for her persistence with all the blisters. She was patching, bandaging, switching socks, etc. in order to continue on. Once past Horns Pond Trail junction, the trail became a little more rugged – HuiYeng switched to shoes shortly after the Moose Falls Campsite. The trail from the campsite to the col is steep and relentless. We were hoping to fill our water at the campsite in the col but there wasn’t much water in the spring so we would have to conserve. We headed over to Avery Peak first and were not at all disappointed. The views were phenomenal!!! We stayed long enough to take a picture and head back to the col.
Soon we were on our way to West Peak and were afforded the same awesome views. I can’t imagine how awesome they would have been if it weren’t so hazy. We arrived at West Peak - #115 of the NE115 for both of us. Maggie, a thru-hiker from CA took our picture and HuiYeng shared her sandwich her. We soaked in the views and chatted with her for a bit. The 115 was a long journey for me and I’m glad that I was able to complete the last part of it with HuiYeng – it was only made more special because we were finishing it together.
So…we still had many miles ahead of us so off we went in the extreme heat. We enjoyed the pleasant ridge walk to South Horn and then down to Horns Pond. I had contemplated swimming in the pond but opted not to. Instead, we went to the day use lean-to and HuiYeng switched back to Crocs for the rest of the hike. The Horns Pond Trail down to the Firewardens trail is a beautiful trail through open forests and a few streams. The grades are never more than moderate so it’s a really pleasant walk. Once on the Firewardens trail, we cruised to Stratton Brook Pond where we decided to take a dip to cool off before our long drive home. As I was putting on my sock, I noticed something black…I freaked out a little bit because it was a leach and I couldn’t get it off. Lovely way to end the day.
Pics to follow...
Peaks: Sugarloaf, Spaulding, Abraham, Redington, South Crocker, North Crocker, Bigelow Avery Peak and Bigelow West Peak.
We arrived at Deer Farm Campground in Kingfield Friday evening. We found Kingfield to be in an ideal location for hiking the 4k’s – a few restaurants, a grocery store and it’s only 15-20 minutes from the trailheads.
Day 1 – Sugarloaf, Spaulding and Abraham – we decided to hike Sugarloaf from the ski area using Tote Road. Even though we started before 9am, the sun was fierce and hiking on the rocky ski trail only made it worse. There wasn’t anywhere to hide from the sun and it was reflecting off the rocks only making it that much hotter. After much weaving, we arrived at the summit – gorgeous views although as HuiYeng put it, polluted by the structures. We stayed long enough to have a snack and for HuiYeng to bandage her poor heels once again.
Next destination – Spaulding. The half mile hike down Sugarloaf to the AT is rocky and steep but the trail over to Spaulding has good footing so you can move quickly until the last half mile before the summit. That’s a steep climb up to the 150 yard spur path to the summit. We get to the summit to find it totally viewless – by far, one of the most disappointing summits that I have been on.
From Spaulding – it’s just under 4 miles to Abraham. We have another steep rocky descent down to the campsite. We passed the campsite, where we should have cooled off in the stream and refilled our water, but didn’t. We continued on to Abraham and the day kept getting hotter. We decided that if there was anyone on Abraham that came up from the Firewardens trail, we would offer them money to give us a ride back to Sugarloaf. The thought of climbing back over Spaulding and Sugarloaf was not appealing. We soon came to an exposed section on the way to Abraham and where we could see the summit. We continued on, baking in the hot sun until we reached the remains of the tower. This was the first time we were disappointed to see the summit empty!!! We walked over to the large cairn a short distance away and rested for a bit. Knowing that we still had a long way to go back to the car, we started the hike back. Our goal was to reach the campsite to refill water. After leaving the exposed ridge, we were so hot that we had to get rid of a few layers of clothes. HuiYeng forgot that I was now hiking in my bra and boy shorts and burst out laughing when she turned around and saw me hiking down the trail. When it’s that hot…you just don’t care!!!
Back at the campsite, we filled our bladders with the cold water from the stream. We also took the opportunity to soak our hair in order to stay a bit cooler. We continued on to Spaulding – this climb seemed to keep going and going and going. We had a snack break below the summit and kept going. We did pass a few guys who happily engaged us in conversation…wonder why
Once back on the Sugarloaf summit, we decided to head straight down. The bugs were intolerable as was the heat. We didn’t want to be on a dirt trail and the grass felt much better. Straight down still took us an hour. We decided that we would go out to dinner, take a shower and go to bed. On our way back to 27, I spotted “The Rack” which was open. We stopped and had the best wings ever. We decided that Sunday would be a rest day and that we would come back another weekend to finish. We both woke up in the middle of the night and started talking about Sunday – we decided that we would do Redington and the Crockers afterall. Day 2 – We drove out to the CVR – which is exactly 1 mile past Sugarloaf. HuiYeng’s heels were in rough shape so she opted to hike in her crocs as far as she could. We followed it until the parking lot before the metal bridge – about .5 miles before the AT. Beyond that, you would need a high clearance vehicle to get over some of the ruts and bridges. We hike up to the AT crossing – there is no signage here at all. There were two trucks parked here and I happened to look to the right and saw a footbridge. We continued hiking down the CVR. There are cairns and arrows marking the turns up to Redington. The views of the surrounding peaks are outstanding from this road, especially after the T – we thought it would be a great place to camp and stargaze. We continued on to the herd path that led to the summit – HuiYeng decided to change into shoes at this point but probably could have made it all the way up in her crocs. Partway up, we spotted the herd path that came over from South Crocker – we would be taking this path later on. We reached the clearing on Redington and started to search for the canister. I found it on a tree – my first canister. We signed the log and found a spot in the shade to eat our left over chicken wings.
We went back to the South Crocker herd path and started our hour hike over to South Crocker. The path was fairly easy to follow although very thick in some places. We followed it until it dumped us out on a road…hmmm hadn’t expected this. We searched around for the continuation of the herd path and after several trial and errors, we located it. As we approached the summit of South Crocker, there were quite a few herd paths. We just kept following the path that felt right and eventually ended up on the summit rock. We followed the path off the rock and found the AT once again.
We continued on to North Crocker. The hike down was quick but the hike up North Crocker didn’t seem to end. We were thrilled to see the sign of North Crocker – there were no views but there was a path cut that led to a view. We followed it to a decent viewpoint and had our sandwiches there. Tired of being in the heat and anxious to get back to the campground we left and went back to South Crocker. We continued on the AT to the crossing of the CVR. The trail descends steeply to the South Crocker Campsite. HuiYeng decided to switch back to the crocs for the last mile back to the CVR.
Day 3 – Monday was supposed to be the hottest of the three days and we had a 13 mile hike planned for our NE115 completion. The Firewardens trail to the junction with Horns Pond Trail is a pleasant walk – there is only one steep section and it’s really short. Once again, HuiYeng decided to wear the crocs. I have to give her a ton of credit for her persistence with all the blisters. She was patching, bandaging, switching socks, etc. in order to continue on. Once past Horns Pond Trail junction, the trail became a little more rugged – HuiYeng switched to shoes shortly after the Moose Falls Campsite. The trail from the campsite to the col is steep and relentless. We were hoping to fill our water at the campsite in the col but there wasn’t much water in the spring so we would have to conserve. We headed over to Avery Peak first and were not at all disappointed. The views were phenomenal!!! We stayed long enough to take a picture and head back to the col.
Soon we were on our way to West Peak and were afforded the same awesome views. I can’t imagine how awesome they would have been if it weren’t so hazy. We arrived at West Peak - #115 of the NE115 for both of us. Maggie, a thru-hiker from CA took our picture and HuiYeng shared her sandwich her. We soaked in the views and chatted with her for a bit. The 115 was a long journey for me and I’m glad that I was able to complete the last part of it with HuiYeng – it was only made more special because we were finishing it together.
So…we still had many miles ahead of us so off we went in the extreme heat. We enjoyed the pleasant ridge walk to South Horn and then down to Horns Pond. I had contemplated swimming in the pond but opted not to. Instead, we went to the day use lean-to and HuiYeng switched back to Crocs for the rest of the hike. The Horns Pond Trail down to the Firewardens trail is a beautiful trail through open forests and a few streams. The grades are never more than moderate so it’s a really pleasant walk. Once on the Firewardens trail, we cruised to Stratton Brook Pond where we decided to take a dip to cool off before our long drive home. As I was putting on my sock, I noticed something black…I freaked out a little bit because it was a leach and I couldn’t get it off. Lovely way to end the day.
Pics to follow...
