a Maine 2kp/FF 6 pk

[bigmoose]

I found myself with mid-week off, the week before Columbus Day; the weather looked promising, so I set off for Maine. My objective was to climb several of the "prominence" peaks in Maine; mountains listed on the Northeast 2,000 foot prominence list (2kp) and others of the New England Finest Fifty list (NEFF) (The fifty mountains with most prominence in New England).

I won't be around long enough to climb all the 7,999 three thousand footers in the Northeast, so the prominence lists seem like a reasonable alternative. Many of Maine's mountains are common to both lists, of course, so I kind of comingled the lists and came up with a game plan.

TUESDAY, Oct.5. CHAIN OF PONDS SNOW:
prominence: 2330'
NE2kp#29
NEFF#24
**New England Hundred Highest #70**

I left Massachusetts for the area of Coburn Gore, Maine with my sights on Chain of Ponds Snow Mt. This was a perfect start to my odyssey, as Snow is on three lists; New England Hundred Highest, in addition to the two prominence lists. And my expedition would start out on a "high" note as Snow would be the highest peak of the week at 3980; and also complete, at long last, my New England Hundred Highest.

I was a little concerned about hunting season as I drove down the Snow Mountain approach road through Penobscot Indian Territory. But I would wear orange and hope no one mistook me for a Big Moose. High up on the mountain I saw trees in a whitish cast. I wasn't surprised. A cold front had pushed through, and it was windy and quite cold even down low along the road.

I parked where directed, next to a pickup with a large rifle in the front seat. I wore layers beneath my orange, and set out between the two boulders, following the now narrower road toward Snow Pond. Yellow snowmobile arrows helped at forks and turnoffs. Near the pond, I kicked up a not-so-big Moose. I found the trail leaving the pond for the mountain (signed) with no problem. There was light snow underfoot above 3100 feet, and the uneventful climb brought me to the top where I found a decrepit old camp, discarded old propane cylinders, and a profusion of other detris. The tower stood tall and sturdy. The metal rungs on the ladder were coated with an inch of rime ice. I put on gloves and climbed to the cab. Fortunately a few window panes remained intact to partially block the wind. Where the panes were missing, the wind howled through creating a "brisk" bazillion below zero wind chill. The Bigelows were looking good down to the south, and way off east I could make out Katahdin! The air was that clear. But the trade off was the cold. I didn't dally on top.

My celebration consisted of scratching "100" in the ice on one of the panes and taking a picture; a low-key ceremony for sure. But this peak was a "three-fer" and a perfect transition to the new lists!

As I descended, thawing out from the winter above, I wondered how many peaks I could hit over my three-plus days. I decided to shoot for 6.

Back at the car with a TRT of 3:50, with the usual :25 on top...vertical ascent 2150.

I repaired to a "primitive" campsite off the King and Bartlett Road, not far from tomorrow's mountain. Logging slash from a nearby clearcut made wonderful firewood for the fire ring, but when it was tent time, the cheer of the fire was just a memory. The night was so cold I vowed to buy a new down sleeping bag ASAP! My "zero degree" synthetic bag was a big zero, for sure.


WEDNESDAY, Oct. 6, a.m. KIBBY MOUNTAIN:
prominence: 2264'
NE2kp# 33
NEFF #26

I broke camp and headed for Kibby Mountain under clear sky. The car's heater was appreciated. PapaBear's desciption from last summer is right on. I would only add that there are two cairns marking the trail on the left, .35 miles up the new logging logging road off Gold Brook Road.

I began my hike at 8 a.m. At first the "trail" is like a path through Christmas. Straight and narrow, with a profusion of fir encroaching from both sides. Only the lights and ornaments were missing. The trail is so straight, flat and gradual, you could probably go up on a Segway. (you paying attention, Dean Kamen?)

Nearing the top, it finally got steeper and rockier and the Christmas trees were long gone. On the scrubby top stood a nice observation deck. The views were similar to Snow's, but with no rime ice or howling winds this morning, I enjoyed the outlook a lot more.

An uneventful descent brought me to my car in 1:55. Total vertical was 1200.


WEDNESDAY, Oct. 6, pm. BOUNDARY BALD MOUNTAIN
prominence: 2002'
NE 2kp# 55
NEFF# 42

My next stop would be Boundary Bald. It was some distance away, over north of Jackman. Should I go south, then up through Bingham, Caratunk, and Jackman, or north through Quebec? Quebec, it turned out, was fewer miles and I had some loonies left over from a Toronto trip that would make good lunch money. So I headed north up a newly improved, repaved, gloriously scenic route 27.
The border crossing was a bit of a hassle, but they finally deigned to let me into their country and I went off rolling over long sweeping stretches of bucolic Quebec countryside. I spent my $8 Canadian in Lac Megantic and crossed back into the U.S., picking up U.S. 201 south.

It took me 108 miles from Kibby to the turn off from 201 (just north of The Falls rest area).
The gravel road, heading left (east) featured a small white "Bald Mt. Hiking Trail" visible from both directions on 201. How nice! I could've used a few signs like that on the other various logging roads I drove on over subsequent days! Additionally, forks and intersections heading to Boundary Bald had those same smallish white signs pointing the way.

At a final fork in the road, a Michigan SUV was parked. The sign pointed up the right fork here. My car is no SUV, and has little clearance, but I pressed on. The car bought me an additional 300 feet of vertical and .4 miles before I came to a small turnout where I parked (2200'). Just beyond, it turned out, the road was badly washed out. I headed out on foot at 1:20, again in orange, continuing up the road. Along the way I encountered the people from the SUV. They had hiked up the trail quite a ways, they said, but had to abort because the path got "very rocky." They would be the only hikers I encountered over my days in Maine. The rocky, washed out road gained another 400 feet. Then the trail itself appeared on the left; again clearly marked, "Bald Mt. Tower" with an arrow. The path has blue blazes and occasionally you'll find curious pink-stenciled 4x6 inch howling wolf markers on rocks.

The trail started out as a creek bed, then went through some wallows. After 500 feet of vertical, I abruptly hit the usual high mountain conifer forest at 3100. Now the path climbed up rocks and roots and over one damaged metal rung ladder. Various lengths of telephone wire lay in the duff from time to time. The trail finally emerged onto open rocks and traversed the ridge, in and out of scrub pine.

At the peak there's no longer a tower, just a heap of metal scrap off to the side. In its place stood a newly constructed log cabin building with solar panels. Interestingly, a red sign affixed to the side read:
(this building is) "protected by a series of concealed, motion-activated surveillance cameras. Photographs taken by the cameras are immediately transmitted to a security agency for disposition to law enforcement agencies."

Hmpphhh. Is there no escape? Hello Big Brother.

I enjoyed the immense views and set my sights on the huge distant lump of Big Spencer to the southeast. That would be tomorrow's destination.

After gazing out over half of Maine, I descended, thinking in retrospect I should've touched the building, generating a photo, proof that I had summitted! I got back to the car with a TRT of 2:50. Vertical was 1500.

Back on 201, I checked out the very scenic ribbon falls behind the Falls Rest area, and headed for Jackman. At Bishop's store there, I was poking around and happened upon a book, "North Woods Walks" by Christopher Keene. (The paperback was signed by the author!) I thumbed through it and learned: A) I could have saved 70 miles of driving by taking logging roads from Kibby east over to 201 in the Jackman area;
B) Coburn Mt. (on both of my lists) is the highest point between the Bigelows and Katahdin.
Mr. Keene had rudimentary directions for Coburn. It wasn't far from Jackman, so I decided it would be the next morning's mountain...Big Spencer perhaps in the afternoon.

I bought the book and retired to the adjacent Jackman Motel. No 4-star inn, not very quiet, it was nevertheless acceptible. Couldn't beat the price...$35 included all taxes. The room had a kitchen with stove, oven, microwave, refrigerator, and coffee maker and a nice breakfast table. The shower had ample hot water and the bed was very firm. The cable TV had the baseball games. The Yanks were playing, later the BoSox, so I settled in. Unfortunately I passed out by 10 pm, lulled to sleep by the constant roar of logging trucks heading down 201. I had to find the scores the next morning. Somehow the Sox managed to win without my cheering them on.

To be continued ...
JT

 

[bigmoose]

a Maine 2kp/FF 6pk (continued):

THURSDAY, Oct. 7, a.m. COBURN MOUNTAIN
prominence: 2520'
NE 2kp #21
NEFF # 16

Either my car's odometer is off, or Christopher Keene's is. I proceeded south from Jackman's 201/15/6 intersection 16 miles, turned right on a logging road, and floundered around for a half hour without success. Finally I gave up on this road and its various branches and returned to 201. Heading back north on 201, I finally found the correct road. It turns west off 201...a telephone pole at the entrance has 2 support guy wires, one with a white plastic sleeve, the other with a white one. The small metal identifier numbers on the pole are: 550/234/1270. As the gravel road begins, there's a white sign with green lettering that says "land share." It turns out this road is 14.5 miles south of the aforementioned Jackman intersection.

The first quarter mile of the gravel road is great. Then the better road goes off to the left. Coburn is straight ahead. The faint of heart should park here and hoof it. I gambled, though, and proceeded in my Geo. It got sketchy. I scraped bottom here and there, but avoided losing my oil pan. A few washouts and drainage ditches made the drive a hairy one. At 2.2 miles I came to a wide gravelly clearing with a four way intersection. Evidently a ski lodge was here many years ago. There are ruins scattered about. I made a 90 degree right turn. There were more ruins in another clearing nearby. I continued on this road up another precarious rocky stretch, curving uphill to the left where I reached a fork where snowmobile trail arrows pointed left and right. The left path had a small sign that said "Coburn Summitt." Elevation here was about 2440'. I parked and up I went. The rocky road wound its way up steeply to about 3240'. It took a little less than a half hour to reach this spot, a wide gravelly clearing with a small brown shed with solar panels. Looking uphill, I saw a path continue with a locked metal gate. Just beyond the gate was a deep, newly dug trench. I crossed the gate and ditch and quickly came to a fork. I mistakenly chose the left path (orange surveyor's tape), but soon realized the error of my way and returned to the fork. The right fork was the way to the top. On my descent, I constructed a cairn here.

This was a trail, not a road, a nice path up through conifers and mossy ground. I suddenly emerged at a wide expanse of solar panels, on top of Coburn at 3720'. It had taken me :55 to ascend, 1300' of vertical. There was a newly constructed 15' high observation tower, and if the atmosphere were clear, the views would have been immense. As it was, a southwest wind had developed, bringing warmth to the region, but haze as well. So the distant views weren't all that thrilling. Couldn't complain, though. The warmth was preferable to the arctic blast on Snow!

I retraced my steps down to the car. My TRT was 1:55. Now it was off to the distant Big Spencer via Greenville and Kokadjo.


THURSDAY, Oct. 7, p.m. BIG SPENCER MT.
prominence: 1916'
NEFF# 45

It was a long, but scenic jaunt from Coburn to Greenville. Views of Moosehead Lake and Kineo through the fall foliage kept me going. Beyond Kokadjo ("population: not many" according to the sign) the pavement ended and Sias Hill Road continued on, dry and dusty. Logging trucks thundered through, creating zero visibility dust clouds. That's how I missed the turn to Big Spencer. I eventually backtracked and found the correct logging road. It turns north of Sias Hill Road, 3 miles east of the gate house. This dirt road was narrow, and I had a couple of close encounters with big logging trucks. Just over 6 miles down the road, i found Big Spencer's trailhead on the left.

The trail up Big Spencer was a straightforward rocky road through nice hardwoods to the old firewarden's house. The two-story building was in fine shape. Its porch afforded fine views out toward Katahdin. A nearby shed held numerous cords of good-looking firewood for the kitchen's wood stove. A ladder led to the upstairs where the floor was solid, but strips of foil-backed insulation were drooping from the rafters.

From the cabin, the trail - now a path - headed for the steep mountainside. Up rocks and roots it went, utilizing 7 ladders in the steepest sections. Emerging on top, there was a wooden helicopter landing square. Beyond, there was a fire tower. The trap door was locked, but no matter. I stood on the top rung, basking in the sun in short sleeves . The view was huge, but again there was a problem with haze. Katahdin was dimly visible off to the east. Again, I was trading warmth for atmosphere. But this was five peaks in a row without clouds or rain, so I couldn't complain.

I carefully descended the steep path, down the ladders, past the cabin, and got to the car with a TRT of 3:00 which included a lot of time poking around the cabin. Vertical was 1800'.

Then it was time for more dodge 'em with the trucks and more dust clouds. Note to self: buy a new air filter once back in civilization.
North of Greenville I secured a "primitive" campside beside the nascent Kennebec River and enjoyed another big fire with scavenged logging slash. The sound of rushing water soon brought a restful sleep in the tent.


FRIDAY, October 8, a.m. BIG MOOSE MT.
prominence: 2124'
NE 2kp# 47
NEFF# 37

So nice of them to name this superb mountain after me!! It had been called Big Squaw Mt. until a recent name change. According to author Keene, a group of Native Americans petitioned the Maine governor to remove the name "Squaw" from all place names in the public domain. He agreed, and the law was passed in 2001. Not only was the mountain's name changed, but the trailhead was moved, too. Now it's 1.6 miles west of rte 15/6 on North Road, north of Greenville.

I hit the trail in the warmth of morning sun. The very pleasant path ascended through green, yellow and orange leaved hardwoods. The treadway was quite civilized, with small bridges and sturdy planks where needed. The scenery got more beautiful as the trail gradually climbed. An old decaying firewarden's cabin off to the right sported a blue tarp over the roof. The two rooms looked inviting; the floor was solid, but the roof definitely had issues.

After the camp, the trail crossed a sturdy bridge, went up a rock staircase, up a strong log ladder, then climbed and climbed up a stairway to heaven (fade in Led Zeppelin).
This rock work rivals the stone steps on the Firewarden's Trail up the Bigelows. (on the way down I counted 432 rock steps!!) A VERY impressive piece of work and well engineered. You'd need an earthquake to dislodge these babies.

The trail finally topped out on the peak's ridge, passed two spurs to western lookouts, and made its way to the summit. The ridge walk through conifers was as beautiful as the stretches through the colorful foliage of the mature deciduous trees below. The summit was cluttered with 2 sheds supporting small antennas and solar panels and a tower with no ladder. (You could access the open trap door to the cab above, but it would require a circus act.) Thankfully, there was no indication of the Big Squaw Ski area on the mountain's north side. (As a private enterprise, the Squaw name remains there.)

I gazed off into the haze, wishing for a clearer view, but realizing the real attraction of this mountain was its trail. After all the ugly logged-over forest I'd seen over 3 days, This handsome woods was a real treat. I enjoyed it all the way down. It was scenic enough to bring tears. But then again, maybe I felt like crying because it was time to head home.

Big Moose TRT 2:55. 1800' vertical

As I left Greenville, I stopped at the impressive Indian Hill Trading Post and picked up a few "real" topos for use on the Maine NEFF bushwhacks. Baker, Moxie, and Saddleback (Big Shanty quad) are calling, and I'll be back.
Not many places stock the good old original topos anymore, but Indian Hill has 'em for the whole region.
Anybody wanna go NE2kp/NEFF whackin'??!

AND ONE FINAL THOUGHT!!

My last two peaks shared their names with VFTT'rs! (In fact, Spencer is a Mainer, I believe). So here's a thought about a new climbing list:
Mountains sharing names with VFTT screen names!!

We have:

Big Moose
Spencer
Tom(NH)
Blue
Captain
Hunter
Jay
Willie (wrong spelling)
Bear (hello Little Bear and Papa Bear)

anybody else?!

LOL, JT

 

[spencer]

Thanks for the great reading Bigmoose! I'm stuck inside writing on this wonderful Saturday morning and your report is just what I needed for a little armchair (or computer desk, as it may be) adventure...

Ironically, I have yet to climb either Big or Little Spencer mtns. I have field sites right near them and have passed several times, but just haven't gotten to them yet.

sooner or later...
next time you are up here for a list assault, give me a holler.

spencer

 

[RoySwkr]

A couple of thoughts for you Spencer-baggers:

The 15' quad http://docs.unh.edu/ME/rggd54sw.jpg shows that the tower is not the highest point, while the 7.5' quad is ambiguous http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?z=19&n=5068703.00015576&e=465053.999999999&datum=nad83&u=5 . You might want to get them both while you are there.

And if you are also interested in the 3000-footer to the SW http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?z=19&n=5067621&e=463748&s=50&size=m&u=5&datum=nad83&layer=DRG25 , you can bushwhack from the NW and get all 3 with no gate fee

 

[bigmoose]

I did wonder about Big Spencer's SW ridge bump.
It looked equal to or slightly higher than the tower location. So maybe the canister should be moved. No wait, there was no canister....

 

[Nadine]

Great TR big Moose

Glad to see you had pleasant weather for your summits. Little Spencer is an awesome climb if you're ever up that way. Fixed ropes help you ascend a natural chimney.

btw, I had the same odometer discrepency on the way to Coburn Mtn last week. Christopher emailed me yesterday, so I was planning on letting him know.

I'm usually up for some peakbagging, drop me a note if you ever want to get together.

Nadine

oh, my dog Moxie is named after Moxie Bald.

 

[Meo]

Nice reports, Bigmoose! I'll save them for future purposes. And most of all, congrats for the NE100

I'd be interested for some of the 50FF, so let's keep in touch.

 

[SherpaKroto]

JT: keep me in mind for some of your trips. I'm planning a lot of the 3K peaks up that neck of the woods.

Excellent trip report with valuable information. I'll need it as I do plan to hit a few of those summits, possibly as early as next summer.

Yes, congrats on the NE100. Remind me to buy you a beer next time I see you!

 

[Papa Bear]

Big Moose

It's great to see someone else pursueing the FF list. I've been working on it for a year or so and I think it's a great list, and as you say not as daunting as the 3K list. And of course I jealous you got to do these, although I was having a great time on a boat during that time.

I would really like to do one more trip to Maine before winter beigins in ernest. If you or anyone else wants to do something before Thanksgiving, I'm all for it!

Here's my Maine to-do list, not to say that I could not be talked into anything not on m list;

The Traveler. In Baxter, looks like it's too late for this year.
Blue. Delorme Map #19. Could bag Tumbledown the same day.
Moxie. Delorme Map #30. Bushwhack!
Caribou. Delorme Map #38. Bushwhack! 4 other 3Ks nearby.
Coburn. Delorme Map #40.
Baker. DeLorme Map #41. Bushwhack! 4 other 3Ks nearby.
Big Moose. DeLorme Map #41.
Saddleback. DeLorme Map #42. Bushwhack!
Boundary Bald. DeLorme Map #47.
Big Spencer. DeLorme Map #49. You really should go back to check that other high point Roy mentioned

Let me know if anyone is interested in one more pre-winter trip to Maine.

Pb

 

[bigmoose]

PB -
For me, Maine may have to wait for next fall. Next two weekends I'll be tied up in World Serious coverage here in the Hub (unless it's over in five games).
Then it's the Whackathon in NH...Then I'd be advised to devote a little time to the home front. With the length of your Maine wish list, it looks like you might get back up next year...I'd be up for that. And yes I will revisit Big Spencer and get to the other (higher) hump...and throw in Little Spencer for good measure. Looking forward to the bushwhacks up there next year.
JT

 

[Papa Bear]

Driving through Canada to get to Rte 201

Hi BigMoose

Question about driving through Canada to Rte 201: I didn't check the exact mileage but I'm surprised you could save 70 miles by taking logging roads from Kibby to Rte 201. From DeLorme, I'm assuming you would take Appleton Road off of Skinner Road (Gold Brook Rd; Beaudry Rd) about 5 miles north of Kibby. This looks lilke it becomes Hardscrabble Rd and meets 201 by Parlin Pond, about 10 miles south of Jackman, or about 18 miles south of the road to Boundary Bald. I would have guessed the distance you have to go north on 201 would make up for the extra miles in Quebec.

We're thinking of doing the NEHH Boundary via Canada (and pick up Gosford while we're up there) and then go up and pick up 201. Since we'd be already up there, the mileage difference would be a closer call.

What was the route through Quebec? Looks like 161 from Woburn to Megantic then 204 to a crossover road north of St. Gedeon to 173. Any suggestions?

BTW: you're IM quota is exceeded.

Pb

 

[bigmoose]

Papa Bear -
Yeah, if you're already up north of the border, stick with the paved Canadian routes over to the border crossing at rte. 201. You can zip along at 100km/hr. with very little traffic on smooth, straight roads. Route signs are abundant...Take 161 north out of Woburn, with Lac Megantic off to your left. After 24 km, just entering the city of Lac Megantic, turn right on the signed route 204. Follow 204 for 49 km to a right turn, route 269. 16 km on that road gets you to rte 173, where you turn right. Another 16 km gets you back to the border and rte. 201 into Maine. So, using your calculator, you'll find it's a little over 60 miles from Woburn to 201 this way. You'll enjoy the rural Canadian countryside and tidy homes and barns with quasi-quaint architecture. Enjoy! Wish I could join you.

If you get to Jackman, look for the rather unique outhouse at the Jackman Trading Post.
JT