Abraham (Maine) Attempt

[Tom Rankin]

It was a beautiful, sunny, windless day, a little cold at -2F, but it's Maine. We drove 5.5 miles up the icy West Kingfield road and parked at the last pull off before the plowed road makes a U-turn in someone's driveway. It's only about .3 miles to the U-turn in any case. From our parking spot is about 1.5 miles to the summer trail head, making the total hike lengthen from 8 miles to 11.

We started down the icy road and soon we came to the Rapid Stream Crossings. I was not aware that the stream splits into 2 here, maybe this is a post Irene development. It appeared that there was only one ruined bridge. The stream is depicted as splitting/joining a little further downstream, according to this map. In any case, the first stream we encountered was crossed fairly easily slightly upstream from the road. 100 yards later, we came to a larger stream that proved to be impassable. The ice had largely run out in the big melt a while back, and was slowly reforming. But we could not find any safe place to cross, unless we had brought a large aluminum ladder, or a kayak!

So, the alternate routes for Abraham that I know of are:

Take the right fork of the road just before the stream crossing, and follow the road that parallels the brook, hoping for an easier crossing. It looks like the Norton brook comes in just above the crossing, so the streams might be easier to cross before they split. (Maybe we actually crossed the Rapid Stream and were foiled by the Norton Brook? )

Coming from Sugarloaf makes a long hike with a lot of elevation gain. Or you could walk up CPR and take the AT, even longer.

You could also walk up to Caribou Pond and whack over to the AT (or maybe there is a snowmobile trail/logging road?) and thence over to Abraham.

Is there a road approach from the South? I see lots of roads on the map, but I doubt they are open in the Winter.

 

[brobichaud]

Yeah, there were two bridges, but the abutments on the first bridge were washed away (or removed), unlike the second.

Is there a road approach from the South? I see lots of roads on the map, but I doubt they are open in the Winter.

I've seen some scuttlebut about two approaches from the south, one using a snowmobile trail directly to the summit (found the directions HERE), and another using logging roads that cross the AT about a mile west of the Abraham Side Trail junction.

 

[Red Oak]

Yeah, there were two bridges, but the abutments on the first bridge were washed away (or removed), unlike the second.



I've seen some scuttlebut about two approaches from the south, one using a snowmobile trail directly to the summit (found the directions HERE), and another using logging roads that cross the AT about a mile west of the Abraham Side Trail junction.

Last time I was up there,I heard the approach via snowmobile trails from the south[Madrid]was also washed out from Irene.The only sure approach is from the a.t. from sugarloaf.The bushwack from Caribou pond is doable if you like lots of snow,I spent a hour getting maybe half a mile there last winter.In certain conditions Abraham is a tough one in winter.If you try later in winter,let me know I might be down to break some trail.But now seems the time with the general snow levels all over the northeast.The a.t. from the cvr seems like a mofo up to the sugarloaf side trail,better to sneak up Sugarloaf and hit the a.t. that way.This hike seems to be a strength in numbers kind of deal...Good luck!

 

[Tom Rankin]

Thanks to both of you for your replies.

Actually, the snow is so hard packed right now in Maine, you can walk over it w/o snowshoes in many places.

I spoke to a local snowmobiler about Abraham, and he also told me there is a sno-mo route to the top of Abraham, but I could not follow his description, and he himself admitted he could not do it w/o following another friend.

We did Sugarloaf very openly, on a very busy day, walking up the service road. We were never stopped and asked what we were doing. Many people gave us the thumbs up sign as they passed, and we waved to the ski patrol more than once. So sneaking into Sugarloaf is not an issue. But it's a long hike if the trails are not broken out. And we've already done Sugarloaf and Spaulding, so if we went, we would skirt the actual summits.

Thanks for the link, it looks like it would be much too long to walk assuming we even got past the first few way points in a car, and with a Prius, I have to be very conservative about what roads I take!

Another try may be in the cards this year, I will keep this thread in mind.

 

[peakbagger]

This summer during the AT celebration, a group was bussed in from the west side of the mountain via well maintained logging roads to a point just outside the corridor boundary. We then followed the road to the AT crossing and headed up hill to the AT spur path to Abraham. Considering the roads and bridged looked to be in excellent shape, I expect there is active logging there this winter but it would require lots of exploration. People also used to access the summit from the Banjum area.

I thought I saw some reference in MATC newletters that there was a new trail proposed or being built from the south. I am just not sure if its to Sugarloaf or Abraham. It was referred to as the traditional berry pickers route.

 

[JoeCedar]

Tom, do you realistically think that an extension ladder would be a safe and effective option? I have a 24 footer which could be used. Hey, the guys on Everest use them all the time.........

Do you think the stream could freeze up enough to be passable?

 

[RoySwkr]

You could also walk up to Caribou Pond and whack over to the AT (or maybe there is a snowmobile trail/logging road?) and thence over to Abraham.

Is there a road approach from the South? I see lots of roads on the map, but I doubt they are open in the Winter.

There used to be a cable crossing of Rapid Stream, but I never used it and can't provide info

There is a bootleg trail from near Caribou Pd to Spaulding Mtn leanto, previously discussed here

I have twice in fall climbed Middle Abraham from logging roads near Barnjum, there was a cairned route when it was on the NE100 list - no idea if road is plowed this year

 

[Tom Rankin]

Tom, do you realistically think that an extension ladder would be a safe and effective option? I have a 24 footer which could be used. Hey, the guys on Everest use them all the time.........

Do you think the stream could freeze up enough to be passable?

I wasn't totally serious, but I guess it could work, given the conditions RIGHT NOW. There is a point where you are faced with a short jump from one snow/ice covered rock to the far shore, which is similarly covered in snow/ice. Whether that is the true bank and solid ground underneath was hard to say. Also getting to the aforementioned rock required a little faith that the ice bridge under foot was secure. The water was running deep and fast at the jump point, and it was just not worth the risk for me, and probably impossible for my hiking companions. But it's only about a mile to the crossing. The thought only hit me after we returned to the car, so I did not take any pictures or study the surroundings with serious intent. It would also require a short bushwhack to get the ladder in place. And remember, I have no idea what the Norton brook crossing looks like right now.

I'm not a stream freezing expert, but it has definitely started to re-freeze from the previous thaw. It was quite cold up there the 3 days we were there, around 0F every day. There was evidence of snow mobiles crossing the previously frozen stream, (and maddeningly, snowshoe prints on the far side as well), so I assume it gets quite thick if given enough time.