jake L.
New member
Day 1 Thursday: My two brothers and I parked our car at the Route 27 A.T. trailhead in Stratton and awaited our shuttle. We arranged a ride with Sue, the owner of the Stratton Motel and Maine Roadhouse, to drive us to the beginning of our hike in Rangeley. Sue arrived promptly in her Jeep accompanied by her trusty Poodle. I highly recommend anyone visiting this neck of the woods needing a ride or accomodations giving her a call. We arrived at the Route 4 trailhead and were hiking by 4:30 PM. Piazza Rock Campsite came and went, passing Eddy Pond and began our climb up Saddlebak. The clouds overhead were menacing as we approached the summit but the rain held off. A quick descent and a short climb brought us to the summit of The Horn and a beautiful blood orange sunset. Headlamps were donned and in no time were at Redington Stream Tentsite, home for the night.
Day 2 Friday: On the trail by 8:30 AM, and made our way up Saddlebak Jr. We had an astounding view back from whence we came and our entire route onward lay before us. Passing through Poplar Ridge Campsite we checked out the old "baseball bat" style floor in the lean-to and the "interesting" thru-hiker novels that were left behind. The descent to Orbeton Stream was VERY steep. While at the river we washed up and refilled water bottles. It was a very long climb to the top of Lone Mt. and the heat of the day was reaching full intensity. After gaining the Mt. Abraham junction we decided to drop packs and headed for the top. I had been looking forward to hiking this mountain most of all and the terrain and scenery was amazing! We crossed the talus fields and wound our way up towards the summit and took in the views from the "kings throne". I was very excited to spot a Luna Moth just behind the cairn, and snapped a few photos. First time ever seeing one! Back at the trail junction we shouldered our packs and trotted to Spaulding Tentsite.
Day 3 Saturday: Today was to be a short 7.5 miles so we slept in and were on the trail by 9:45 AM. Spaulding Mt. was a pleasant warmup to begin the day and were treking up Sugarloaf before we knew it. We ate lunch and shared the views with a few day hikers who had come up the ski trails and took a quick look inside the old gondola building. They really should fix that place up it's still in very solid shape. Down we went back to the junction and our final descent for the day. The Sun was REALLY beating down on us as we crossed a few open slides on the backside of Sugarloaf. Reaching the South Branch Carrabassett River we plunged into the cool water for some much needed refreshment, soaking for a good long time. We left the swimming hole making an early camp at Crocker Cirque Tensite and enjoyed a hearty dinner with games of rummy around the fire accompanied by large doses of "The Famous Grouse".
Day 4 Sunday: Boots on the ground at 8:30 AM, with cool temperatures and an overcast sky. After not too long we arrived at the summit of South Crocker, dropped packs and found our "herd path" towards Redington. The route was very straightforward giving us no trouble, albeit some fighting and cussing at the vegetation, and made good time. Once on the summit the clouds had cleared and we signed in at the canister before making our way back to South Crocker. Back at our packs we ate some lunch and made for our final summit, North Crocker. The climb was over all too soon and a final group photo taken. The 5.2 mile descent to Route 27 was over in just a couple hours and were back at our car by 3 PM. First things on our mind...Food and drink! I've passed "The Chuck Wagon" in Livermore Falls soo many times on my way to Sugarloaf and never gave it much attention, perhaps because of its namesake. We were all pleasantly surprised and will be back! This was a wonderful section of the AT and hiking it in one stretch with great company made it all the better!
Pictures below:
Day 2 Friday: On the trail by 8:30 AM, and made our way up Saddlebak Jr. We had an astounding view back from whence we came and our entire route onward lay before us. Passing through Poplar Ridge Campsite we checked out the old "baseball bat" style floor in the lean-to and the "interesting" thru-hiker novels that were left behind. The descent to Orbeton Stream was VERY steep. While at the river we washed up and refilled water bottles. It was a very long climb to the top of Lone Mt. and the heat of the day was reaching full intensity. After gaining the Mt. Abraham junction we decided to drop packs and headed for the top. I had been looking forward to hiking this mountain most of all and the terrain and scenery was amazing! We crossed the talus fields and wound our way up towards the summit and took in the views from the "kings throne". I was very excited to spot a Luna Moth just behind the cairn, and snapped a few photos. First time ever seeing one! Back at the trail junction we shouldered our packs and trotted to Spaulding Tentsite.
Day 3 Saturday: Today was to be a short 7.5 miles so we slept in and were on the trail by 9:45 AM. Spaulding Mt. was a pleasant warmup to begin the day and were treking up Sugarloaf before we knew it. We ate lunch and shared the views with a few day hikers who had come up the ski trails and took a quick look inside the old gondola building. They really should fix that place up it's still in very solid shape. Down we went back to the junction and our final descent for the day. The Sun was REALLY beating down on us as we crossed a few open slides on the backside of Sugarloaf. Reaching the South Branch Carrabassett River we plunged into the cool water for some much needed refreshment, soaking for a good long time. We left the swimming hole making an early camp at Crocker Cirque Tensite and enjoyed a hearty dinner with games of rummy around the fire accompanied by large doses of "The Famous Grouse".
Day 4 Sunday: Boots on the ground at 8:30 AM, with cool temperatures and an overcast sky. After not too long we arrived at the summit of South Crocker, dropped packs and found our "herd path" towards Redington. The route was very straightforward giving us no trouble, albeit some fighting and cussing at the vegetation, and made good time. Once on the summit the clouds had cleared and we signed in at the canister before making our way back to South Crocker. Back at our packs we ate some lunch and made for our final summit, North Crocker. The climb was over all too soon and a final group photo taken. The 5.2 mile descent to Route 27 was over in just a couple hours and were back at our car by 3 PM. First things on our mind...Food and drink! I've passed "The Chuck Wagon" in Livermore Falls soo many times on my way to Sugarloaf and never gave it much attention, perhaps because of its namesake. We were all pleasantly surprised and will be back! This was a wonderful section of the AT and hiking it in one stretch with great company made it all the better!
Pictures below:
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. The South Carrabassett was very easy to cross with plenty of exposed rocks. There was a rickety plank lashed with a steel cable across one expanse that's not very safe and should be thrown aside. Lots of cracking sounds when weighted making the other options much more appealing.
