John S
Member
Passing so many fine campsites while dayhiking these rounded summits and rugged peaks last year, I kept thinking how much fun it would be to revisit the area someday on a backpacking trip. Between the peaks are both open and wooded ridge walks, deep lush valleys, and many beautiful streams, ponds and woods. As luck would have it, my friend Meri, who enjoys backpacking as much as peakbagging, needed only the western Maine 4Ks to complete the NE 67. Thus, a trip was born.
After considering the many options, we decided to dayhike Abraham and Redington and ‘thru-hike’ the AT portion. We met in Kingfield at noon on Sunday (8/1) and headed up the Fire Warden’s Trail to Abraham. Upon reaching the cabin, we were pleased to see Postr’boy’s four-hour old entry in the register announcing the three newest members of the NEHH club. Congratulations to the three!
Abraham was the perfect place to begin the week because its summit revealed most of the rest of our journey. Under a clear sky and cool breeze, we could see Saddleback, The Horn, Saddleback Junior, Redington, Spaulding, Sugarloaf, and some of the Bigelow Range. After gazing at the great mass of mountain from Saddleback to Saddleback Junior, we abandoned any hope of squeezing Redington in on Monday morning before starting the backpack. Redington would have to wait.
We stayed in Stratton Sunday night. In the morning, after spotting a car at the AT crossing on Rt. 27, we drove through Rangeley to the Rt. 4 trailhead and started in. The first few miles were mostly on soft ground with log bridges over the wet spots. Piazza Rock, a big boulder sticking out from a cliff, was an interesting diversion and the site of the first of many fine campsites we would see. Things got serious after Eddy Pond as the trail rose steeply to treeline and the beginning of a mile-long ridge walk to the summit. After enjoying Saddleback’s long views and a lazy lunch, we headed over to The Horn in hazy sunshine where I stretched out on a flat slab, watched ravens soaring above and rested. It was a very peaceful place. I was glad we lingered because the next stretch was the hardest part of the hardest day. The routes down from The Horn and up to and down from Saddleback Junior were very steep and rough. There was a reward, however. With the distant views now blocked by its higher neighbors, Saddleback Junior offered a wonderful feeling of remoteness, more so than any other place on the trip.
We shared the Poplar Ridge Lean-to Monday night with Tangent and Brian from Aus, two affable SoBos a couple of weeks into their journey. If ever passing this way, look for the Poplar Ridge Trivia sheet prepared by the long-time maintainer. It’s an informative and amusing read.
Tuesday was easyday, though not intentionally. Clear at the start, the clouds began to roll in early and soon intermittent thunder was heard from afar. We dropped off Poplar Ridge to Oberton Stream and the old rail bed of the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad, losing the remainder of the previous day’s elevation gain. The trail on the short, steep climb beside a waterfall up to the rail bed was in unusually poor condition with rotted log ladders, the steps long gone. Reaching the rail bed, however, I noticed a white-blazed, soft path entering from the left. Oops! I guess I missed a reroute! Shortly thereafter, near aptly named Sluice Brook, we came face-to face with a huge Northern Goshawk perched on a short tree just twenty feet ahead. After a brief stare-down, the magnificent bird took off, its loud screeching call heard long after it disappeared into the woods. We pushed on, crossing Perham Stream at a pretty spot, and stopped for lunch on viewless Lone Mountain. The intermittent thunder was back but still seemed distant. A bit later, just as we arrived at Spaulding Lean-to, the distant thunder suddenly became very local. We couldn’t believe our good luck. The only wet weather of the week and it arrived within minutes of reaching a shelter! It was almost five o’clock when the rain stopped, making the decision to stay the night, rather than trying for the Sugarloaf summit, very easy.
We were on our way at 6:40 Wednesday morning, grateful that a group from a girl’s camp (nice kids, good leaders) needed to be on their way by 6:00. We never would have gotten up so early on our own and needed to make up some time. We had several options and would play it by ear that day. At the Spaulding summit, we decided that I would head directly for Caribou Valley Road and wait while Meri, who is much quicker than me, would make the run up to Sugarloaf by herself. While I enjoyed a very pleasant walk along the wooded ridge, followed by a rather rough descent but one with views across the valley, Meri explored the Sugarloaf summit, catching some views and meeting up with some hikers we had met earlier that had spent the night up there. Rejoining at the road, neither of us wanted to do Redington with even lightened full packs so we once again put it off and headed up the AT. We had come seven miles along and off the Spaulding/Sugarloaf ridge (well, six miles for one of us) and our goal now was Cranberry Stream Campsite, ten miles up and over the Crockers on the Bigelow side of Rt. 27.
This section of the AT, after the initial steep rise from the valley, had easy grades and generally fine footing. Despite few views, it was a pleasure to hike. We had a fun encounter with a couple of ADK 46ers along the way who were chasing some peaks in the east. I hoped my directions to Redington were understandable and fruitful. Just below South Crocker’s summit, we saw the sad remains of a moose along the side of the trail. It was now just a skull, a few large bones and a big mat of what was once hair; even the flies were now gone.
We arrived at Rt. 27 about 5:00. We had traveled fifteen miles and had two more to go before setting up the tent and feasting on freeze-dried meals. But wait! We were at a road, and we had a car! Good judgment being an important element of safe hiking, we carefully weighed the relative merits of freeze-dried lasagna vs. fresh pizza and Maine blueberry ales, and headed to town. We are very safe hikers.
In town, we also had the benefit of a current weather forecast. With two days to do the Bigelows and Redington, we wanted to get the order straight. Armed with a fresh forecast, we returned to the AT Thursday morning for a fantastic day of hiking. Arriving at Cranberry Stream Campsite, we had no regrets about staying in town but noted that we would have been quite pleased if we had stayed on the trail and camped here. The AT began to climb after the campsite, eventually reaching the Bigelow Range Trail, followed by a rough but fascinating section around, up and sometimes between enormous boulders. Viewpoints started to appear just before Horns Pond, the last one, overlooking the pond, being our lunch spot.
If overnighting in this area again, I definitely will make it a point to stay at Horns Pond. Two nice lean-tos, at least eight neat tent sites (with trash cans for food storage), a pond for swimming and two privies, each cleaner than some restaurants. Incredibly, there is no fee. We stayed over an hour, exploring and talking to Alice, the caretaker.
Eventually, we moved on to the Horns, the main Bigelow Peaks and our day’s destination, Avery Campsite. North Horn was terrific, having nearly the same feeling of isolation we enjoyed on Saddleback Junior. Next up was South Horn, with views across to Sugarloaf. Then it was back down and into the woods, followed by the last climb of the day to West Peak. Reaching the peak in late afternoon, the wind was picking up and the temperature was dropping. I think we layered up for the first time all week. The views were tremendous. Mountains in all directions and Flagstaff Lake below. Having our fill, we moved down to the campsite just a few hundred feet below the summit, picked a platform with a view and set up the tent. We combined our water run with a quick jaunt up to Avery Peak and enjoyed the new views to the east before returning for dinner (freeze-dried lasagna!) and our sleeping bags.
We slept late that cold night (high 30s, low 40s) and didn’t get on the trail until 9:00. Still, we made it down the Fire Warden’s Trail with enough time to pick up some lunch, drive up Caribou Valley Road past the AT crossing, head up to Redington and return to the car by 4:00 for the long ride home. After all we had seen this week, Redington was a bit anti-climatic. I did enjoy a handful or two of raspberries, though.
The trip was all we had hoped it would be. Other than the thunderstorm we watched from the safety of a shelter, the weather flip-flopped between perfect and just darned good. Meri had a ten peak week (nine for me) and now needs only Old Speck to complete the list. We hiked 62 miles, climbed almost 17,000 feet, enjoyed some wonderful views and met some interesting people. It was a good week.
After considering the many options, we decided to dayhike Abraham and Redington and ‘thru-hike’ the AT portion. We met in Kingfield at noon on Sunday (8/1) and headed up the Fire Warden’s Trail to Abraham. Upon reaching the cabin, we were pleased to see Postr’boy’s four-hour old entry in the register announcing the three newest members of the NEHH club. Congratulations to the three!
Abraham was the perfect place to begin the week because its summit revealed most of the rest of our journey. Under a clear sky and cool breeze, we could see Saddleback, The Horn, Saddleback Junior, Redington, Spaulding, Sugarloaf, and some of the Bigelow Range. After gazing at the great mass of mountain from Saddleback to Saddleback Junior, we abandoned any hope of squeezing Redington in on Monday morning before starting the backpack. Redington would have to wait.
We stayed in Stratton Sunday night. In the morning, after spotting a car at the AT crossing on Rt. 27, we drove through Rangeley to the Rt. 4 trailhead and started in. The first few miles were mostly on soft ground with log bridges over the wet spots. Piazza Rock, a big boulder sticking out from a cliff, was an interesting diversion and the site of the first of many fine campsites we would see. Things got serious after Eddy Pond as the trail rose steeply to treeline and the beginning of a mile-long ridge walk to the summit. After enjoying Saddleback’s long views and a lazy lunch, we headed over to The Horn in hazy sunshine where I stretched out on a flat slab, watched ravens soaring above and rested. It was a very peaceful place. I was glad we lingered because the next stretch was the hardest part of the hardest day. The routes down from The Horn and up to and down from Saddleback Junior were very steep and rough. There was a reward, however. With the distant views now blocked by its higher neighbors, Saddleback Junior offered a wonderful feeling of remoteness, more so than any other place on the trip.
We shared the Poplar Ridge Lean-to Monday night with Tangent and Brian from Aus, two affable SoBos a couple of weeks into their journey. If ever passing this way, look for the Poplar Ridge Trivia sheet prepared by the long-time maintainer. It’s an informative and amusing read.
Tuesday was easyday, though not intentionally. Clear at the start, the clouds began to roll in early and soon intermittent thunder was heard from afar. We dropped off Poplar Ridge to Oberton Stream and the old rail bed of the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad, losing the remainder of the previous day’s elevation gain. The trail on the short, steep climb beside a waterfall up to the rail bed was in unusually poor condition with rotted log ladders, the steps long gone. Reaching the rail bed, however, I noticed a white-blazed, soft path entering from the left. Oops! I guess I missed a reroute! Shortly thereafter, near aptly named Sluice Brook, we came face-to face with a huge Northern Goshawk perched on a short tree just twenty feet ahead. After a brief stare-down, the magnificent bird took off, its loud screeching call heard long after it disappeared into the woods. We pushed on, crossing Perham Stream at a pretty spot, and stopped for lunch on viewless Lone Mountain. The intermittent thunder was back but still seemed distant. A bit later, just as we arrived at Spaulding Lean-to, the distant thunder suddenly became very local. We couldn’t believe our good luck. The only wet weather of the week and it arrived within minutes of reaching a shelter! It was almost five o’clock when the rain stopped, making the decision to stay the night, rather than trying for the Sugarloaf summit, very easy.
We were on our way at 6:40 Wednesday morning, grateful that a group from a girl’s camp (nice kids, good leaders) needed to be on their way by 6:00. We never would have gotten up so early on our own and needed to make up some time. We had several options and would play it by ear that day. At the Spaulding summit, we decided that I would head directly for Caribou Valley Road and wait while Meri, who is much quicker than me, would make the run up to Sugarloaf by herself. While I enjoyed a very pleasant walk along the wooded ridge, followed by a rather rough descent but one with views across the valley, Meri explored the Sugarloaf summit, catching some views and meeting up with some hikers we had met earlier that had spent the night up there. Rejoining at the road, neither of us wanted to do Redington with even lightened full packs so we once again put it off and headed up the AT. We had come seven miles along and off the Spaulding/Sugarloaf ridge (well, six miles for one of us) and our goal now was Cranberry Stream Campsite, ten miles up and over the Crockers on the Bigelow side of Rt. 27.
This section of the AT, after the initial steep rise from the valley, had easy grades and generally fine footing. Despite few views, it was a pleasure to hike. We had a fun encounter with a couple of ADK 46ers along the way who were chasing some peaks in the east. I hoped my directions to Redington were understandable and fruitful. Just below South Crocker’s summit, we saw the sad remains of a moose along the side of the trail. It was now just a skull, a few large bones and a big mat of what was once hair; even the flies were now gone.
We arrived at Rt. 27 about 5:00. We had traveled fifteen miles and had two more to go before setting up the tent and feasting on freeze-dried meals. But wait! We were at a road, and we had a car! Good judgment being an important element of safe hiking, we carefully weighed the relative merits of freeze-dried lasagna vs. fresh pizza and Maine blueberry ales, and headed to town. We are very safe hikers.
In town, we also had the benefit of a current weather forecast. With two days to do the Bigelows and Redington, we wanted to get the order straight. Armed with a fresh forecast, we returned to the AT Thursday morning for a fantastic day of hiking. Arriving at Cranberry Stream Campsite, we had no regrets about staying in town but noted that we would have been quite pleased if we had stayed on the trail and camped here. The AT began to climb after the campsite, eventually reaching the Bigelow Range Trail, followed by a rough but fascinating section around, up and sometimes between enormous boulders. Viewpoints started to appear just before Horns Pond, the last one, overlooking the pond, being our lunch spot.
If overnighting in this area again, I definitely will make it a point to stay at Horns Pond. Two nice lean-tos, at least eight neat tent sites (with trash cans for food storage), a pond for swimming and two privies, each cleaner than some restaurants. Incredibly, there is no fee. We stayed over an hour, exploring and talking to Alice, the caretaker.
Eventually, we moved on to the Horns, the main Bigelow Peaks and our day’s destination, Avery Campsite. North Horn was terrific, having nearly the same feeling of isolation we enjoyed on Saddleback Junior. Next up was South Horn, with views across to Sugarloaf. Then it was back down and into the woods, followed by the last climb of the day to West Peak. Reaching the peak in late afternoon, the wind was picking up and the temperature was dropping. I think we layered up for the first time all week. The views were tremendous. Mountains in all directions and Flagstaff Lake below. Having our fill, we moved down to the campsite just a few hundred feet below the summit, picked a platform with a view and set up the tent. We combined our water run with a quick jaunt up to Avery Peak and enjoyed the new views to the east before returning for dinner (freeze-dried lasagna!) and our sleeping bags.
We slept late that cold night (high 30s, low 40s) and didn’t get on the trail until 9:00. Still, we made it down the Fire Warden’s Trail with enough time to pick up some lunch, drive up Caribou Valley Road past the AT crossing, head up to Redington and return to the car by 4:00 for the long ride home. After all we had seen this week, Redington was a bit anti-climatic. I did enjoy a handful or two of raspberries, though.
The trip was all we had hoped it would be. Other than the thunderstorm we watched from the safety of a shelter, the weather flip-flopped between perfect and just darned good. Meri had a ten peak week (nine for me) and now needs only Old Speck to complete the list. We hiked 62 miles, climbed almost 17,000 feet, enjoyed some wonderful views and met some interesting people. It was a good week.
