Bigelow - Horns Pond Peak

[Nate]

In looking over the AMC map earlier today (from the eighth edition of the Maine Mountain Guide) which bump on the Bigelow Range is Horns Pond Peak? Is it the one just below and to the left of the AT symbol next to the "Horns Pond" label? Is the actual high point right on the trail? I know this should probably be obvious, but considering this particular peak isn't labeled on the map, I just want to check real quick before I label the wrong place on my map in pen.

 

[Sheomet]

Does this help?

 

[marty]

If you are looking for the South Horn summit, which is one of the 100 highest, it is right on the Appalachian Trail, about .6 miles east of the pond. The slightly shorter North Horn is on a spur trail to the north. BTW, if you do hike the South Horn, I highly recommend taking the spur to the North Horn. It has an incredible 360 degree view.

Marty

 

[Nate]

Marty, thanks for the post. However, both the North Horn and South Horn are very well marked on the AMC map. I was actually seeking information on Horns Pond Peak. It's a 3390+ summit that I suspect is the large bump just west of where the AT meets the Horns Pond Trail. Having hiked the Bigelow Range from Avery to Cranberry Peak before, I suspect I passed over or close enough to the high point of Horns Pond Peak en route, but it would be nice to know what the consensus is for the location of this high point.

 

[marty]

Y'now Nate, as soon as I shut down the computer last night, I thought you probably were asking about something other than the well known Horns.

Not sure on that one.

Regards,
Marty

 

[king tut]

North and South Horn are the two higher peaks, around 4,000 feet. The 3390 foot peak, i believe, is the one right after horn's pond headed over to cranberry peak via the AT. I hiked it about a month ago, and that elevation sounds about right. It is about .3 mile or so after Horn's pond. I'd hvae to consult the maps to confirm the name of the peak or small bump.

 

[RoySwkr]

I suspect I passed over or close enough to the high point of Horns Pond Peak en route, but it would be nice to know what the consensus is for the location of this high point.

Amazing how many people on this site have never heard of the NE3K

It is as you say the peak near the A.T. between Cranberry Pond and The Horns Pond
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?z=19&n=4999661&e=394427&size=s&datum=nad83&layer=DRG25

My personal opinion is that the map is not particularly accurate and I spent quite a while crashing in scrub looking for the HP. I personally would not count it from walking by on the A.T. However several other members have climbed it and let's hear what they have to say.

 

[mhrsebago]

Horns Pond Peak

I agree with Roy... the AT passes to the North of several bumps which are clearly uphill from the trail itself. Which of these knobs is the "true" summit is a question I could not definitively answer, although my feeling was that the western-most was slightly higher (I did not find any cannister or sign!).
To answer the other part of your question... yes, it is the peak SE of the "AT trail symbol" on the AMC map. Have you considered doing Cranberry Pk as part of the same hike?... both peaks are great hikes...ENJOY!!

 

[post'r boy]

Amazing how many people on this site have never heard of the NE3K

It is as you say the peak near the A.T. between Cranberry Pond and The Horns Pond
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?z=19&n=4999661&e=394427&size=s&datum=nad83&layer=DRG25

My personal opinion is that the map is not particularly accurate and I spent quite a while crashing in scrub looking for the HP. I personally would not count it from walking by on the A.T. However several other members have climbed it and let's hear what they have to say.

i crashed around on every bump up there when we went thru there last summer on our AT thru-hike, never found a jar

 

[dms]

I've crashed thru that crap twice and never found a register, I think that most folks are "satisfied" by going by it on the trail. The elevation gain off the trail is pretty small.

 

[Nate]

Thanks for the clarification regarding how the highest point of this peak is actually off the AT. I expect to be in the area toward the end of May, and I'll wander around the peak then. If we end up leaving a canister I'll write another post.

 

[Nate]

Postscript to the West Horn Peak Post

Just a quick update regarding the high point on West Horn Peak: I was up there this past weekend, and after thrashing through and over all the little knobs, I concluded that the true high point was near the spur path for the viewpoint (it's right near the junction of the AT and the spur path). I found another point about a hundred feet to the west that seemed to be another contender (and it was about 15-20 yards off the AT [although this is just approximate, since it can be difficult to judge distances while one is fighting through scrub]), however, the elevation lost in walking over to it wasn't quite made up for by ascending the bump. Unfortunately, I didn't have an altimeter with me to determine definitively which bump was the highest, and the readings I was getting from my GPS weren't consistent enough to even determine through relativity which was the highest bump (it would give one elevation, then I would take two steps to the right and it would give another reading that was forty feet higher, so in those conditions I wasn't even able to go with whichever bump received the highest elevation reading).

So anyway, after much study of the area, I went with the bump by the view point (it's the second signed outlook west of where the AT meets the Horns Pond Trail, and the first east of where the AT reaches the top of the Bigelow Ridge). I put up a register jar, and when I was leaving the site I felt kind of silly, because only then did I realize that the spot was within sight of the AT. Since it seemed the transparent jar was easy to miss, I marked the tree trunk with yellow caution tape. I just hope doing so wasn't overdoing it. Also, if anyone finds that the canister was placed on the wrong bump, be sure to have a screw driver with you for moving it to the correct one (and definitely post here that you've done so). Suffice to say (to answer my own original question), the AT doesn't pass over the true high point of West Horn Peak, since there is a noticeable, if not very dramatic, elevation rise to the south of the trail.