buckyball1
New member
The most exciting/interesting part of today's journey was the drive to the mountain. With my 4AM starts, I've seen a lot of moose too close for comfort on the roads these last few weeks. Today was beyond anything I've experienced. I got to test the Forester's anti-lock brakes (nice) when a large moose was standing in the road as I rounded a bend on Rt 15 in Shirley (between Monson and Greenville). Between Lily Bay and Kokadjo (a distance of perhaps 7? miles), I had to stop 8 times for moose either directly in the road or standing right beside it. On the dirt roads in from Kokadjo to Farrar, I had 3 more encounters. This was around 600-630AM. I saw no moose on the way out about 10ish.
Farrar, a pretty non-descript peak north of Second Roach Pond. I took the dirt road in toward Medawisla (AMC camp) but cut north around the eastern edge of Second Roach and to a spot directly south of Farrar (you can get this far (today) with a normal clearance 2WD car). I then took an old log road up the peak a bit before starting the 'whack, a "short"
1.25 mile direct (who knows with my zigzaging) journey.
The first 1/2 mile is pretty easy going (for Maine) The woods then become generally thicker, but it's not bad if you're used to this stuff. The 50 foot rule is the 25 foot rule in this stretch and it's not hard to avoid blowdown and really thick stuff for another 1/2 mile. There are a few small open spots with excellent views toward Jo-Mary, Whitecap, the Bakers, the Lily Bays, #4, etc. Then the "why don't I just throw myself off the next cliff" stuff begins about 1/4 mile before the top. Thick, ugly, moderate blowdown, but we've all seen worse. The summit area has a few bumps and a nice, large open area with peekaboo views in most directions-bright sunshine for 1/2 hour, no bugs quite yet. I spent an inordinate amount of time again (remember Jo Mary?) looking for the jar/bottle with no luck. There were several obvious possibilities and I searched them thoroughly multiple times. (no, there aren't any bumps I didn't visit and yes, i searched the thickets and downed balsams). So..either I missed the jar or the intrepid soul who places most of these on the "lower" peaks has this among the handful of ME mountains I know are still on his list.
I had thoughts of "maybe another", but of the only "easily reachable from there" (ha) peaks on my list, Big Russell is still not planned and Attean is an all day slog. It was nice to be home early (minor showers) after a disgusting, McD's large choc shake in Dover Foxcroft.
jim
Farrar, a pretty non-descript peak north of Second Roach Pond. I took the dirt road in toward Medawisla (AMC camp) but cut north around the eastern edge of Second Roach and to a spot directly south of Farrar (you can get this far (today) with a normal clearance 2WD car). I then took an old log road up the peak a bit before starting the 'whack, a "short"
1.25 mile direct (who knows with my zigzaging) journey. The first 1/2 mile is pretty easy going (for Maine) The woods then become generally thicker, but it's not bad if you're used to this stuff. The 50 foot rule is the 25 foot rule in this stretch and it's not hard to avoid blowdown and really thick stuff for another 1/2 mile. There are a few small open spots with excellent views toward Jo-Mary, Whitecap, the Bakers, the Lily Bays, #4, etc. Then the "why don't I just throw myself off the next cliff" stuff begins about 1/4 mile before the top. Thick, ugly, moderate blowdown, but we've all seen worse. The summit area has a few bumps and a nice, large open area with peekaboo views in most directions-bright sunshine for 1/2 hour, no bugs quite yet. I spent an inordinate amount of time again (remember Jo Mary?) looking for the jar/bottle with no luck. There were several obvious possibilities and I searched them thoroughly multiple times. (no, there aren't any bumps I didn't visit and yes, i searched the thickets and downed balsams). So..either I missed the jar or the intrepid soul who places most of these on the "lower" peaks has this among the handful of ME mountains I know are still on his list.
I had thoughts of "maybe another", but of the only "easily reachable from there" (ha) peaks on my list, Big Russell is still not planned and Attean is an all day slog. It was nice to be home early (minor showers) after a disgusting, McD's large choc shake in Dover Foxcroft.
jim
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