rambler
New member
When you hike the Bigelow Range ( see the pics from rbhayes' report below) do not forget this little gem of a Mountain, Little Bigelow. This may seem like having to involve a long distant car drop, but no it does not. The guide books do not mention a short cut from Rte. 27. There is a 5 mile logging road (closed in winter) from Carrabassett to Bog Brook Rd. There is a restaurant, Tufuleo's, and a shop Happy Tunes, where one turns off Rte. 27 onto Carriage Rd. It quickly becomes a rough, but passable logging road. At 4.8 miles, pass under power lines. go left at the fork by a brown house and join a smoother logging road. .2 bear left toward Bigelow Lodge and Round Barn as directed by a sign. You will soon see the generic hiker sign which marks the AT crossing. The AT is 3 miles to the summit of Little Bigelow. Drive north 4 miles on the road and you will come to the parking area at the Safford Brook Trailhead. You can walk .3 on the trail to the lake, but drive around the corner and you will find a great campsite in the pines lakeside!
Options: 1) Leave a car at the AT and one at Safford Pond Trail. Start at the AT go over Little Bigelow and out Safford Pond Tr.
2) Include Avery Peak in the loop
3) Start at Safford ( esp. if you only have one car) Hike only to Avery Peak
Description of these hikes in one word E-A-S-Y. Little effort for great views from an open ledge at the summit of Little Big. You probably already know about Avery Peak.
The 2.2 miles of the Safford Tr. is almost level! 45 minutes. It leaves you in the notch only 1.9 from Avery Peak. With the great viewpoints on the way up Avery, and about .3 of the last of the climb above treeline, you won't even notice you have been going up.
Even if you just climb Little Bigelow, it is well worth it. Most of the 3 miles of the AT, N to S, is not steep. The trail also goes around some amazing boulders in the little notch.
Just do Avery Peak from Safford and with little effort you will reach one of the most memorable summits in Maine.
NB. With the exception of the Safford Tr. photo, all of the following were from Little Bigelow either near or at the summit. Unfortunately I managed to erase my pics from Avery...but I'll retrun there soon, I hope.
http://community.webshots.com/scripts/editPhotos.fcgi?action=viewall&albumID=198244229
Options: 1) Leave a car at the AT and one at Safford Pond Trail. Start at the AT go over Little Bigelow and out Safford Pond Tr.
2) Include Avery Peak in the loop
3) Start at Safford ( esp. if you only have one car) Hike only to Avery Peak
Description of these hikes in one word E-A-S-Y. Little effort for great views from an open ledge at the summit of Little Big. You probably already know about Avery Peak.
The 2.2 miles of the Safford Tr. is almost level! 45 minutes. It leaves you in the notch only 1.9 from Avery Peak. With the great viewpoints on the way up Avery, and about .3 of the last of the climb above treeline, you won't even notice you have been going up.
Even if you just climb Little Bigelow, it is well worth it. Most of the 3 miles of the AT, N to S, is not steep. The trail also goes around some amazing boulders in the little notch.
Just do Avery Peak from Safford and with little effort you will reach one of the most memorable summits in Maine.
NB. With the exception of the Safford Tr. photo, all of the following were from Little Bigelow either near or at the summit. Unfortunately I managed to erase my pics from Avery...but I'll retrun there soon, I hope.
http://community.webshots.com/scripts/editPhotos.fcgi?action=viewall&albumID=198244229
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