Every year, on or around my birthday, I always try to do a hike that stands out. Well last Saturday (10/31) was my 21st birthday, and I hadn't done anything new on the NE 67, so off to Maine I went! It was also the last day of Daylight Savings Time, so I definitely took advantage of that 
The plan was the Bigelows... until I passed by W. Kingfield Rd. After passing it, I drove probably 300 feet before saying, "Screw it, I'm doing Abraham!", doing a U-turn, and driving back to the road. West Kingfield Rd was paved almost to the junction with Rapid Stream Rd. Once on Rapid Stream Rd, the road got kind of rough, and would only get worse. Parts of the road had some big murky puddles, but I was able to skirt around them. After about 10 or so min, I made a sharp left turn and drove over the newly replaced bridges over Rapid Stream. (No guard rails, so don't swerve) After the last bridge, the road forked. The way to the trailhead was via the right fork. (I drove about 100 ft. down the left fork before coming to some seriously gnarly wooden planks and jutting rocks- hell NO, so I backed up and headed down the right fork.) The right road was rough, but passable with caution. I was driving my tiny Kia Rio (which after today I dubbed "The Little Car that Could"), so I never went above 5 MPH for that last 1/2 mile to avoid bottoming out. I made it though! Could've- and probably should've- parked and walked, but I'm lazy and don't want to walk more than I have to
The Mt. Abraham Trail, my route of choice, was mellow for the first two and a half miles, crossing several brooks and small streams en route (the first crossing was the most difficult- crossed it on a log). A mile in, I crossed a logging road, and from there, the trail was fairly level, with a few small PUDs thrown in for good measure. The woods were thin and open until about 2,000-2,100', after which it became more sprucey. At around 2,200', I passed an outhouse (which I was thankful for on the descent ), and then the trail became rather steep. Wasn't rough though, so the going was all right. The trail mellowed a bit near the 3,000' mark, then went steeply up again. At about 3,300', I came to an excellent view of Spaulding and Sugarloaf Mtns, then turned left at an AT sign to the start of the famous talus field. I followed the trail, marked with cairns, up the slope to the start of the alpine zone of Abraham. Definitely didn't feel like was under 4,000 feet. After a few false summits, I got to the right one!
The summit of Mt. Abraham was open and treeless, with 360 degree views! They were even better due to crystal clear skies and the chilly air. Unfortunately, the old fire tower frame, which is an Abraham staple, was lying on the ground on its side when I got there . How it got knocked over, I dunno. Didn't need to put on the winter gear I brought, though, since there was almost no wind. Once I got my photo/video proof, I kicked back, relaxed, ate some Tim Hortons Timbits, and took in the incredible views. After a 1/2 hour, though, I headed back down. I also didn't see anyone else on this whole hike, which was shocking because it was a 4K, and it was Saturday (a beautiful one at that).
Not the longest hike- 9 miles roundtrip with 3,000 ft. of gain- but it was a nice leg burner with killer views in all directions! Hard to beat this, at least in New England. Plus, the summit was in the treeless alpine zone despite being only 4,049 ft, so I felt like I was on a much higher mountain.
Here's the video recap, if you're interested:
The plan was the Bigelows... until I passed by W. Kingfield Rd. After passing it, I drove probably 300 feet before saying, "Screw it, I'm doing Abraham!", doing a U-turn, and driving back to the road. West Kingfield Rd was paved almost to the junction with Rapid Stream Rd. Once on Rapid Stream Rd, the road got kind of rough, and would only get worse. Parts of the road had some big murky puddles, but I was able to skirt around them. After about 10 or so min, I made a sharp left turn and drove over the newly replaced bridges over Rapid Stream. (No guard rails, so don't swerve
) After the last bridge, the road forked. The way to the trailhead was via the right fork. (I drove about 100 ft. down the left fork before coming to some seriously gnarly wooden planks and jutting rocks- hell NO, so I backed up and headed down the right fork.) The right road was rough, but passable with caution. I was driving my tiny Kia Rio (which after today I dubbed "The Little Car that Could"), so I never went above 5 MPH for that last 1/2 mile to avoid bottoming out. I made it though! Could've- and probably should've- parked and walked, but I'm lazy and don't want to walk more than I have to The Mt. Abraham Trail, my route of choice, was mellow for the first two and a half miles, crossing several brooks and small streams en route (the first crossing was the most difficult- crossed it on a log). A mile in, I crossed a logging road, and from there, the trail was fairly level, with a few small PUDs thrown in for good measure. The woods were thin and open until about 2,000-2,100', after which it became more sprucey. At around 2,200', I passed an outhouse (which I was thankful for on the descent
), and then the trail became rather steep. Wasn't rough though, so the going was all right. The trail mellowed a bit near the 3,000' mark, then went steeply up again. At about 3,300', I came to an excellent view of Spaulding and Sugarloaf Mtns, then turned left at an AT sign to the start of the famous talus field. I followed the trail, marked with cairns, up the slope to the start of the alpine zone of Abraham. Definitely didn't feel like was under 4,000 feet. After a few false summits, I got to the right one! The summit of Mt. Abraham was open and treeless, with 360 degree views! They were even better due to crystal clear skies and the chilly air. Unfortunately, the old fire tower frame, which is an Abraham staple, was lying on the ground on its side when I got there
. How it got knocked over, I dunno. Didn't need to put on the winter gear I brought, though, since there was almost no wind. Once I got my photo/video proof, I kicked back, relaxed, ate some Tim Hortons Timbits, and took in the incredible views. After a 1/2 hour, though, I headed back down. I also didn't see anyone else on this whole hike, which was shocking because it was a 4K, and it was Saturday (a beautiful one at that).Not the longest hike- 9 miles roundtrip with 3,000 ft. of gain- but it was a nice leg burner with killer views in all directions! Hard to beat this, at least in New England. Plus, the summit was in the treeless alpine zone despite being only 4,049 ft, so I felt like I was on a much higher mountain.
Here's the video recap, if you're interested:
