arghman
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10 of us went on an AMC Maine chapter hike up Mt Abraham (east of Saddleback and south of Sugarloaf) via the AT at Perham Stream and a spur trail. The road in was over a rather rough logging road with lots of small protruding rocks & washouts, I would never take my Toyota Corolla in but we had some decent vehicles & good drivers.
The AT heads up over Lone Mountain & a spur trail leads east to Mt Abraham with about a mile of above-treeline trail at the end. The incline varies quite a bit from some steep stretches to some fairly flat stretches, a variety that I appreciate as it gives you time to catch your breath. The views were great & so was the weather; I love hiking above treeline though with my botanical viewpoint I was slightly disappointed -- it is mostly felsenmeer (aka a big pile of jagged rocks), with some krummholz (blueberry, crowberry, Labrador tea, etc.) in the flatter areas near the summit. Nothing in bloom anywhere above 3000' except for a few patches of diapensia at the summit which were a welcome reminder that summer is nearly here. (blooms have just opened, some were still in bud) A few very small isolated patches of snow/ice at higher elevations in shade.
Mileage was about 8 miles, some of us went on to Mt Spaulding which added another 3.8 mi. Spaulding is mostly wooded & didn't have too much redeeming qualities in my opinion, except it being above 4000'.
The AT heads up over Lone Mountain & a spur trail leads east to Mt Abraham with about a mile of above-treeline trail at the end. The incline varies quite a bit from some steep stretches to some fairly flat stretches, a variety that I appreciate as it gives you time to catch your breath. The views were great & so was the weather; I love hiking above treeline though with my botanical viewpoint I was slightly disappointed -- it is mostly felsenmeer (aka a big pile of jagged rocks), with some krummholz (blueberry, crowberry, Labrador tea, etc.) in the flatter areas near the summit. Nothing in bloom anywhere above 3000' except for a few patches of diapensia at the summit which were a welcome reminder that summer is nearly here. (blooms have just opened, some were still in bud) A few very small isolated patches of snow/ice at higher elevations in shade.
Mileage was about 8 miles, some of us went on to Mt Spaulding which added another 3.8 mi. Spaulding is mostly wooded & didn't have too much redeeming qualities in my opinion, except it being above 4000'.
