The Bigelows being the closest 4000 footers to my house naturally attract my attention. I had never hiked the Safford Notch trail from the shore of Flagstaff Lake, so Saturday was the day. My big adopted Senior Lab Emerson had only been on a a few hikes with me so this was his first 4K.
After a long drive on the seemingly endless Long Falls Dam Road from New Portland to East Flagstaff Road, arrival at the Round Barn parking area and trailhead was a welcome break from omnipresent frost heaves.
Safford Notch trail started out very gently on an old well surfaced tote road. It soon leaves the old road and ascends through beautiful woods of big, very old forest. Safford Notch is delightfully big with the stream gurgling through it. The trail had many small rivulets and springs to the delight of Emerson. He kept well hydrated on this very warm spring day.
Once reaching the AT and turning south, the character of the trail abruptly changes. Giant boulders, lots of vertical surfaces, and deep boulder caves with cold air flowing out into the warm day. Hanging overhead are the rocks and cliffs of the Old Man's Head, just visible through the trees. The trail passes under, and then slabs to the right of the "Head", but then passes near the top of this rocky prominence with a short and very worthwhile viewpoint spur.
Once departing the Old Man's Head viewpoint the trail moderates with several level places as ot passes over three small intermediate peaks and eventually reaches the treeless Alpine Zone where it heads directly up to the summit of Avery Peak and the old fire tower remains.
Late last fall when I was up here, the wrecking crew that dismantled the wooden part of the old fire tower had left the six foot tall foundation chock full of old lumber and building fragments. Evidently, they had retuned to dispose of most of the junk because the old foundation was now nearly empty with only a small amount of wood remaining. The most disapointing thing here was the large amount of window glass scattered around the site. Of course, I feared for Emerson's paws so we removed to the small rocky bump about a hundred feet away that hosts the large summit sign listing all the mileages.
The removal of the building remains from inside the foundation revealed two round brass C&GS survey markers that had been under the floor of the old tower. I think that this brings the count of markers on this summit to around six.
Emerson and hung out on the summit for about an hour and then headed back down, arriving at the trailhead at 2:15 having met absolutely no other hikers all day.
Total milage: nine Time: six hours
The views of Flagstaff Lake from the Bigelows are absolutely breathtaking.
After a long drive on the seemingly endless Long Falls Dam Road from New Portland to East Flagstaff Road, arrival at the Round Barn parking area and trailhead was a welcome break from omnipresent frost heaves.
Safford Notch trail started out very gently on an old well surfaced tote road. It soon leaves the old road and ascends through beautiful woods of big, very old forest. Safford Notch is delightfully big with the stream gurgling through it. The trail had many small rivulets and springs to the delight of Emerson. He kept well hydrated on this very warm spring day.
Once reaching the AT and turning south, the character of the trail abruptly changes. Giant boulders, lots of vertical surfaces, and deep boulder caves with cold air flowing out into the warm day. Hanging overhead are the rocks and cliffs of the Old Man's Head, just visible through the trees. The trail passes under, and then slabs to the right of the "Head", but then passes near the top of this rocky prominence with a short and very worthwhile viewpoint spur.
Once departing the Old Man's Head viewpoint the trail moderates with several level places as ot passes over three small intermediate peaks and eventually reaches the treeless Alpine Zone where it heads directly up to the summit of Avery Peak and the old fire tower remains.
Late last fall when I was up here, the wrecking crew that dismantled the wooden part of the old fire tower had left the six foot tall foundation chock full of old lumber and building fragments. Evidently, they had retuned to dispose of most of the junk because the old foundation was now nearly empty with only a small amount of wood remaining. The most disapointing thing here was the large amount of window glass scattered around the site. Of course, I feared for Emerson's paws so we removed to the small rocky bump about a hundred feet away that hosts the large summit sign listing all the mileages.
The removal of the building remains from inside the foundation revealed two round brass C&GS survey markers that had been under the floor of the old tower. I think that this brings the count of markers on this summit to around six.
Emerson and hung out on the summit for about an hour and then headed back down, arriving at the trailhead at 2:15 having met absolutely no other hikers all day.
Total milage: nine Time: six hours
The views of Flagstaff Lake from the Bigelows are absolutely breathtaking.
