marty
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Old Blue is a 3,600 foot mountain on the Appalachian Trail in Western Maine. It sits next to Elephant Mountain (one of the New England 100 Highest) and Bemis Mountain. We'll get to the psycho hawk in just a bit 
I woke up early this past Saturday, hoping to knock off a quick hike and then spend the remainder of the day doing camp chores and kayaking with my wife. I chose Old Blue, knowing it is quick, a good workout, has great views and because I hadn't done it in over three years.
The drive south to the S. Arm Road trailhead was pleasant. Saw a young cow moose on the way. Started up the AT heading northeast. The trail starts up steep, with a few viewpoints to the south and east. They put in some iron rungs and railings in one steep ledgy spot since I last did it. It then levels out at the top of the notch for about a mile of fairly easy hiking.
Somewhere in the middle of that stretch I felt a breeze and heard something fly right over my head. I turned around and saw a branch shaking. I then started to resume my hike and saw a big brown and white hawk flying right at my face . I covered it with my forearms and the bird kind of whipped around my waist and took back off in the air . I then heard a loud cheaping noise and the bird came at me again! I then started hiking really fast and started yelling and clapping my trekking poles. It came at me two or three more times, but didn't get as close to me.
I kept moving and the hawk stopped chasing me. The hike then takes a few ups and downs, coming to a low, densely foliated area with a small stream. From there, the trail starts to climb up Old Blue. The hike is fairly steady, with a few steep scrambles. The Appalachian River was rushing down the trail from recent rains, so it was a bit slick. The views started opening up to the south and west, with the Baldpates and Richardson Lakes clearly visible. There were two other relatively new iron rung and railing sections, too. Guess they are trying to tame the AT. Finally I reached the summit and the views were outstanding over the scrub trees, brush and flowers.
After exploring the summit area a bit, I descended back down. The trail was a bit slippery and took a minor spill. Then, I started hearing some other hawk calls, only this appeared to be a different species (red tailed hawk, perhaps). Still, it made me look up and back from time to time. Finally, I got back to the flat section and was convinced I would yell and wave my arms and trekking poles, should that psycho hawk come after me again.
All the sudden, I heard that now familiar cheeping and there’s the hawk again, heading for me. My screaming/waving deterred his approach and he came toward me two more times, both times stopping mid flight. I basically trail ran through that section and the bird was finally out of sight and earshot.
The descent down to the notch was straightforward. Ran into a nice AT sectional hiker from Williamstown, MA and warned him of the hawk. He was going to try his whistle and also wave his arms and poles. I then got to the truck and headed up the road, seeing a young buck deer and a fox with a small mammal in its mouth along the way. Quite the wildlife trip!
Upon returning to my camp, I checked out my bird book. The species appeared to be a northern goshawk, which is supposed to fearlessly defend its nest from anyone or anything that comes near it.
Over the years, I have run into a bear and cow moose with calves on the trail and was false charged by an angry cow moose. None of them came close to this one on the fear factor scale of an attacking hawk. I fear I will be a bit wary of hawks for a while. Hope that wariness goes away FAST.
If any of you have more extensive knowledge of hawks, I would love to hear from you!
Regards,
Marty
I woke up early this past Saturday, hoping to knock off a quick hike and then spend the remainder of the day doing camp chores and kayaking with my wife. I chose Old Blue, knowing it is quick, a good workout, has great views and because I hadn't done it in over three years.
The drive south to the S. Arm Road trailhead was pleasant. Saw a young cow moose on the way. Started up the AT heading northeast. The trail starts up steep, with a few viewpoints to the south and east. They put in some iron rungs and railings in one steep ledgy spot since I last did it. It then levels out at the top of the notch for about a mile of fairly easy hiking.
Somewhere in the middle of that stretch I felt a breeze and heard something fly right over my head. I turned around and saw a branch shaking. I then started to resume my hike and saw a big brown and white hawk flying right at my face
. I covered it with my forearms and the bird kind of whipped around my waist and took back off in the air . I then heard a loud cheaping noise and the bird came at me again! I then started hiking really fast and started yelling and clapping my trekking poles. It came at me two or three more times, but didn't get as close to me.I kept moving and the hawk stopped chasing me. The hike then takes a few ups and downs, coming to a low, densely foliated area with a small stream. From there, the trail starts to climb up Old Blue. The hike is fairly steady, with a few steep scrambles. The Appalachian River was rushing down the trail from recent rains, so it was a bit slick. The views started opening up to the south and west, with the Baldpates and Richardson Lakes clearly visible. There were two other relatively new iron rung and railing sections, too. Guess they are trying to tame the AT. Finally I reached the summit and the views were outstanding over the scrub trees, brush and flowers.
After exploring the summit area a bit, I descended back down. The trail was a bit slippery and took a minor spill. Then, I started hearing some other hawk calls, only this appeared to be a different species (red tailed hawk, perhaps). Still, it made me look up and back from time to time. Finally, I got back to the flat section and was convinced I would yell and wave my arms and trekking poles, should that psycho hawk come after me again.
All the sudden, I heard that now familiar cheeping and there’s the hawk again, heading for me. My screaming/waving deterred his approach and he came toward me two more times, both times stopping mid flight. I basically trail ran through that section and the bird was finally out of sight and earshot.
The descent down to the notch was straightforward. Ran into a nice AT sectional hiker from Williamstown, MA and warned him of the hawk. He was going to try his whistle and also wave his arms and poles. I then got to the truck and headed up the road, seeing a young buck deer and a fox with a small mammal in its mouth along the way. Quite the wildlife trip!
Upon returning to my camp, I checked out my bird book. The species appeared to be a northern goshawk, which is supposed to fearlessly defend its nest from anyone or anything that comes near it.
Over the years, I have run into a bear and cow moose with calves on the trail and was false charged by an angry cow moose. None of them came close to this one on the fear factor scale of an attacking hawk. I fear I will be a bit wary of hawks for a while. Hope that wariness goes away FAST.
If any of you have more extensive knowledge of hawks, I would love to hear from you!
Regards,
Marty
