Amicus
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It happened that I was able to take today off and hike, and I decided to climb two peaks in the general vicinity of Stratton, Maine - Sugarloaf and Chain-of-Ponds Snow.
I undertook to be back in Freedom, NH by early evening, so I set off around 4:15 this morning on the slow, 150-mile drive through central Maine to Sugarloaf, parking at the base area hotel and heading up a little before 8 a.m.
I've stood on the summit of Sugarloaf more than a few times, but by chairlift and I know that doesn't count. I thought I'd hike up the Tote Road - a Blue that winds along the northern perimeter of the ski trails and is one of my favorites to ski - but looking up it seemed too indirect, since several trails closer to the middle looked recently mowed. So instead I combined Candyspill and King's Landing (Blues) and Upper Big Dipper (Black), before taking Tote Road for the last few hundred vertical feet.
The drops (rises for me) on the first three were pulse-raisers and I was happy to have my poles. The trails seemed a little less overgrown than most other summertime ski slopes I've hiked, however. The great views of the Bigelow Range, and lots more near the summit, never stop on these flower-strewn meadows.
At the summit, I met another hiker - a young guy who hiked up the spur from the CVR. He planned to retrace his steps, tag the Crockers and Redington later today, trek up to Rt. 27 and camp in the Bigelows, which he would traverse tomorrow to complete his NE 67. Good luck! As I passed the ski area summit building, five young people sauntered out, seeming to rub the sleep from their eyes. They looked like snowboarders emerging from hibernation.
A little before 11 a.m., I was back in my car starting the 25-mile drive NW on Rt. 27 to North Road - the dirt road on the left that leads 5 miles west to the CoP trailhead. The Road is unmistakeable, as it has a regular blue-and-white street sign, as does "Snow Mountain Road," the right you take at 3.9 miles from 27, which ends in another mile at the trailhead - two boulders denying further access to anything bigger than an ATV. (The "North Rd." sign on 27 is on the left side of the road, while on the right is a plywood square on which has been stencilled in black: "Penobscot Indian Territory.")
The first two-thirds of the trail will appeal to anyone who enjoys trudging muddy ATV trails with no views. Well before you get to Snow Mt. Pond, a sign on the right announces "Snow Mountain Trail," but that's misleading as it merely marks the ATV branch that leads to Snow Mt. Pond.
When you finally reach the Pond, you follow the flat and extremely wet ATV trail west along its north shore (which recedes from the trail) until you reach roughly its western end. Look carefully at that point for the hiking trail, which veers R (North) to the summit. It is marked by two arrows nailed to a tree one over the other - an old wooden one, faded yellow on brown, and one of those arrows used to direct ATV'ers - black on yellow plastic - on which someone has printed "Snow Mountain Tower Trail."
The hiking trail is rough - unblazed with a number of blowdowns and muddy spots. The only spot I found really confusing, however, came at .51 mile (crow-flight, per the"Go-To" function of my GPS) - c. 3,300 feet - where the trail doubles back on itself briefly, up some rocks on the left. This turn is marked by an orange tape loop on a tree, but that is off the main trail and not easy to see ascending, which is probably why a herd path continues straight ahead, blazed by people like me. It petered out after 10 yards or so, so I didn't go much out of my way.
Ths summit is a mess. First you see the remains of the firewarden's cabin on the left, surrounded by small gas canisters and other junk. Just north of the tower, what's left of the cabin rests in the scrub where it fell about a year ago. Four large empty gas canisters are strapped to the tower, and a rusty folding chair, broken glass and similar flotsam are scattered about.
The iron rungs of the ladder, on the other hand, while a little rusty, seem sound. Climb to the top (which I wouldn't recommend to acrophobes) and you're in another world. This summit is well to the north of any NEHH peak not in Baxter, and well to the west of Baxter, so looking north and NW over Lake Megantic, you're seeing a whole lot of Canada and the summits of Quebec, including (according to the AMC Guide) Benedict Arnold's route in his 1775 expedition into Quebec. To the south, it seems strange to be looking at the north side of the Bigelow Range for once.
This is a "one view" hike in my view - worth hiking (putting aside lists) strictly for the sake of one great view, and thus not worth hiking at all on a day of poor visibility.
Back to my car at 3:30 and back home at 7:15. Total miles hiked - about 12? Total feet climbed: 4,680. (Miles driven - 335, and I'm feeling creaky.)
Sugarloaf completed my NE 67 and I look forward to another patch, as they're attractive pack or hat ornaments. More to the point, that list gave me the impetus to learn a lot more about the great hiking to be found in Maine and Vermont, as has the NEHH (of which CoP Snow was my #87).
I undertook to be back in Freedom, NH by early evening, so I set off around 4:15 this morning on the slow, 150-mile drive through central Maine to Sugarloaf, parking at the base area hotel and heading up a little before 8 a.m.
I've stood on the summit of Sugarloaf more than a few times, but by chairlift and I know that doesn't count. I thought I'd hike up the Tote Road - a Blue that winds along the northern perimeter of the ski trails and is one of my favorites to ski - but looking up it seemed too indirect, since several trails closer to the middle looked recently mowed. So instead I combined Candyspill and King's Landing (Blues) and Upper Big Dipper (Black), before taking Tote Road for the last few hundred vertical feet.
The drops (rises for me) on the first three were pulse-raisers and I was happy to have my poles. The trails seemed a little less overgrown than most other summertime ski slopes I've hiked, however. The great views of the Bigelow Range, and lots more near the summit, never stop on these flower-strewn meadows.
At the summit, I met another hiker - a young guy who hiked up the spur from the CVR. He planned to retrace his steps, tag the Crockers and Redington later today, trek up to Rt. 27 and camp in the Bigelows, which he would traverse tomorrow to complete his NE 67. Good luck! As I passed the ski area summit building, five young people sauntered out, seeming to rub the sleep from their eyes. They looked like snowboarders emerging from hibernation.
A little before 11 a.m., I was back in my car starting the 25-mile drive NW on Rt. 27 to North Road - the dirt road on the left that leads 5 miles west to the CoP trailhead. The Road is unmistakeable, as it has a regular blue-and-white street sign, as does "Snow Mountain Road," the right you take at 3.9 miles from 27, which ends in another mile at the trailhead - two boulders denying further access to anything bigger than an ATV. (The "North Rd." sign on 27 is on the left side of the road, while on the right is a plywood square on which has been stencilled in black: "Penobscot Indian Territory.")
The first two-thirds of the trail will appeal to anyone who enjoys trudging muddy ATV trails with no views. Well before you get to Snow Mt. Pond, a sign on the right announces "Snow Mountain Trail," but that's misleading as it merely marks the ATV branch that leads to Snow Mt. Pond.
When you finally reach the Pond, you follow the flat and extremely wet ATV trail west along its north shore (which recedes from the trail) until you reach roughly its western end. Look carefully at that point for the hiking trail, which veers R (North) to the summit. It is marked by two arrows nailed to a tree one over the other - an old wooden one, faded yellow on brown, and one of those arrows used to direct ATV'ers - black on yellow plastic - on which someone has printed "Snow Mountain Tower Trail."
The hiking trail is rough - unblazed with a number of blowdowns and muddy spots. The only spot I found really confusing, however, came at .51 mile (crow-flight, per the"Go-To" function of my GPS) - c. 3,300 feet - where the trail doubles back on itself briefly, up some rocks on the left. This turn is marked by an orange tape loop on a tree, but that is off the main trail and not easy to see ascending, which is probably why a herd path continues straight ahead, blazed by people like me. It petered out after 10 yards or so, so I didn't go much out of my way.
Ths summit is a mess. First you see the remains of the firewarden's cabin on the left, surrounded by small gas canisters and other junk. Just north of the tower, what's left of the cabin rests in the scrub where it fell about a year ago. Four large empty gas canisters are strapped to the tower, and a rusty folding chair, broken glass and similar flotsam are scattered about.
The iron rungs of the ladder, on the other hand, while a little rusty, seem sound. Climb to the top (which I wouldn't recommend to acrophobes) and you're in another world. This summit is well to the north of any NEHH peak not in Baxter, and well to the west of Baxter, so looking north and NW over Lake Megantic, you're seeing a whole lot of Canada and the summits of Quebec, including (according to the AMC Guide) Benedict Arnold's route in his 1775 expedition into Quebec. To the south, it seems strange to be looking at the north side of the Bigelow Range for once.
This is a "one view" hike in my view - worth hiking (putting aside lists) strictly for the sake of one great view, and thus not worth hiking at all on a day of poor visibility.
Back to my car at 3:30 and back home at 7:15. Total miles hiked - about 12? Total feet climbed: 4,680. (Miles driven - 335, and I'm feeling creaky.)
Sugarloaf completed my NE 67 and I look forward to another patch, as they're attractive pack or hat ornaments. More to the point, that list gave me the impetus to learn a lot more about the great hiking to be found in Maine and Vermont, as has the NEHH (of which CoP Snow was my #87).
