Sugarloaf, Spaulding, Abraham loop, with Caribou Valley Road

[1SlowHiker]

I JUST DID THE CROCKERS AND REDINGTON LAST WEEK ( 1SlowHiker.blogspot.com ) and hope to do the ABOVE peaks next week starting at the same spot ( AT junction with Caribou Valley Rd (CVR) ). I'D LIKE TO DO IT AS A LOOP DOING THE PEAKS THEN BW DOWN TO CVR AND ROAD HIKE BACK TO AT junction. THE ALTETNATIVE WOULD BE IN AND BACK WITH A SLEEP OVER AT SPAULDING LEAN-TO, BUT I WOULD PREFER NOT TO BACK PACK. I've sent a request to HILLWALKER for a gps track he said her had from this hike last August, but would appeciate any other input. I could not find the track on wikiloc. I dont mind a bushwack (from Abraham to CVR) as long as I have some good gps waypoints. Best part of my Crockers/Redington hike was the BW where I snagged a moose antler. Any input/sugestions for this hike would be appreciated. I read one post were the plan to go up Sugarloaf from the AT had to be changed because of unpassable water on the carribassett river. Is this a real concern this time of year? Also I'm playing with the idea of driving up as far as i can on the CVR with my truck and stashing a bicycle for the road trip back. Last week I easily drove to the AT junction and could have drove to were i came out of the BW (~ 3 miles from the AT). Any thoughts on this? Also I dont really have much info on the Spaulding lean-to if I take that option, any info/pictures on that site would be appreciated.

Thanks - Marvin

 

[peakbagger]

The river crossing is highly rain dependent, its level rises significantly just after a rain but drops quickly after the event. If you have one good dry day prior to your hike it shouldn't be an issue. During thruhiker season there is usually a plank or a log.

IMHO, trying to do Sugarloaf , Spaulding and the out and back to Abraham and then down to the pond in a day is a real long day. Instead of backpacking, you could break it into two hikes, Abraham one day from the firewardens trail and Sugarloaf and Spaulding out and back

There was mention last year of a new trail that accesses Sugarloaf from the south. I dont have any details but have sent an e-mail to someone who would. Not sure but it might make a nice loop from the south. If I get more info I will post.

 

[TEO]

I loved the hike you're hoping to do, but did it in the reverse order, starting with Abraham. My bushwhack from CVR to the AT was along the route marked here: http://tinyurl.com/lkcqywg. I basically followed the compass bearing I'd chosen and followed the path of least resistance. It's a somewhat long day, but not too crazy. Definitely deserving of a Wolf Burger at the White Wolf Inn. Have fun!

 

[Red Oak]

Ditto peakbagger's point about two hikes.However rapid stream might be very tough to cross after friday and saturdays projected rains.So maybe do sugarloaf and spaulding first.Going up the ski trails and over to spaulding might be the easiest way to do these two peaks.The bushwack from caribou pond to the a.t. looks cool though,here is a pic of redington I made last winter from the bushwack up to the spaulding campsite area/a.t.[2012]. I used the south ridge of redington as a guide till the clouds got serious.

 

[madmattd]

If you opt to bushwhack down from the ridge to the CVR, something to note: there is a well-defined herd path that heads slightly up to the ridge crest (W) from the Spaulding-Abraham col. It ends just past the ridge crest, and gets thick fast after that. There is a blazed boundary cut shortly below the ridge on the West side (akin to the one you hit on the herd path from S. Crocker to Redington), but it parallels the ridge/road so is of little help, at least in that area. We tried the 'whack from the col down last summer, and it was rather thick (with lots of dead stuff for a while) from there to shortly before the CVR at the pond (we did hit the CVR just West of the bridge by the road fork at the pond, which was our goal though). No need for a strict GPS route for what we did, just kept heading Westerly, favoring slightly Northwest when possible, and you can't miss the CVR. While it saved maybe 1-1.5 miles of distance and the re-climb of Spaulding, I'm not sure it was any faster. ~17 mile day according to the GPS track.

There is a old road of some sort that leaves the AT and heads West where the Abraham Trail splits off. There may be a way to combo that with other roads into the CVR, but we didn't have much info on this with us so we didn't explore it.

 

[rup]

Few years back, we followed Jazzbo's route to Abe / Spalding from the E Madrid / Banjum Rds. Pretty straightfwd.

http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthre...ME-%96-7-11-2009&highlight=Abraham%20Mainetty straight

 

[tomcat32]

I did those three starting at Abraham Fire Wardens trail to Abraham over to AT Then to Spalding, then Sugarloaf I had lunch on Sugarloaf's summit,then I retraced my steps. It was somewhere about 20-21 miles. It was long but doable in one day.

 

[1SlowHiker]

This hike got delayed some. Cant' believe how little free time I have since I retired. I'm hoping to head up tomorrow night and do it Friday/Saturday. Any body know or have a guess of the status of Carribassett river crossing? I'm playing with the idea of parking near the AT on the CVR and doing a before dawn road walk on the CVR and doing this clockwise up to Abraham first like TEO did, (I snagged your waypoints for the BW - thanks). That way I can decide to sleep over at the leanto or still have a chance of finishing in one day and sleeping at a rest stop on the way back to RI.

 

[1SlowHiker]

walk on the CVR and doing this clockwise up to Abraham first like TEO did, .

IO meant CCW not CW

 

[1SlowHiker]

I did those three starting at Abraham Fire Wardens trail to Abraham over to AT Then to Spalding, then Sugarloaf I had lunch on Sugarloaf's summit,then I retraced my steps. It was somewhere about 20-21 miles. It was long but doable in one day.

TOMCAT; 20-21 miles is not a doable 1 day hike for me, the 16-17 mile loop I'm planning is pushing my limit if i get a start before sunrise. Did you see my on-line name ??!! LOL