Whitecap (3644') and Hay (ME)

[buckyball1]

I don't see many reports on these two, so...

After my misadventure on W Scar two weeks ago, I felt the need to do something a little more "defined" today. I headed up to Brownsville Junction this morning and on to the gate at Katahdin Ironworks.

The traihead/trail directions are a bit iffy (or worse) in both the sources I used. From the KI gate (day use fee now $6/person-ask for the road map). Follow the "main" gravel road toward Gulf Hagis/The Hermitage for 3.5 miles and turn right toward High Bridge/Hay Brook. This initial stretch of road is in much better shape than described in a vftt post from 7/22. The road to the "high bridge" over White Brook is reached at 5.8 miles from the gate. At 6.0 miles, there is a junction, stay straight (not toward Hay/Gulf Hagis). At this point the road goes uphill pretty steeply and is very rough. I would think twice about taking a low clearance car up here. There are a few eroded sections and lots of rocks sticking up from here on in. Follow the road and park at a large clearing at about 9.5-9.6 miles. You could go another 0.2 miles before 2 large dips/brooks make passage impossible.

Start your hike and follow the grassy woods road straight ahead for about 1.1 miles to its end in the last of several large clearings; there is a large cairn(obvious) in the far left corner marking the trail. Do not take any of the large or small roads to the left before this point. (you may see several blue blazes on the 1.1 mile road walk in). From the cairn, the trail is now blue blazed and on a grassed over road (hides the rocks).

I reached White Brook on this lightly used, grassy trail/road after about 0.4 miles. Use care crossing, the rocks are very slippery. Just after the crossing, you come to the site of the old warden's cabin (gone) and a trail junction. The sign indicates to take the left turn and follow to the Hay/Whitecap col and the AT, which is what I did. One of my "commercial" guide books said "take the right/straight fork" and then proceeded to describe the hike as if you turned left-wow(but then this volume is filled with route errors)?? Note that BOTH forks are blue blazed. I think these are the old AT route through this section.

After following the signs and turning left at the cabin site, I reached the col and the AT in about 1/2 mile. It was an excellent day to hike;the sky was clear except for Whitecap which was still covered to maybe 3300'. I decided to wander up to Hay (turning left on the AT at the col). The top of Hay was clear, but of course totally wooded, so no vftt. I turned and headed back to the col and then another 1.1 miles up to White Cap.

I ran into a spruce grouse at about 3200', the 8th since my "birder" brother-in-law told me what they were last year. We laugh about the fact he has many hundreds of birds on his list (worse than we peakbaggers), but no spruce grouse. I also met a SoBo Thru Hiker-a great guy of 71 who has already done the PCT and CDT, made me feel young.

When I reached the top of White Cap, the clouds had lifted and I had superb views. The tower is long gone and scrub has grown up enough so you need to wander around a bit to see the full 360, but it's one of the better panoramas. I met a NoBo section hiker who was on his last section (he started in 1991). We talked a bit and when i took him over to the Katahdin view, his eyes teared up.

As you descend White Cap on the AT, you'll notice a trail coming in from the left which is blue blazed(over white). I thought this must be the other branch of the "fork" back at the cabin site and of course it was. This route is shorter than the official White Brook trail to the Hay/White Cap col, but much steeper, very rocky, eroded and slippery-poor footing especially on the descent. I suspect the two routes must be the old AT route where it descends from the col to the warden's cabin before ascending White Cap.

a really nice day in the woods

jim

 

[bigmoose]

I have plans for White Cap this fall... one of the remaining few I need to complete the Northeast 2k prominence and New England finest fifty lists.
Thanks for the heads-up on the road approach from KI. Having already torn up my car's undercarriage in Northern New Hampshire earlier this year, I'm thinking of approaching from the opposite side. I'll check those roads on my trip to Baker....
jt

 

[Amicus]

Very useful description of an interesting destination. I'm adding this to my "to hike" list, which grows faster than I can hike them.

 

[dms]

I have plans for White Cap this fall... one of the remaining few I need to complete the Northeast 2k prominence and New England finest fifty lists.
Thanks for the heads-up on the road approach from KI. Having already torn up my car's undercarriage in Northern New Hampshire earlier this year, I'm thinking of approaching from the opposite side. I'll check those roads on my trip to Baker....
jt

You can drive to within .1 mi of the AT from the "opposite side" on a very good road.

 

[Nate]

Jim, thanks for the trip report. Reading it brought back some very fond memories of when I hiked those peaks last Labor Day Weekend. Even though the approach roads are rough (and getting rougher [but relative to the roads I was on the day before en route to KI Saddleback, these weren't quite as bad]), the hike itself is so gorgeous that in my mind it's the preferable route for White Cap. In the opening mile the route passes through a memorable valley, which possessed a strong ambience of remoteness when I walked through that early morning, the sun not yet risen above the mountains to the east. Since the White Brook Trail is little used, it has a certain forgetten trail charm to it, like you're that much more special for having found it. Since it was a lovely morning but with rain on the way, I went straight for White Cap first to soak in the views before they became clouded in (going this way actually makes for a relatively short ascent of the peak). I was far from disappointed, as the summit proved to have amazing views, especially to the south and north (particularly of Katahdin to the north, no more than thirty miles away, as the crow flies across the wilderness).

Just overall, White Cap is one of the best of the lesser known peaks on the Fifty Finest List, and I found it to be a real gem. Definitely give it a hike if you have the opportunity (especially on a clear day).