Remote Mtn. trail found

I do not know if anyone will be interested in this trail but I thought I would post it and see. The AMC guide I have says that there is no trail up this mountain.

I snowshoed in and with a far amount of hunting found the old fire wardens trail. If anyone would like the GPS waypoints for the trail let me know.

Deer Mtn. Cupsuptic, Maine
Elevation 3,411ft.
N45*00.334’
W070*55.441’
Total climb 1,910 ft.
Trail length 3.63 miles

The Tower on this mountain is gone but the base was made on concrete and that’s still there also there are some artifacts from the old tower. I saw the initials W.D.H. in the top of one of the pears, placed there when the pears were poured in the 1800’s. The top has two small rises about two hundred feet apart with the tower location in the western side.

Though the top is wooded the trees are sparse enough and short enough to see. The view from the mountain is nothing short of beautiful. Looking West Aziscohos lake just west of the mountain and spectacular views of Magalloway Mtn. Roundtop Mtn. Pisgah Mtn. Crystal Mtn., Blacktop Mtn. Bosebuck Mtn. And Azischos Mtn.

The low area between the two small tops is flat and would make an excellent camp site. However I saw no evidence of water, it being winter I did find some ledges covered with ice on the eastern side of the Mtn. not far from the top. There may very well be a spring in this area. I would not count on water being available if you climb however.

The old Fire Wardens trail up the mountain is still well marked with yellow blazes from the old road to the tower. It is becoming overgrown however and anyone that hikes the trail please take a small axe with you and work on the trail before it becomes completely overgrown. By all appearances it did not look like anyone had climbed this mountain in years. Be warned because of the condition of the trail this is not an easy hike. If you want to get away from people this place should do it.

I have the GPS waypoints of this trail. If you want them let me know.

Crusoe, i did this mountain in 1989, at that time there was a register where the tower was located, is there still one there? We looked for the road from which the old trail started, but were unable to find it. I'd like to get any information you have about the road and trail.

We climbed Deer via the old trail about 15 years ago, or at least we started out on the old trail. Then, beyond a swampy meadow, we took an old skidder road, and then the boundary cut to between the two peaks. I do recall the spectacular view east.

It was right after we'd finished the NE 100's and we met some people on the Bigelows who opened our eyes to the existence of the 3K list. No shortage of those in that region!

I sent the info on the trail to

your E-mail. I did not see a register on top.

Because of the small softwood that are covered with snow it was a pretty hard climb with snowshoes. You'll have a better chance of making it in the spring or summer. Take an axe or saw with you. It would be a great place to camp for a night and look around.

A fine report of exploration. Keep it coming!

There is a B17 Crash Site on Deer Mountain too.

If you are in the neighborhood, check it out. The plane crashed into the side of the mountain in July 1944 killing all on board. It was a very difficult area to get to at the time. I think the elevation of the crash was about 2,900 ft.

You can drive to it now on a tote road off the Lincoln Pond Road. There are signs posted at turns.

B-17 Memorial Bomber Site Marker, the coordinates are 45 01.237N, 070 55.809W.

The story is here:
http://wejones.ftdata.com/wejones/crashsit.html

Crusoe said:

your E-mail. I did not see a register on top.

Because of the small softwood that are covered with snow it was a pretty hard climb with snowshoes. You'll have a better chance of making it in the spring or summer. Take an axe or saw with you. It would be a great place to camp for a night and look around.

Click to expand...

Axe or Saw? What happened to Leave No Trace? Bootleg trails should never be recut. They've been abandond for a reason. I don't mean this in an aggresive meanful way, I'm just putting in my 2 cents.

This is not a "bootleg" trail, the trail was abandoned because the tower was closed.

I don't recall seeing any of the old trail up Deer Mtn when we climbed this peak back in the mid 1980s. We did a bushwhack up from a logging road just west of there. The tower was gone, but someone had fabricated a miniature tribute tower (of sorts) about 3 or 4 feet high from some metal pieces right by where the original stood. Is that still there?