Rangeley High Peaks 10+1 - Day 3: Spaulding, Abraham, Sugarloaf

Day 3 - Spaulding (4010'), Abraham (4049'), Sugarloaf (4250')

Route:

• Route 27 to end of Caribou Valley Road, at the gate
• Gate to AT junction (.5 miles)
• AT (south) to ridge between Sugarloaf and Spaulding, at junction with Sugarloaf Trail (2.3mi)
• AT (south) to Spaulding summit, including 150-yard spur path (2.1mi)
• AT (south) to junction with Mt. Abraham Side Trail (1.9mi)
• Mt. Abraham Side Trail to Mt. Abraham summit (1.7mi)
• return via same path to AT junction with Sugarloaf Trail (5.7mi)
• Sugarloaf Trail to Sugarloaf summit, and back to AT junction (1.2mi)
• AT (north) back to Caribou Valley Road, and back to car (2.8mi)
• Total 18.2 miles, 9h30m, 5974' elevation gain

GPS Track: https://www.strava.com/activities/745985543

Photo Library: View on Facebook

Links to other posts:
- Intro
- Day 1 - South Crocker (4055'), Crocker (4168'), Redington (4001')
- Day 2 - The Bigelow Range: Avery (4088') and West (4145') peaks, plus South (3831') and North (3820') Horns
- Day 4 - Saddleback (4120') and Saddleback - The Horn (4041')

Another great morning in Maine... bright, clear skies, warm sun, still somewhat chilly. But Sugarloaf and its two neighbors to the south beckoned from across the Stratton Brook Pond. Matt was still just not up to hiking, as the knee pain lingered. I felt bad, but it was the best decision, and he was truly enjoying the quiet time in the woods. He would check out Sugarloaf as well, and talked about making his way to Stratton Brook Lodge, which seemed a decent but mostly flat walk away.


(View from our basecamp at Stratton Brook Pond, looking across to Sugarloaf on the left, and the Crockers/Redington on the right)

We had talked about the possibility of ditching the tent, or at least finding a place to freshen up. We hadn't gotten the best sleep in the tent, either, so we decided to check out area lodging so we could spend the last night in better comfort. We called around and found a two-twin room at a "grand hotel" in nearby Kingfield for a very decent price ($79), and booked it. We largely emptied the tent and Matt would dismantle it later, and check us in while I was hiking.

Fed with oatmeal and OJ, and raring to go, we headed back out to Route 27, up the road, and down the same Caribou Valley Road we'd taken on Day 1, to the gate. Today, I'd walk the same .5 miles and take a left off the road to head east (north) on the AT, toward Sugarloaf. My knees were talking to me, but they felt fine.

The going was easy enough, and eventually took me up and over a similar, rocky shoulder as South Crocker, with great views west to the Crockers and Redington, and south along the Carrabassett River valley. Switchbacks made the effort a little easier, which I didn't mind. Once over the shoulder, the trail generally flattened and I reached the junction with the Sugarloaf Trail, which heads left while the AT continues to the right.

I had intended to summit Sugarloaf first, but I decided to leave it to last. Since Matt wasn't joining in, I thought Matt could possibly hike up ski trail side to join me at the end of the day, or I could hike down the ski trails as a different option. I decided to head south on the AT toward Spaulding, 2.1 miles ahead along a ridgeline.

The Spaulding summit sits up off the trail about 150 yards (moderate spur path). When I got there, I came upon a man with a dog that had a few collars on, two of which were hunter orange in color. The man told me the dog came up to him on the summit shortly before, out of the blue. The dog was rather emaciated, pretty thin (visible ribs and high bones), and was moaning softly. The dog was female, and I couldn't help but notice its nipples were very large underneath, more than I'd ever seen on a dog (about 1/2-inch wide and protruding out the same distance). He had fed the dog a bit, and I put some water into a container, the entirety of which she promptly drank. As I softly pet the dog's head, she would close her eyes and stick its head up toward me, clearly enjoying the attention. I also noticed a 3/4-inch gash in one of her hips, along with a few other cuts nearby, which we thought must have been from run-ins with wildlife. The man said this was probably a tracker dog that somehow got separated from its owner. The tags did have info and a phone number, so the man called and spoke with someone, who had the owner call him back. The man offered to bring the dog back out to the Caribou Valley Road trailhead, since he had started there to begin with; the owner or another representative was to meet him there.


(The dog wasn't in great shape but could walk on its own, with encouragement, once we fed her and gave her some water. She was letting out gentle, painful moans as she shifted around the small summit opening, but she clearly enjoyed our gentle petting.)

It was heartbreaking to see this dog in this condition; I hadn't known about tracker dogs, and frankly didn't think so highly of the practice at that moment. I'm sure it doesn't happen much, but out in the mountain wilderness I have to imagine things are different enough, that the practice should be used with great discretion. The dog was still moaning and very skiddish as the man started down with it, but I'm confident she found her way back to her owner; they were not at the trailhead when I returned, several hours later.

Now alone on the summit, I took a few moments to reflect and reset; this got me pretty rattled, but I felt good I was able to help. I returned back down to the AT and continued on (north) toward Abraham. The trail was largely still a ridge walk once I came off Spaulding mountain proper, and took me past yet another AT respite stop, the Spaulding Mountain Campsite, with its lean-to and several tent sites. 1.1 miles later, I reached the junction with the Mt. Abraham Side Trail, and took it (left). About a mile in, I came out of the woods onto what looked like a summit, but was in fact a false one. The real one lay a good .5 or so miles beyond; I could tell from the tiny people I could see on it.


(Approaching the Abraham summit)

The Abraham summit is broad and sports a 7-foot tall cairn and a relatively small, old steel tower laying on its side. The summit and surrounding area lie totally above treeline and has 360-degree views all around. I didn't stay long, as there was a small group of men talking boisterously; not my kind of summit experience.

This was the farthest I'd go today, so I turned around and headed back. I started thinking about the mileage ahead, adding up what I'd done so far, and what was left. I soon realized I miscalculated the mileage. I had estimated about 13-14 miles, same as the Bigelows, but it turned out this would total upwards of 19 miles. Oops... It seemed likely I'd be hiking out in the dark, but I wasn't too concerned. I did have cell service and let Matt know it'd be a little later than I first thought.

I appreciated the ridge walk on the way back, making good time during those stretches. The ascent up and down Spaulding was a pain in the ass at this point, but my tunes yet again kept me pumped and barreling through, as reasonably and safely as I could anyway. My body was tired for sure, but I was determined to get these peaks today. I didn't want to have to come back just for one...

I reached the AT / Sugarloaf Trail junction at 5:30, paused to have a quick bit and prepare myself for the ascent up Sugarloaf. I moved quickly, with determination, but I was working very, very hard. By this time, my water supply was nearly drained, too, having used a good amount of it for the injured dog on Spaulding. I was thirsty for sure, but had been rationing the water for a few miles to be sure I'd not totally run out with too much mileage to go.


(the Sugarloaf Summit)

I reached the Sugarloaf summit, swearing here and there from near-exhaustion as I approached the cleared ski area summit. It's always so cool to be up on a ski area summit in the off-season, the air of abandonment and solace abounding. Winds were pretty strong and there was no soul in sight (I hadn't seen anyone since Abraham). Sugarloaf, at 4,250 feet, is the third-tallest mountain in Maine behind Katahdin's Baxter and Hamlin peaks, so this helped lend some gravitas to the occasion. The sun still hadn't yet dipped below the Crockers to the west, but I knew it wouldn't be long, so I immediately headed down.

... continued below ...

... continued from above ...

The legs were holding out, but just barely, on the descent. For some time, I'd been tweaking the way I step up and down to help take the pressure of my knees. There are practical and worthwhile ways to do this; I've considered writing a separate post for this alone, since I know so many suffer from knee and IT band issues. I'm nowhere near an expert in biology or medicine, but from the many bootcamp workouts I've had, I've realized you can alter your mechanics to help. Primarily, I use fluid leg motions while descending when possible, trying to maintain forward motion if the trail isn't too steep; this helps keep the weight off the knees a little more. On steeper steps down, I'll pause and turn to one side, then step down, so as to take advantage of more space to extend the lower leg farther out, so it's not hyper-extended beyond the ankle. This hyper-extension is a key component to the knee issues many face, from what I've learned of myself, and from trainers.

On the ascent, utilize this same guideline to not extend the knee too far forward beyond the ankle, and step "through" as you step up, so you maintain momentum and don't have to use your knee and surrounding muscles to work so hard to carry your body (and pack) up. I'll also usually swing my arms forward and upward to help further power this momentum, and I'll stick my butt out to help draw the knees back, as you might do for a squat. On steeper steps, you can usually turn to one side to gain more space to do this, as on steep descents. There's more to this, and I'm sure what works for me doesn't always work for everyone, but hopefully it helps.



As the sun dropped out of view, the wind picked up, as it usually does, but thankfully the temps had moderated as the day went on. I needed the headlamp for the last 2+ miles, especially since the leaf cover over rocks and roots made stepping along/down a little more dicey. I didn't have any real trouble, though, and reached Caribou Valley Road in the dark. Shortly down the road, I saw another headlamp in the distance; it was Matt, who was walking along to meet me, the good friend he is.

Back to the car, we drove out and headed into Kingfield, where Matt had already checked into the hotel earlier. It was the Herbert Grand Hotel, located in the center of town. It has a rich history, and includes a couple display cases with historical artifacts. Rooms are decent, with updated bathrooms. Beds are relatively comfortable, though not as firm as I'd like. For the price, it was a great deal to be inside a quaint hotel, in a warm bed.

We had dinner across the street at Longfellow's, a small hometown restaurant with basic American fare, with great, creative twists thrown in. Their locally-made spiked cider was great! We had their "hot spinach dip", which was incredibly good and featured great "bread chips" -- not tortilla, but not pita bread either. Our dinners were delicious, too; this place is highly-recommended!


(the Herbert Grand Hotel, and Longfellow's, in Kingfield, Maine, near Sugarloaf - both highly recommended!)

After dinner we lounged around a little and turned in for the night. It was a far cry from the tentsite on Stratton Brook Pond, but we appreciated the opportunity to take in a couple local institutions and get a bit of "regular vacation" time out of this outing.

... continue to Day 4: Saddleback and Saddleback - The Horn

Side question, to anyone that might know: what's up with the possibly important discrepancy in Spaulding's elevation, as seen by the AMC (4010') and MATC (3988')? Spaulding remains pretty squarely on the NE 67 list as a result, but MATC's summit sign pegs this summit a not-too-insignificant distance under 4K.

The latest "hear-say" USGS data I could find lists the peak at 3998', Wikipedia (I know, not a real authority) lists it at 4009'. I searched the USGS site for data but couldn't find things very easily; closest was this PDF, which doesn't list exact elevations, but also doesn't draw a 4000' contour line on the summit...