Over the weekend I got to visit Wadleigh Mountain, which is about halfway between Moosehead Lake and Baxter State Park. I pulled the directions off of the hiking page on the Moosehead.net website, but would like to offer updated directions here:
From Greenville, drive north to Kokadjo. Right after where the asphalt ends, you'll reach a fork. Take a left. About 1.2 miles later you'll get to a second fork, where you want to take a right. Starting at this second fork, you'll begin to see signs for NLC (Nahmakanta Lake Camps), which you will continue to see along the rest of route, as they pretty much point out the way to the access road for the Wadleigh trailhead. You'll also begin to see little blue state public reserve land signs that will point out the way as well (Wadleigh stands on public reserve land). Anyway, after taking a right at the the fork 1.2 miles in on the dirt roads, at 1.4 you'll come to a large sign on the right which points the way to Medawisla. Turning right here, reset the odometer to zero. At nine miles, you'll come to a fork, where you'll bear to the right (the left option is a much rougher road). At mile twelve, turn right, and at 12.5 turn left. At about this point the road begins to need to be re-graded, since it's surface is a little rough. This makes for slower going, but please note that it's just a grading issue, since there aren't any large rocks or potholes that you have to watch out for. At 12.8 miles you'll begin to see Penobscot Pond through the trees, and at mile 14 you'll come to the blue sign for the Nahmakanta state public reserve land. About a mile later you'll see some campsites, and at 15.6 you'll want to turn left onto a lesser logging road. If you happen to miss this turn, you'll quickly reach a bridge, and just beyond it is a major intersection with a directional post in the middle and a bunch of signs. If you are coming from the KI-Jo-Mary woods and you're on the Jo-Mary Road, once you clear the Henderson Gate, drive north about six miles to a major T intersection. Turn left here, and you'll immediately cross a bridge. Just beyond, you'll want to turn right, onto a lesser logging road.
Anyway, once you get on this lesser logging road, continue straight ahead for 0.9 miles . This road also is rough due to grading, but other than the bumpyness due to the road surface, most cars should be fine. After 0.9 miles you'll reach a small logging yard, after which the road ceases to be driveable for most vehicles. Park here. You'll see a lesser logging road head off to the right. Ignore this. Straight ahead continues an old, narrow logging road. This is where the trail starts. You'll follow this for about a mile and half (please note this is a very rough estimate), and along the way you'll encounter the occasional bit of surveyor's tape. Then again, you won't really encounter any trail intersections either, so you just have to keep going forward. Ultimately, the trail will hook to the right, and a little while later it will cross a brook or two, and 1.5 miles from the car it will reach a small wet area. Up on the left you'll see some flagging marking the start of a smaller trail. You'll want to take this left, since this is the path that will take you to the summit. Once making this left, the flagging becomes more prevalent, which is good, because this trail is used infrequently enough that it really is needed. The trail is pretty much a straight shot for about the first quarter/half mile, then it turns left to angle up hill. Once it begins this climb, it becomes much more of a herd path, so great care should be taken to follow the flagging. Once you reach the summit you'll find the old fire tower. On a clear day there should be amazing views in all directions from the tower's cab. When I was up there, the notebook that had been left as a log was lying rotting on the floor. I ended up leaving a new notepad, which you'll see on the wall on the right as you climb up into the cab. Please be careful when removing it from the holder, so the plastic bag it's in doesn't get holes worn in it.
From Greenville, drive north to Kokadjo. Right after where the asphalt ends, you'll reach a fork. Take a left. About 1.2 miles later you'll get to a second fork, where you want to take a right. Starting at this second fork, you'll begin to see signs for NLC (Nahmakanta Lake Camps), which you will continue to see along the rest of route, as they pretty much point out the way to the access road for the Wadleigh trailhead. You'll also begin to see little blue state public reserve land signs that will point out the way as well (Wadleigh stands on public reserve land). Anyway, after taking a right at the the fork 1.2 miles in on the dirt roads, at 1.4 you'll come to a large sign on the right which points the way to Medawisla. Turning right here, reset the odometer to zero. At nine miles, you'll come to a fork, where you'll bear to the right (the left option is a much rougher road). At mile twelve, turn right, and at 12.5 turn left. At about this point the road begins to need to be re-graded, since it's surface is a little rough. This makes for slower going, but please note that it's just a grading issue, since there aren't any large rocks or potholes that you have to watch out for. At 12.8 miles you'll begin to see Penobscot Pond through the trees, and at mile 14 you'll come to the blue sign for the Nahmakanta state public reserve land. About a mile later you'll see some campsites, and at 15.6 you'll want to turn left onto a lesser logging road. If you happen to miss this turn, you'll quickly reach a bridge, and just beyond it is a major intersection with a directional post in the middle and a bunch of signs. If you are coming from the KI-Jo-Mary woods and you're on the Jo-Mary Road, once you clear the Henderson Gate, drive north about six miles to a major T intersection. Turn left here, and you'll immediately cross a bridge. Just beyond, you'll want to turn right, onto a lesser logging road.
Anyway, once you get on this lesser logging road, continue straight ahead for 0.9 miles . This road also is rough due to grading, but other than the bumpyness due to the road surface, most cars should be fine. After 0.9 miles you'll reach a small logging yard, after which the road ceases to be driveable for most vehicles. Park here. You'll see a lesser logging road head off to the right. Ignore this. Straight ahead continues an old, narrow logging road. This is where the trail starts. You'll follow this for about a mile and half (please note this is a very rough estimate), and along the way you'll encounter the occasional bit of surveyor's tape. Then again, you won't really encounter any trail intersections either, so you just have to keep going forward. Ultimately, the trail will hook to the right, and a little while later it will cross a brook or two, and 1.5 miles from the car it will reach a small wet area. Up on the left you'll see some flagging marking the start of a smaller trail. You'll want to take this left, since this is the path that will take you to the summit. Once making this left, the flagging becomes more prevalent, which is good, because this trail is used infrequently enough that it really is needed. The trail is pretty much a straight shot for about the first quarter/half mile, then it turns left to angle up hill. Once it begins this climb, it becomes much more of a herd path, so great care should be taken to follow the flagging. Once you reach the summit you'll find the old fire tower. On a clear day there should be amazing views in all directions from the tower's cab. When I was up there, the notebook that had been left as a log was lying rotting on the floor. I ended up leaving a new notepad, which you'll see on the wall on the right as you climb up into the cab. Please be careful when removing it from the holder, so the plastic bag it's in doesn't get holes worn in it.
