Another warm, humid day with hazy views. Upon recommendation of several hiking friends, we took the Tote Road Ski Trail up to Sugarloaf's summit. A few hours of unrelenting "up" and we were at the Sugarloaf summit cairn.
We each had copies of the Sugarloaf ski trail map but it was tricky navigating as all trail signs are at the top of junctions, so we only knew we were on the right trail after we had finished with that part of the trail.
Half of our group had had enough of the steep slopes early on (some areas of the ski trail were as uneven as plowed earth). They opted to hike to the summit via the maintenance road. This proved even more difficult to navigate as the road does not appear anywhere on the map, and had several intersecting roads that did not lead to the summit. After a few mistakes they were able to head up the correct road to the summit. The maintenance road is very gravelly, with large stones, and was at times very steep, making footing tough.
We met at the top and descended together via the maintenance road. Total mileage was about 5-6 miles.
Comments: We did not find either hiking option enjoyable on this day. After deciding not to summit via the AT and side trail, these were the only options left. The reason we chose the ski trail to summit Sugarloaf was the many wildflowers on the slopes. Most of the wildflowers had bloomed weeks ago, leaving just a few on the sides of the runs. The ski trail made our calves burn, like a never-ending Stairmaster, and at times descending the maintenance road was akin to hiking down a gravelly mountain slide.
The summit of Sugarloaf had a tall cairn and large pile of rocks. It also had an abandoned restaurant and a large cell tower. Around the tower was trash and remnants of the tower's installation, making the summit unattractive. The spectacular views of the Crockers, Burnt Mountain and the Bigelow range redeemed Sugarloaf's seedy appearance. however.
We each had copies of the Sugarloaf ski trail map but it was tricky navigating as all trail signs are at the top of junctions, so we only knew we were on the right trail after we had finished with that part of the trail.
Half of our group had had enough of the steep slopes early on (some areas of the ski trail were as uneven as plowed earth). They opted to hike to the summit via the maintenance road. This proved even more difficult to navigate as the road does not appear anywhere on the map, and had several intersecting roads that did not lead to the summit. After a few mistakes they were able to head up the correct road to the summit. The maintenance road is very gravelly, with large stones, and was at times very steep, making footing tough.
We met at the top and descended together via the maintenance road. Total mileage was about 5-6 miles.
Comments: We did not find either hiking option enjoyable on this day. After deciding not to summit via the AT and side trail, these were the only options left. The reason we chose the ski trail to summit Sugarloaf was the many wildflowers on the slopes. Most of the wildflowers had bloomed weeks ago, leaving just a few on the sides of the runs. The ski trail made our calves burn, like a never-ending Stairmaster, and at times descending the maintenance road was akin to hiking down a gravelly mountain slide.
The summit of Sugarloaf had a tall cairn and large pile of rocks. It also had an abandoned restaurant and a large cell tower. Around the tower was trash and remnants of the tower's installation, making the summit unattractive. The spectacular views of the Crockers, Burnt Mountain and the Bigelow range redeemed Sugarloaf's seedy appearance. however.
