Date of hike: September 9, 2013
Trail conditions: The trail appears to get little traffic. The logging road portion beyond the two brooks is somewhat overgrown, but easily followed. The start of the actual trail is obvious. A number of rocks on the trail are moss covered and potentially slippery, particularly near the White Brook crossing. Above the crossing there are a few blowdowns, but all are easy to step over or duck under. The AT is in good shape. While I didn't hike it, the start and end of the Fire Warden's trail are obvious, albeit rather overgrown.
Special Equipment Required: None.
Comment: As mentioned in the MMG, the summit view is arguably one of the finest in Maine. The view of Katahdin from the short spur to the left from the summit is spectacular!
As Bryan mentioned in his recent report, the drive in is a bit of an adventure. I did make it to the trailhead described in the MMG, but the last mile was terrible and I bottomed out several times in a RAV4. I spotted a small clearing/raspberry patch at a point 2.8 miles beyond the High bridge that I would suggest as a better starting point, since some of the worst road was just beyond this point. This would obviously add a mile each way to the hike. Other notes I made on the drive included finding the "right fork" described in the MMG as being at 3.0 miles was at 3.5 miles from the gate by my odometer. It does have a sign, although it doesn't look much like a road. After a short rough stretch, the road wasn't too bad up from there up to the High Bridge, which is 5.8 miles from the gate. The beaver dam, which is 5.3 miles from the gate, was easily passable, although it might prove a challenge after a prolonged period of rainy weather. At High Bridge campsite #3 a fairly good looking road turns left. Unfortunately the route to the trailhead doesn't go that way. Instead it continues to the right through a gap just slightly wider than a car and crosses another short very rough stretch. Above this the road is not too bad up to my suggested parking area . Above the bridge, I counted 3 old roads splitting off to the left (i.e., keep right at all the forks). The highest one of these, at 2.6 miles above the High bridge, might be another good parking option. This is a slow drive; I would suggest planning on a hour to get to the trailhead from when you turn off Route 11. Gate fee for Maine residents $7.
Jay Baxter
Trail conditions: The trail appears to get little traffic. The logging road portion beyond the two brooks is somewhat overgrown, but easily followed. The start of the actual trail is obvious. A number of rocks on the trail are moss covered and potentially slippery, particularly near the White Brook crossing. Above the crossing there are a few blowdowns, but all are easy to step over or duck under. The AT is in good shape. While I didn't hike it, the start and end of the Fire Warden's trail are obvious, albeit rather overgrown.
Special Equipment Required: None.
Comment: As mentioned in the MMG, the summit view is arguably one of the finest in Maine. The view of Katahdin from the short spur to the left from the summit is spectacular!
As Bryan mentioned in his recent report, the drive in is a bit of an adventure. I did make it to the trailhead described in the MMG, but the last mile was terrible and I bottomed out several times in a RAV4. I spotted a small clearing/raspberry patch at a point 2.8 miles beyond the High bridge that I would suggest as a better starting point, since some of the worst road was just beyond this point. This would obviously add a mile each way to the hike. Other notes I made on the drive included finding the "right fork" described in the MMG as being at 3.0 miles was at 3.5 miles from the gate by my odometer. It does have a sign, although it doesn't look much like a road. After a short rough stretch, the road wasn't too bad up from there up to the High Bridge, which is 5.8 miles from the gate. The beaver dam, which is 5.3 miles from the gate, was easily passable, although it might prove a challenge after a prolonged period of rainy weather. At High Bridge campsite #3 a fairly good looking road turns left. Unfortunately the route to the trailhead doesn't go that way. Instead it continues to the right through a gap just slightly wider than a car and crosses another short very rough stretch. Above this the road is not too bad up to my suggested parking area . Above the bridge, I counted 3 old roads splitting off to the left (i.e., keep right at all the forks). The highest one of these, at 2.6 miles above the High bridge, might be another good parking option. This is a slow drive; I would suggest planning on a hour to get to the trailhead from when you turn off Route 11. Gate fee for Maine residents $7.
Jay Baxter
