Maine & Canada Peaks

This weekend (November 13/14) we were joined by Papa Bear and Cantdog. Friday night we headed to Stratton Maine where we spent the night at the White Wolf Inn. Arriving @ 10 PM we quickly crashed with a goal of being underway at 6:30 Sat morning.

Sat morning we headed to Canada tp hike Boundry (on the NEHH list) and Gosford. As we drove we wondered if the park ranger at Gosford that Papa Bear had talked too was correct about there being 18 inches of snow. We were only seeing a dusting, even as we approached the guard house at the entrance to the Gosford Park. As we drove the 8 miles to the trail head we soon realized that the report was accurate and soon we were breaking trail on the logging road - good thing for a big 4-wheel drive vehicle.

Saturday we hiked Boundry and Gosford, being rewarded with great views from both peaks under bight blu skies. This was the first hike in several weeks that we had good views. Sat afternoon we drove north through Canada and then dwon to Jackman Maine where we spent the night. Beware - the Canadian police to watch for speeders as we saw a car pulled over after it passed us. The entrance to the US was easy - almost too easy :< We had dinner at the Border Cafe. Some of the meals were so-so, but the Prime Rib was excellant. This is a BYB establishment so stop across the street and pick up your favorite wine or beer to go with dinner.

Sunday we headed north on Rute 201 to hike Boudary Bald. With the snow and high winds this ended up being a tougher hike that we had anticipated, but were rewarded with breathtaking views and some very interesting cloud formations.

We then headed south of Jackman to a mountain on the 50 finest list - Coburn. This hike was a little over an hour to the summit via a well tracked (by ATV's) logging road and a easy to follow trail that had a foot of untracked snow. On the way to the start we met up with 4 moose on the logging road that gave us some entertainment.

A great weekend of hiking - snow shoes required for 2 of the peaks, and probably would have helped on a 3rd.

Pics and more details can be found on our Web Page:
http://rbhayes.net/latesthike.html

Sunday

Very interesting reports, bandg, and fabulous pictures. Thanks. I have not hiked in eastern Canada and this makes me want to try it. Are there guidebooks (preferably English but we could probably handle French) that include Gosford, Boundry, and other hikes north of us in NH? I have friends who ski in the Chic Chocs but no one I know hikes up there.
P.S. The wind was ripping on the 14th down in the Evan Notch (Speckled Mtn) too.

Well - we were turned on to Gosford by Papa Bear, but the web site for that area is:
http://zeclouisegosford.zecquebec.com/fqgz/zeclouisegosford/


A good book we picked up this weekend for hikes in that area of Maine is North Woods Walks by Christopher Keene.

Thanks very much. These leads help a lot.

Thanks Bob & Gerry and Cantdog for a fasbulous weekend. And special thanks to Big Moose for directions to Boundary Bald and Coburn. The telephone pole ID # at the turnoff to Coburn was awesome!

Right now I'm sore in muscles I never knew I had.

Here's some more pictures:
Boundary Peak Album
Gosford Album
Boundary Bald Album

About halfway up Boundary Bald, my memory card ran out of space in my camera, so that's all I have. But with Bob's excellent albums, everything is well covered.

A few recollections:

Boundary Peak

It's so wonderful to visit this peak when it's not raining! Those who have not seen the views should really go back. And the way the boundary swath showed up with the snow was stunning. you could see it wander over the ridge tops south and then turn up north again over distant peaks in this peculair "peninsular" of Canada sticking into Maine.

Mystery mountain: This peak is south and East of Boundary Peak [EDIT: I think perhaps south rather than south-east - pb] , I think in the US. Anyone know what it is? Mystery Peak #1. There are a few other interesing peaks, check out #22. It was south east (forther east than the first one) and in the US.

Gosford

Great mountain. I think it may be the only peak in Canada from which you can see Mt. Washington (I think we saw it on the far horizon). If it's a clear day and you do Boundary from the Canadian side, do this too. Views are better due to its higher elevation (1189m = 3900') and its location. It's smack dab in the middle of the "peninsula".

Here's another Mystery: Mystery Mountains #2 There is a closeup two pictures later (#9).

Boundary Bald

One of the New England Fifty Finest, and in my opinion the most spectacular peak of the weekend. But boy, did the mountain gods make us earn this one! Very tough snowshoeing up over steep rocky ice covered ledges (2 - 3 feet steps) in 18" of snow. Then the summit was borderline hypothermic. Everyone was cold up there with high winds. But wow, what a scene and what views, complete with lenticular clouds swooping down off the peak towards the south and iced fir trees that could be in a Christmas Card. We nicknamed that little house (check Bob's album) the "Gingerbread House". A great mountain!

Coburn

Coburn is another of the New England Fifty Finest and the highest peak (3718') between the Bigelows and Katahdin.

When we finally made it up to Boundary Bald in the morning I thought to myself "this is it, no way I'm climbing another mountain today". But then when we got back in the car I said "Well, I'd like to do Coburn but I can't take another climb like Boundary Bald". There was a mixed reaction, but then Bob said "I want to do it". So I said OK (but I though to myself "this better be an easier one").

Well, it was. An easy walk in the snow up a steep road in ATV tracks followed by .7 miles of steep trail. At first I thought we should have brought the Tubbs when we hit the trail, but then it got so steep, the snow shoes would have been of doubtful value. But it was mercifully short and as with all the others it had more great views.

We were looking for winter, but winter found us this weekend, big time!

Hi PB and company. I'm glad you had such an awesome trip over there! The views from Gosford are great indeed. I'll have to get over to that summit. I had a similarly clear day last winter for Boundary and got some great shots.

PB, the only Canada south and east of Boundary is New Brunswick (way east), so Mystery Mtn. #1 must be in the US if it is southeast. I'd guess Cow Ridge, but I'd be surprised a view in that direction wouldn't catch at least part of Kennebago Divide. and I don't think it's White Cap/Kennebago divide b/c I don't see the saddle between White Cap and the boundary line.

spencer

spencer said:

... PB, the only Canada south and east of Boundary is New Brunswick (way east), so Mystery Mtn. #1 must be in the US if it is southeast. I'd guess Cow Ridge, but I'd be surprised a view in that direction wouldn't catch at least part of Kennebago Divide. and I don't think it's White Cap/Kennebago divide b/c I don't see the saddle between White Cap and the boundary line.
spencer

Click to expand...

Hi Spencer
It wasn't White Cap / Kennebago Devide. We saw them slightly south of east from Boundary and very close. This was quite a bit further away. I might have guessed Cupsuptic Snow bit I think that has more peaks around it - not so prominent.

And just looking at the map, I may have been a bit disoriented - it may have been more south rather than south-east.

pb

Papa Bear said:

Very tough snowshoeing up over steep rocky ice covered ledges (2 - 3 feet steps) in 18' of snow.

Click to expand...

I would have thought 18' of snow would have covered 3' ledges

I'm impressed that you drove in with even a foot of snow

And as far as mystery mountains, you still need an automatic compass bearing displayed on each picture

RoySwkr said:

I'm impressed that you drove in with even a foot of snow

And as far as mystery mountains, you still need an automatic compass bearing displayed on each picture

Click to expand...

It wasn't the snow, it was the ice. Bob would have driven further if not for the ice on the steep slope. When we started sliding backwards down hill with the brakes on full, Bob knew it was time to look for a parking spot.

Yeah, that would be a nice camera feature. Maybe UTM coordinates too!

Trip report now on line

I have put together my report of these 4 climbs I did with Bob & Gerry and Cantdog last weekend. It is now on my web site: Maine and Canada Peaks Report. A special thanks to Bob who took lots of good pictures after my camera ran out of memory.

I know a number of folks here put up excellent reports and photo albums and I enjoy and appreciate them, and I am often motivated to do whatever they did ("Wow, I gotta go there!"). I don't know about every one else but I put my reports and photos together primarily for myself, and secondly for others. I find I can experience my hike (or climb or whatever) 3 times: once when I do it, second when I'm writing it down and third when I reread it later. I am amazed when I read stuff a year or more later what memories come back. I "think" I remember my expreience, but then when I read an old report and look at the pictures, I realize how much I didn't remember.

Anyone else have similar experiences?

Pb

My guess for mystery mountain #2 is Salmon Mountain and in the background you have the 3 peaks of Mont Mégantic park (Mégantic, St-Joseph and Victoria).

Jean:
I'm looking at the site lines on the map and I think you may be right about Mégantic but I think the two closer in are more likely Marble (left) and Saddle (right) with perhaps 2900' on the boundary in front of them. Notice the steep slope on the left side of what may be Marble. And maybe, just maybe Twin Peaks is off the frame on the left. I just wish you could see the top of that one to see the two peaks close together. I'm afraid Salmon is too far to the south.

Check these:
The picture from Gosford
Map of the area

Looking at that map, all I can say is "Man, Mégantic is one huge mountain!"

Roy: you've hiked in that area. Does this look familiar?

Pb

Nice! I also have to pay high compliments to both Papa Bear and Bob and Geri for their top notch web sites. I just spent quite a bit of time checking out the Boundary photos on PBs site and the Scar Ridge photos on Bob and Geri's site. Excellent reference sites. I might be trying Scar Ridge from the Kanc on Friday ... not a good time of year for the Little East Pond approach.

Anyway, like they say, a picture says a thousand words and as long as you all keep up the good work, it certainly makes it easier for the rest of us to prepare mentally for the difficulty level of what we're getting into.

PB,
Yes, you are right about Saddle and Marble. I was going from memory.
Should have done my homework.

Hello again. Here's another shot I forgot I had which is more of a closeup: Closeup photo from Gosford.

I think this clinches it. Although Mégantic is out of the picture to the right, you can clearly see the cliffs on the left (south) side of Marble. Then to the left you have twin Peaks (cannot distinguish these two close peaks from this distance) and behind and to the left of that must be Peak 3060 which is in the US just east of the boundary.

Here's another map: Map of Marble and nearby mountains.

Gosford is a little south (maybe 30 degrees) of due east from Marble so the view line would come in from the right just a bit below the horizontal grid line shown.

It's so cool to know what you have seen, even if at the time we had not a clue!

Any 3kers out there (Dennis C.? John S.? Bill B?) who remembers these peaks and what they looked like?

Pb

Papa Bear said:

Roy: you've hiked in that area. Does this look familiar?

Click to expand...

Yes, that's the 3K cluster on the border all right. I took a direct line from E Saddle to Twin Peaks and on the road halfway across met a Canadian hunter who couldn't speak English who had somehow gotten a mile on the wrong side of the border.

>(Boundary Bald) The MMG mentions a Fire Warden's cabin
>at the trailhead, but there was no sign of it at all.

It may be gone, but you were probably looking in the wrong place (see track log and SW corner of http://docs.unh.edu/ME/pnbl56sw.jpg which shows cabin near "2422")

In August 1984, the road could be driven well past the warden's cabin which was in fine shape being maintained by a snowmobile club, and the overgrown trail followed phone wire up a steep bank behind the cabin. Each of the little ledges had its own custom-sized ladder, mostly just a couple rungs from a wood ladder although at least one long one was made from tree limbs. (Big Spencer had a much inferior version of this.)

When I returned in October 1990 it was supposed to be a trail work trip, but the leader and both coleaders cancelled and told one of the guys who registered to meet me in Jackman (where I was already hiking) and tell me the trip was off. We decided to go anyway as he had never been there. You
could no longer drive to the cabin which was no longer maintained with 2wd, and the path could not be followed except for a few bits of wire. Well maybe half a mile up we crossed a skid road and the trail was much better cleared although some of the ladders were starting to look unsafe. (On both hikes the fire tower was gone but the radio tower wasn't yet built.) On the way down, we turned L on the skid road and followed it to the main road maybe .2 miles above the cabin, there was flagging and I suspect this is what is now the trail. Hence the warden's cabin (or site thereof) is no longer at the trailhead.

>(Coburn) The drive in is about 2.5 miles and
>there are several washouts or stream fords you must pass.

They are waterbars, bulldozed up in August 1984 to prevent erosion and keep out extraneous vehicles (not that it worked . A guy was just putting on the finishing mulch and seed so we didn't dare to drive in, and my companion looked at the wide gravel road and the hot sun and decided to sit the hike out in the car. At that time the old fire tower with cab was still on the summit.

Neat mapping and gps notes

Hi there........I was impressed with your mapping and gps notes on your websites....what mapping/gps software do you use to download onto your website???? Thanks..........Pete Kingfield, Maine

Really liked the reports and pictures! I really want to head up there one of these days. Ditto Maineguides question about the program you used for the maps you showed in the slide show. I like.
-vegematic

RoySwkr said:

Yes, that's the 3K cluster on the border all right. I took a direct line from E Saddle to Twin Peaks and on the road halfway across met a Canadian hunter who couldn't speak English who had somehow gotten a mile on the wrong side of the border. ...

Click to expand...

Roy:

Thanks for checking the photo. I have a coupler of questions:

1) "East Saddle" (3240+') appears slightly higher than Saddle (3180+'), but Saddle seems to qualify (barely) as a 3K by the AMC 200' col rule. I don't see them both in the picture: is "East Saddle" blocking Saddle from this angle?

2) I assume you were bagging all 5 3Ks in the area. Did you come in from Canada or the US? Why did you cut straight from "East Saddle" to Twin Peaks rather than hike along the swath to 3060' and then to Twin Peaks? Was it too steep to go down the steep side of Marble on the boundary?

Looks like a wild and beautiful area. Iwould love to spend some time exploring it.

Pb

We use Maptech's Terrain Navigator Pro software to for the maps.

http://www.maptech.com/land/TerrainNavigatorpro/index.cfm?infopg=buy