BillDC
New member
Having to be home early, I decided that an early hike was better than no hike. I left Rangeley around 4:45A heading 16 west. At the junction where RT16 splits, it is freshly paved and a nice ride. Not even at the trail, the adventure starts. Within 5 minutes I see 3 moose crossing with some notice to react. It's before sunrise, so there is not alot of light. At this point, I slow to around 45 MPH and start watching much more diligently. I pass 2 more cows on the left standing in the shoulder not moving. I gaze over left at them to ensure they are not going to move in my direction, mistake! Almost immediately from the right, another runs out almost in front of me, but switches directions and starts running alongside of me for a short distance. I basically slow to a crawl. Freaked out, I slowed to around 30 after they cleared and another pair cross the road well ahead of me, then I was good for a while. I reach the trailhead and turn into a logging road just west of it to re-orient my truck, and another pair of Moose are standing in the road. 10 Moose in 30 minutes, really?
The trailhead is marked with a small sign stating "Trail" in red. There used to be a more prominent sign here, but no longer. The trail meanders through a cut area and is marked very well with red blazes, which look pretty fresh. Just as you enter, there is a more descriptive sign on a tree stating "Aziscohos Mtn trail" "3.4 Mi. Rt.". There were some wet and muddy areas to get through, but no biggie. A bit higher, the trail crosses multiple skidder roads, but the treadway is very evident and these can be easily negotiated. There were actually some good views from a few of these. After I want to say 3 skidder roads, the trail finally enters forest. The trail gets a bit steeper, but overall not that difficult. I had been keeping an eye out for an old junction trail that once cut over to the old warden's trail leaving at about 1.2, but the last reference to that was in the 1968 MMG, so there was little chance of finding it. You eventually climb to a junction with the old original fire warden's trail. It is referred to as the "Tower Man's trail". I had planned on returning via the Tower Man's trail, but more on that later.
At the summit, even though it wasn't even 7AM yet, there was enough haze to prevent any real distant viewing, but the views were worth it nevertheless. On the summit, the old footings of 2 generations of fire towers are still present. One built in 1910 and other built in 1929. The last tower was laying toppled on the summit for years, but the Maine Forest Service flew it off the summit in 2004. Nice views of Aziscohos, Upper Richardson, Umbagog, and Mooselookmeguntic lakes. Greater Aziscohos lies very close to the south west. I considered wacking up since I was here, but I had already done it years ago and talked myself out of it. Took in the views for a while and headed down via the Tower Man's trail.
This trail starts fairly open but quickly closes in with growth. The treadway is still pretty good for a while. It is also marked with some pretty old and faded flagging which helps when the trail gets obscured. This trail is more gradual and you eventually reach a cut area with mazes of skid roads. I was able to cross 2 of these roads and find the old trail on the other side without too much effort. Once I crossed over on the west side of clark brook, it was a mess of roads. Right in the middle of a skid road, I ran into the site of the old watchman's camp. The bed frame and other artifacts still remain. Just below this area, I found the trail again for a short period but it ran into a clear cut and it was all over. I walked the edge of the clear cut looking for the trail to go back into the forest, but I was not able to locate it. I started thinking about the 3.5 mi road walk back to my truck if I did walk it all the way to Wilsons Mills, and I decided to walk the current skid road out! I kept following the skid road in a northerly direction. It crosses 2 bridges and then finally came out to RT16 as a gated road. Heading east from here, it was about a mile back to the trailhead. I saw no one else on the trail, but I did see another hiker come out of the trailhead and drive away just as I was about to pull out.
Photos
https://picasaweb.google.com/BillDC3/AziscohosMountainME7142012?authuser=0&feat=directlink
The trailhead is marked with a small sign stating "Trail" in red. There used to be a more prominent sign here, but no longer. The trail meanders through a cut area and is marked very well with red blazes, which look pretty fresh. Just as you enter, there is a more descriptive sign on a tree stating "Aziscohos Mtn trail" "3.4 Mi. Rt.". There were some wet and muddy areas to get through, but no biggie. A bit higher, the trail crosses multiple skidder roads, but the treadway is very evident and these can be easily negotiated. There were actually some good views from a few of these. After I want to say 3 skidder roads, the trail finally enters forest. The trail gets a bit steeper, but overall not that difficult. I had been keeping an eye out for an old junction trail that once cut over to the old warden's trail leaving at about 1.2, but the last reference to that was in the 1968 MMG, so there was little chance of finding it. You eventually climb to a junction with the old original fire warden's trail. It is referred to as the "Tower Man's trail". I had planned on returning via the Tower Man's trail, but more on that later.
At the summit, even though it wasn't even 7AM yet, there was enough haze to prevent any real distant viewing, but the views were worth it nevertheless. On the summit, the old footings of 2 generations of fire towers are still present. One built in 1910 and other built in 1929. The last tower was laying toppled on the summit for years, but the Maine Forest Service flew it off the summit in 2004. Nice views of Aziscohos, Upper Richardson, Umbagog, and Mooselookmeguntic lakes. Greater Aziscohos lies very close to the south west. I considered wacking up since I was here, but I had already done it years ago and talked myself out of it. Took in the views for a while and headed down via the Tower Man's trail.
This trail starts fairly open but quickly closes in with growth. The treadway is still pretty good for a while. It is also marked with some pretty old and faded flagging which helps when the trail gets obscured. This trail is more gradual and you eventually reach a cut area with mazes of skid roads. I was able to cross 2 of these roads and find the old trail on the other side without too much effort. Once I crossed over on the west side of clark brook, it was a mess of roads. Right in the middle of a skid road, I ran into the site of the old watchman's camp. The bed frame and other artifacts still remain. Just below this area, I found the trail again for a short period but it ran into a clear cut and it was all over. I walked the edge of the clear cut looking for the trail to go back into the forest, but I was not able to locate it. I started thinking about the 3.5 mi road walk back to my truck if I did walk it all the way to Wilsons Mills, and I decided to walk the current skid road out! I kept following the skid road in a northerly direction. It crosses 2 bridges and then finally came out to RT16 as a gated road. Heading east from here, it was about a mile back to the trailhead. I saw no one else on the trail, but I did see another hiker come out of the trailhead and drive away just as I was about to pull out.
Photos
https://picasaweb.google.com/BillDC3/AziscohosMountainME7142012?authuser=0&feat=directlink
