Damselfly
New member
Caribou Valley Backpack: Spaulding, Abraham, Redington, South and North Crocker
Steve wasn't able to join me last summer when friends and I hiked the peaks up in Caribou Valley, so back we went this summer. Steve had already hiked Sugarloaf, so along with our dog, Skipper, we planned to hike Sugarloaf, Abraham, Redington, and the Crockers on a 2-day backpack loop.
The Caribou Valley Road has been newly renovated. All bridges and culverts have been replaced, and cars of all makes can now easily drive up to within a quarter mile or so of the AT crossing. Ample parking exists just prior to some concrete barriers at the "steel grate" bridge.
After driving up to Stratton, we enjoyed a meatloaf dinner at the Looney Moose diner. We drove up the CVR, hiked 12 minutes up the road to the AT crossing, and found a flat spot near the AT and river to camp for the night.
We had chosen a clockwise loop, and on the first day, hiked up to the Sugarloaf junction and over to Spaulding. The Spaulding shelter is not too much further, and we took a nice break there. We carried extra water for our dog as it had been dry for a spell, but there were a lot of "seeps" and such along the way, and Skipper had no problem finding water for much of the journey. Then we went on to the Abraham junction, from which it took about 2 hours (dropping the heavy backpack) to go out to Abraham and back. (Abraham, with its bare rocky summit and 360 views, is a highlight peak.)
From the AT/Abraham Trail junction, there is a sno-mo trail that leads west. I had learned last summer that this trail easily connects with the logging roads, and that with little difficulty, it would bring us back to the CVR valley and pond area, where we planned to camp for the night.
From this junction, you follow the sno-mo trail westerly. The wide trail turns into a footpath that at times is overgrown, but with care, can be readily followed to a logging road (about 1/2 hour). At this and the next two junctions, you turn right, which leads you west, then north, then east, and finally north again, looping around a "shoulder" of land back up into Caribou Valley. At the next junction, you go straight, but by this time the route becomes real obvious as the walls of the valley lead you in the correct direction. (If you look at Google Earth, or your Gazetteer Maps, this will make sense.) I must admit that with this being my second trip on the roads, the trip passed quickly as I was confident about the route. Some of the logging roads are bare hard pack, and others are wet and overgrown, but there was evidence that lots of other hikers had followed the same route. There were several small brooks draining into Caribou Pond, and we found a flat grassy spot not too far from a good water source to spend the night.
On our second day we walked to the Caribou Pond junction and turned left onto the NW logging road that lead up towards Redington. Other trip reports detail the route to Redington, which is super easy to follow from this direction, traveling along dirt roads and well-defined paths. Rock cairns and "wood arrows" on the ground mark trail junctions, relieving any doubt of which way to turn. From our camp spot, it was only 1 1/2 hours or so to the summit of Redington... nice and easy.
The rough herd path from Redington to So. Crocker was easy to follow. You'll notice the junction for this path about .2 below the Redington summit. It becomes "tight" down in the col area and conifers, but it's easy to follow. From So. Crocker, we dropped our packs and scooted over to No. Crocker and back. And then it was a straight forward descent back to our car.
Last summer I did these peaks as two separate "out and back" hikes... and hiking them as a two-day backpack trip was a very pleasant way to enjoy the beauty of the valley and peaks without putting hard mileage on our feet. We estimated the total trip to be about 22 miles with 5700' of gain. I know folks do this as a one-day trip... but two days worked for Steve, Skipper and I.
On my next trip out, I would love to navigate all around the pond and explore the ATV / logging road that leads to the pond... has anyone out there done that??
Beth Zimmer
btzimr at gmail dot com
Steve wasn't able to join me last summer when friends and I hiked the peaks up in Caribou Valley, so back we went this summer. Steve had already hiked Sugarloaf, so along with our dog, Skipper, we planned to hike Sugarloaf, Abraham, Redington, and the Crockers on a 2-day backpack loop.
The Caribou Valley Road has been newly renovated. All bridges and culverts have been replaced, and cars of all makes can now easily drive up to within a quarter mile or so of the AT crossing. Ample parking exists just prior to some concrete barriers at the "steel grate" bridge.
After driving up to Stratton, we enjoyed a meatloaf dinner at the Looney Moose diner. We drove up the CVR, hiked 12 minutes up the road to the AT crossing, and found a flat spot near the AT and river to camp for the night.
We had chosen a clockwise loop, and on the first day, hiked up to the Sugarloaf junction and over to Spaulding. The Spaulding shelter is not too much further, and we took a nice break there. We carried extra water for our dog as it had been dry for a spell, but there were a lot of "seeps" and such along the way, and Skipper had no problem finding water for much of the journey. Then we went on to the Abraham junction, from which it took about 2 hours (dropping the heavy backpack) to go out to Abraham and back. (Abraham, with its bare rocky summit and 360 views, is a highlight peak.)
From the AT/Abraham Trail junction, there is a sno-mo trail that leads west. I had learned last summer that this trail easily connects with the logging roads, and that with little difficulty, it would bring us back to the CVR valley and pond area, where we planned to camp for the night.
From this junction, you follow the sno-mo trail westerly. The wide trail turns into a footpath that at times is overgrown, but with care, can be readily followed to a logging road (about 1/2 hour). At this and the next two junctions, you turn right, which leads you west, then north, then east, and finally north again, looping around a "shoulder" of land back up into Caribou Valley. At the next junction, you go straight, but by this time the route becomes real obvious as the walls of the valley lead you in the correct direction. (If you look at Google Earth, or your Gazetteer Maps, this will make sense.) I must admit that with this being my second trip on the roads, the trip passed quickly as I was confident about the route. Some of the logging roads are bare hard pack, and others are wet and overgrown, but there was evidence that lots of other hikers had followed the same route. There were several small brooks draining into Caribou Pond, and we found a flat grassy spot not too far from a good water source to spend the night.
On our second day we walked to the Caribou Pond junction and turned left onto the NW logging road that lead up towards Redington. Other trip reports detail the route to Redington, which is super easy to follow from this direction, traveling along dirt roads and well-defined paths. Rock cairns and "wood arrows" on the ground mark trail junctions, relieving any doubt of which way to turn. From our camp spot, it was only 1 1/2 hours or so to the summit of Redington... nice and easy.
The rough herd path from Redington to So. Crocker was easy to follow. You'll notice the junction for this path about .2 below the Redington summit. It becomes "tight" down in the col area and conifers, but it's easy to follow. From So. Crocker, we dropped our packs and scooted over to No. Crocker and back. And then it was a straight forward descent back to our car.
Last summer I did these peaks as two separate "out and back" hikes... and hiking them as a two-day backpack trip was a very pleasant way to enjoy the beauty of the valley and peaks without putting hard mileage on our feet. We estimated the total trip to be about 22 miles with 5700' of gain. I know folks do this as a one-day trip... but two days worked for Steve, Skipper and I.
On my next trip out, I would love to navigate all around the pond and explore the ATV / logging road that leads to the pond... has anyone out there done that??
Beth Zimmer
btzimr at gmail dot com
