eddie
New member
Our regular hiking group of me and my 17 yo son Eric and my Bro-in-law Mark and his 15 yo son Alex, in pursuit of the NE 115 for us and the NE67 for them, planned a week in Western Maine to bag 11 more peaks. We based out of Rangeley Lake Resort with its comfortable accomodations.
There is enough info out there on this and other sites regarding trails, logistics, photos, etc and described in other recent trip reports so I will not repeat that stuff. If you do have any specific questions, you can PM me for details.
Sat 7/17 - Eric and I had to re-climb Carrigain again to see what we missed last year when we completed the NH48. It was a muggy, hazy day but the effort resulted in views that made the repeat worth it. Now I felt complete with the Whites.
Sun 7/18 - We met Mark and Alex in Bethel ME and proceeded to Grafton Notch SP and Old Speck. Up the Eyebrow trail gets the heart pumping quickly. A nice mountain and my first up-close look at the rugged Mahoosucs. We then drove to base camp for check-in. Saw our first of many moose on the drive up.
Mon 7/19 - The forecast stated showers by noon so we opted to go for Saddleback via the ski slopes and then over to the Horn. Typical boring ski slope hike but once on the summit, a totally different exposed environ with open rock, alpine flora and just a really pleasant experience. We were fortunate to get the views to the Horn as on our return, the rain quickly came in and got us by 10am. Easy 4 hour hike.
Tues 7/20 - The best day forecasted at that time so we decided on the Bigelows. I couldn't talk our group into adding on the Horn so we just went to the Averys via Fire Warden. A rather tame first 3 miles in and then you hit the steep stuff. This trail could have the most consecutive rock steps of anywhere I have hiked and they certainly were helpful. Spectacular views and virtually no wind. On top of West Avery we ran into a girls camp group out for a 4 day backpacking adventure. Over on Avery, we met four AT southbound thru-hikers whose food drop never occurred the day before and they needed supplies. They hiked down to our vehicle with us and we gave them a ride into Stratton (or is it Eustis?).
Wed 7/21 - Hooked up with hikebikeskifish (Tim) and his group of Bob of BobandGeri and Ed Smith were going for the Crockers and Redington today. We met them at the Spillover Motel and drove our vehicles up the CVR to the AT crossing. Easy hiking and enjoyable conversation with these guys up to S Crocker and Crocker. One of our AT buddies from yesterday left his jackknife in our car so we left it in a Ziploc with a note and some trail magic on Crocker - I hope they got it. Bob led the safari thru the jungle path over to Redington. The herd path is obvious but don't miss the start before S Crocker summit (it crosses the AT ROW cut just north of its 90 degree turn). Lounged for lunch at Redington summit. Bob and my nephew decided they would RUN! back to the cars from the summit and they actually made it out in one hour! (5 miles) Where did that energy come from? For us mere mortals we got back around 45 minutes later, total hike time 5 1/2 hrs.
Thurs 7/22 - A front passed thru over night and the morning proved cloudy and windy so we passed on another adventure with Tim and Bob and waited until the PM sun came out before we went for Abraham via the Abraham (Fire Warden) trail from Kingfield. This trail starts out tame like the one to the Averys but once you hit the old shack, it starts climbing - 1700' in 1.2 miles. At about 3200 feet the trees suddenly end and you are on the rock/scree which is basically exposed all the way to the summit. The wind was howling (up to 40mi/hr). At the summit, we put on our rain jackets for wind protection and the views from this peak are spectacular also. We sat at the rock wind-break at the summit and the boys enjoyed the rock shelter as well. Another great day.
Fri 7/23 - Another great weather forecast and we were off for Sugarloaf and Spaulding from the AT. A steep boulder climb to 3000' them a rather gentle climb to the trail junction for the Sugarloaf summit. This summit offers the best views in this region, IMHO, if you can block out all of the communication infrastructure. We could see Katahdin and Washington and the northern Presis. A grandfather and grandson AT section hikers we talked to shared the Spaulding campsite with our southbound AT buddies from the Averys. I guess they enjoyed a day off in town. Over to Spaulding in about an hour for the minimal views but our last peak for the week. Once back to the trailhead in just over 6 hours, we opted for a refreshing dip in the brook. The fear of the CVR is over-blown - if you own an SUV, you can get to the AT if not, park before the steel grate bridge about 0.4 mi before the AT.
Summary - This week was way beyond my expectations and each day offered something different, each mountain has its own "personality". We ran into and talked to numerous AT thru-hikers and others and loved our day with fellow VFTTers. We were blessed with great weather and got outstanding views on every peak. This area is very special and we all have great memories of a great week.
The tally: Eric and I totalled 64 miles and 20,300 vft for the week, 54 and 17,000 without Carrigain. Eric and I are at 112/115 and Mark and Alex at 64/67. Baxter State Park remains and it could be a September trip this year or we save it until next year.
Carve your own trail, eddie
There is enough info out there on this and other sites regarding trails, logistics, photos, etc and described in other recent trip reports so I will not repeat that stuff. If you do have any specific questions, you can PM me for details.
Sat 7/17 - Eric and I had to re-climb Carrigain again to see what we missed last year when we completed the NH48. It was a muggy, hazy day but the effort resulted in views that made the repeat worth it. Now I felt complete with the Whites.
Sun 7/18 - We met Mark and Alex in Bethel ME and proceeded to Grafton Notch SP and Old Speck. Up the Eyebrow trail gets the heart pumping quickly. A nice mountain and my first up-close look at the rugged Mahoosucs. We then drove to base camp for check-in. Saw our first of many moose on the drive up.
Mon 7/19 - The forecast stated showers by noon so we opted to go for Saddleback via the ski slopes and then over to the Horn. Typical boring ski slope hike but once on the summit, a totally different exposed environ with open rock, alpine flora and just a really pleasant experience. We were fortunate to get the views to the Horn as on our return, the rain quickly came in and got us by 10am. Easy 4 hour hike.
Tues 7/20 - The best day forecasted at that time so we decided on the Bigelows. I couldn't talk our group into adding on the Horn so we just went to the Averys via Fire Warden. A rather tame first 3 miles in and then you hit the steep stuff. This trail could have the most consecutive rock steps of anywhere I have hiked and they certainly were helpful. Spectacular views and virtually no wind. On top of West Avery we ran into a girls camp group out for a 4 day backpacking adventure. Over on Avery, we met four AT southbound thru-hikers whose food drop never occurred the day before and they needed supplies. They hiked down to our vehicle with us and we gave them a ride into Stratton (or is it Eustis?).
Wed 7/21 - Hooked up with hikebikeskifish (Tim) and his group of Bob of BobandGeri and Ed Smith were going for the Crockers and Redington today. We met them at the Spillover Motel and drove our vehicles up the CVR to the AT crossing. Easy hiking and enjoyable conversation with these guys up to S Crocker and Crocker. One of our AT buddies from yesterday left his jackknife in our car so we left it in a Ziploc with a note and some trail magic on Crocker - I hope they got it. Bob led the safari thru the jungle path over to Redington. The herd path is obvious but don't miss the start before S Crocker summit (it crosses the AT ROW cut just north of its 90 degree turn). Lounged for lunch at Redington summit. Bob and my nephew decided they would RUN! back to the cars from the summit and they actually made it out in one hour! (5 miles) Where did that energy come from? For us mere mortals we got back around 45 minutes later, total hike time 5 1/2 hrs.
Thurs 7/22 - A front passed thru over night and the morning proved cloudy and windy so we passed on another adventure with Tim and Bob and waited until the PM sun came out before we went for Abraham via the Abraham (Fire Warden) trail from Kingfield. This trail starts out tame like the one to the Averys but once you hit the old shack, it starts climbing - 1700' in 1.2 miles. At about 3200 feet the trees suddenly end and you are on the rock/scree which is basically exposed all the way to the summit. The wind was howling (up to 40mi/hr). At the summit, we put on our rain jackets for wind protection and the views from this peak are spectacular also. We sat at the rock wind-break at the summit and the boys enjoyed the rock shelter as well. Another great day.
Fri 7/23 - Another great weather forecast and we were off for Sugarloaf and Spaulding from the AT. A steep boulder climb to 3000' them a rather gentle climb to the trail junction for the Sugarloaf summit. This summit offers the best views in this region, IMHO, if you can block out all of the communication infrastructure. We could see Katahdin and Washington and the northern Presis. A grandfather and grandson AT section hikers we talked to shared the Spaulding campsite with our southbound AT buddies from the Averys. I guess they enjoyed a day off in town. Over to Spaulding in about an hour for the minimal views but our last peak for the week. Once back to the trailhead in just over 6 hours, we opted for a refreshing dip in the brook. The fear of the CVR is over-blown - if you own an SUV, you can get to the AT if not, park before the steel grate bridge about 0.4 mi before the AT.
Summary - This week was way beyond my expectations and each day offered something different, each mountain has its own "personality". We ran into and talked to numerous AT thru-hikers and others and loved our day with fellow VFTTers. We were blessed with great weather and got outstanding views on every peak. This area is very special and we all have great memories of a great week.
The tally: Eric and I totalled 64 miles and 20,300 vft for the week, 54 and 17,000 without Carrigain. Eric and I are at 112/115 and Mark and Alex at 64/67. Baxter State Park remains and it could be a September trip this year or we save it until next year.
Carve your own trail, eddie
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