hikersinger
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After some time "nickel and diming" the peaks on the New England 67 Highest (all the peaks above 4,000') since finishing the NH 48 in 2014, I eyeballed the remaining I had and saw the large majority were clustered around the Rangeley/Kingfield area of Maine, generally referred to as the Rangeley High Peaks. Some quick analysis of their proximity showed I could hit them all in four relatively comfortable days, tops.
With that, a vacation plan began forming. Earlier this summer I traveled into Vermont to hit some of the NE 100 peaks (Jay/Big Jay and Breadloaf/Wilson). That trip still fresh in my mind, I wanted a similar one for these 10 peaks; Autumn seemed the perfect time to try and fit it in.
So, with the love and support of my family, I planned a trip for the long weekend following Columbus Day. I asked my friend Matt along, as he'd been clamoring for some hiking and we had only managed one hike this summer (King Ravine). The plan:
Day 1: travel up Thursday morning, snag a campsite, hike the Crockers and Redington
Day 2: hike the Bigelows (Avery and West), plus South Horn as an NE 100 bonus
Day 3: hike Sugarloaf, Spaulding, and Abraham
Day 4: hike Saddleback and Saddleback - The Horn, then travel back home
A note about the planning for this: I had to rely more heavily on online sources for some of these hikes, as the latest AMC Maine Mountain Guide (10th edition) left out some key parts of this trip, namely the Redington herd path and the Saddleback ski area ascent up the mountain. Their map coverage was also quite lacking. (I have it on good authority that their next edition of the guide, due out in the next year or so, will correct some of these exclusions and should improve things quite a bit.)
So, in addition to the Guide, I went to Steve Smith's Mountain Wanderer store in Lincoln and purchased the Rangeley Lakes Region map put out by The Wilderness Map Company. I also culled information from TrailsNH (which led to a few very helpful, recent blog posts), and 4000footers.com (particularly helpful with descriptions and decent maps of each group of peaks). I assembled a small packet of trail descriptions and maps which would serve as our guide along the way.
I met Matt as his house in Canterbury and we headed up 93 toward Route 16, which would take us straight to the Rangeley area. The drive was quiet and uneventful, save some construction near downtown Berlin. I hadn't been north of Milan before, so it was great to drive through small towns and increasing amounts of undeveloped land. The drive along Bear Brook in Errol and Wentworth Location to the NH/Maine border was particularly nice; the deer "High Hit Rate" signs drew some attention!
Basecamp: Stratton Brook Pond
First order of business once we reached the area, was to grab a tent site. I had been drawn to the Round Barn sites + lodge, each site nestled on the shore of Flagstaff Lake, north of the Bigelow Preserve. The downside with these sites is that they're 45 minutes away from the "center" of these peaks, so it would have been a little laborious to add 1.5 hours or more to a couple of these hikes, especially with the shorter Autumn days.
No matter though, as we drove right to our second choice, Stratton Brook Pond, which sits at the southern base of the Bigelows, and is just a few miles away from Caribou Valley Road, the starting point for two of the three other hikes.
We were confident we'd have a site since it was Thursday following Columbus Day, and we weren't disappointed. We drove the full two miles, past the "real" trailhead most use to hike the Bigelows, to the end of Stratton Brook Pond Road, off Route 27, where a footbridge took hikers the rest of way to the Firewarden's Trail, the main route up to the Bigelow range. (It's worth noting the last half-mile of the road beyond the main trailhead is much narrower and more sketchy for non-AWD and low-clearance vehicles, but we didn't have any trouble with a Subaru Outback.)
This first campsite is gorgeously situated just steps beyond the footbridge, up on an embankment to the left, with wide views west and south across the pond to Sugarloaf and the Crockers. You could also make out the western half of the Bigelow range from this area. It's one of the most idyllic spots I've ever seen. It's unique position treated us to sunrises and sunsets over the pond each day following, and also was very conveniently the spot for the next day's hike up and over the Bigelows. You can hardly buy spots like this, and being free in the off-season, we felt very lucky to have scored it.
... continue to Day 1: Crockers & Redington
With that, a vacation plan began forming. Earlier this summer I traveled into Vermont to hit some of the NE 100 peaks (Jay/Big Jay and Breadloaf/Wilson). That trip still fresh in my mind, I wanted a similar one for these 10 peaks; Autumn seemed the perfect time to try and fit it in.
So, with the love and support of my family, I planned a trip for the long weekend following Columbus Day. I asked my friend Matt along, as he'd been clamoring for some hiking and we had only managed one hike this summer (King Ravine). The plan:
Day 1: travel up Thursday morning, snag a campsite, hike the Crockers and Redington
Day 2: hike the Bigelows (Avery and West), plus South Horn as an NE 100 bonus
Day 3: hike Sugarloaf, Spaulding, and Abraham
Day 4: hike Saddleback and Saddleback - The Horn, then travel back home
A note about the planning for this: I had to rely more heavily on online sources for some of these hikes, as the latest AMC Maine Mountain Guide (10th edition) left out some key parts of this trip, namely the Redington herd path and the Saddleback ski area ascent up the mountain. Their map coverage was also quite lacking. (I have it on good authority that their next edition of the guide, due out in the next year or so, will correct some of these exclusions and should improve things quite a bit.)
So, in addition to the Guide, I went to Steve Smith's Mountain Wanderer store in Lincoln and purchased the Rangeley Lakes Region map put out by The Wilderness Map Company. I also culled information from TrailsNH (which led to a few very helpful, recent blog posts), and 4000footers.com (particularly helpful with descriptions and decent maps of each group of peaks). I assembled a small packet of trail descriptions and maps which would serve as our guide along the way.
I met Matt as his house in Canterbury and we headed up 93 toward Route 16, which would take us straight to the Rangeley area. The drive was quiet and uneventful, save some construction near downtown Berlin. I hadn't been north of Milan before, so it was great to drive through small towns and increasing amounts of undeveloped land. The drive along Bear Brook in Errol and Wentworth Location to the NH/Maine border was particularly nice; the deer "High Hit Rate" signs drew some attention!
Basecamp: Stratton Brook Pond
First order of business once we reached the area, was to grab a tent site. I had been drawn to the Round Barn sites + lodge, each site nestled on the shore of Flagstaff Lake, north of the Bigelow Preserve. The downside with these sites is that they're 45 minutes away from the "center" of these peaks, so it would have been a little laborious to add 1.5 hours or more to a couple of these hikes, especially with the shorter Autumn days.
No matter though, as we drove right to our second choice, Stratton Brook Pond, which sits at the southern base of the Bigelows, and is just a few miles away from Caribou Valley Road, the starting point for two of the three other hikes.
We were confident we'd have a site since it was Thursday following Columbus Day, and we weren't disappointed. We drove the full two miles, past the "real" trailhead most use to hike the Bigelows, to the end of Stratton Brook Pond Road, off Route 27, where a footbridge took hikers the rest of way to the Firewarden's Trail, the main route up to the Bigelow range. (It's worth noting the last half-mile of the road beyond the main trailhead is much narrower and more sketchy for non-AWD and low-clearance vehicles, but we didn't have any trouble with a Subaru Outback.)
This first campsite is gorgeously situated just steps beyond the footbridge, up on an embankment to the left, with wide views west and south across the pond to Sugarloaf and the Crockers. You could also make out the western half of the Bigelow range from this area. It's one of the most idyllic spots I've ever seen. It's unique position treated us to sunrises and sunsets over the pond each day following, and also was very conveniently the spot for the next day's hike up and over the Bigelows. You can hardly buy spots like this, and being free in the off-season, we felt very lucky to have scored it.
... continue to Day 1: Crockers & Redington
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