poison ivy
Well-known member
To sum up: a 28.7-mile backpacking trip along the AT in Maine with MEB, Rachel & MichaelJ, five 4Ks, a whole lot of rain and a tremendous amount of fun. If you want to skip my long rambling narrative and go directly the pictures, you can find them: here
Saturday: There’s no better way to spend a rainy Memorial Day weekend out on a three-day backpacking trip with fellow hikers MichaelJ, MEB & Rachel. We were all geared up and ready to start the hike at 9:30 a.m. from Route 4 (after a difficult drive down a very wet and muddy Caribou Valley Road to set up a car spot.) With an easy walk over the footbridge for Sandy River, we were off on our way for what turned out to be a beautiful day.
The first two-miles of the hike up to Piazza Rock were super easy, though muddy, and we cruised right along through fields of trillium and hobblebush. We decided to stop on the shores of Eddy Pond for a lunch break, where we could see a white-ish duck on the opposite banks. We eventually decided it was a merganser once it flew overhead.
After lunch, the trail started to get steeper as we headed up the ridge toward Saddleback, our first of three mountains. The trail leads over glacially smoothed bedrock for about three-miles, providing an awesome ridgeline hike. The views were fantastic even though the day was cloudy. Every once in a while the sun would pop out over one of the mountains around us -- particularly Abraham, but then it would hike back behind the clouds again fairly quickly.
As we headed down the steep rocks into the col between Saddleback & the Horn, we met a day hiker, the only other person we’d see all day. That also marked our first encounter with the snow… still more than a foot in places and rotten. It was a lot better than last weekend on Bemis & Old Blue, but it was still boot-soaking. Michael in particular did some rather nasty postholing, including one that resulted in a somersault of sorts. Atop the 4,041-foot Horn, we celebrated, and prepared to start another steep, snowy descent into the col between the Horn and 3,655-foot Saddleback Jr.
I was initially hoping that one of the little bumps, rather than the bald peak ahead was Saddleback Jr., but a quick check of the map indicated that Saddleback Jr. was not wooded & had panoramic views. Even though the mountain looked pretty daunting from the col, the hike up was really not all that difficult and we soon found ourselves on top of the day’s final peak, with just over a mile to go to Poplar Ridge Shelter, our destination for the night. We arrived at around 7:30 p.m.
We were happy upon arriving at the shelter to find that we were the only ones there so we wouldn‘t have to tent in the rain. (The shelter only sleeps six.) It had a baseball bat floor, which wasn’t the most comfortable but it wasn’t all that bad either. The lean-to has a list of frequently asked questions and Rachel was quickly declared the winner of the Poplar Ridge Jeopardy! Challenge after knowing that the scars on Abraham were from the removal of trees infected with spruce budworm. Mary Ellen attempted to bribe everyone into wearing her wet socks to bed to dry them out, but there were no takers… (though it became a running joke throughout the weekend.)
Sunday: We were up early and on the trail before 7 a.m., heading up the hill to Poplar Ridge. While we only had eight AT miles planned for the day, we also wanted to hike the 3.4-mile round-trip detour to Mt. Abraham, making for a long day. After just a half-mile, we reached Poplar Ridge, which was really our only view of the day, thanks to the clouds and rain.
We quickly reached Orbeton Stream, our first of two rivers we had to ford for the trip, which flows through a deep canyon. Since our boots and socks were already soaked from yesterday’s postholing and mud-fest, we just waded on through. The stream was about thigh-deep on me, but it didn’t have a fast current and was fairly warm so it wasn’t too difficult. We stopped on the rocks to wring out our socks and headed back on our way, after a quick stop at the falls on Sluice Brook. The brook was surrounded by fields of painted trillium and it was a beautiful little walk.
The trail was uphill for much of the next three miles as we scaled the side of 3,280-foot Lone Mountain. The summit was wooded but it was still a good place to stop for a lunch break since the clouds had stopped sprinkling for the time being.
It was just a mile to the 1.7-mile spur trail to Mt. Abraham. We decided it was too long to leave our packs at the spur but figured we would drop our packs about half-way in (though Mary Ellen, being the hero of the group carried hers all the way to the summit.) The spur path was one of the toughest parts of the hike because there were a myriad of blowdowns.
Half-way up the spur trail, we met fellow VFTTers Julz & Paula, who were on their way to Spaulding Mt. Lean-to. They had come up the fire warden’s trail and were planning to meet Wildpeaks & Davehiker there as well. After a short chat, we headed up to treeline, where the rain, wind and fog all seemed to pick up. The last half-mile of Abraham really reminded me of Adams -- lots of rocks to climb over and a few false summits (at least when it’s foggy out.) I was relieved to see the summit tower so I took a quick picture and headed down.
I headed down with Michael, who was feeling very cold from his wet feet. After reaching his pack, he layered up and had a snack and seemed much better… he was back to his regular pace at least. We headed back down the spur trail to the AT and had a mile-long walk to the lean-to, which was one of my favorite parts of the day. It was a pretty little ridge, lined with trees.
We reached the shelter fairly early-- at around 4:30. Julz & Paula had already set up a tent, (and Wildpeaks & Davehiker did so later) so we were alone in the shelter. Davehiker started a fire, but much of the wood was wet. It soon was out and that was it for cowboy TV. Another great night chatting until it got dark enough for bed time!
Monday: Up early again and on the trail by 7:30 for our final day of the trip. We started off with a steep climb up the side of Spaulding Mountain, which was surprisingly snowy. Fortunately, at this point our boots and socks were hopelessly wet so it didn’t matter much. Upon arriving at the short spur, we all headed up to Spaulding’s summit, which had a crazy homemade looking sign.
Lots of uphill through alternating areas of snow and mud as we climbed the shoulder of Sugarloaf, Maine’s second highest mountain. We dropped our packs for the .6 mile spur path up to the summit. The rock staircases were just surging with water and we quickly became drenched with rain. A quick summit picture on the 4,250-foot peak (my 60th on the NE67 list) and we were all ready to head back to the car to dry off.
Heading down the snowy slopes of Sugarloaf wasn’t as bad as postholing up so we made pretty good time. The clouds started to part as we reached the viewpoint for the 500-foot ravine between Redington & the Crockers so we had a little bit of a view.
By the time I arrived at the south branch of the Carrabassett River, Mary Ellen had already scoped out the banks and found a decent place to cross. The water was actually lower than the Orbeton but the current was a little stronger. It was just a quick tenth of a mile back to the car and we ended our hike at 1:30 p.m. On the way back to Route 4, after Rachel noted we didn’t see any moose on the trip, and like magic a moose crossed the road in front of our car… so at least we saw one!
-- Ivy
Saturday: There’s no better way to spend a rainy Memorial Day weekend out on a three-day backpacking trip with fellow hikers MichaelJ, MEB & Rachel. We were all geared up and ready to start the hike at 9:30 a.m. from Route 4 (after a difficult drive down a very wet and muddy Caribou Valley Road to set up a car spot.) With an easy walk over the footbridge for Sandy River, we were off on our way for what turned out to be a beautiful day.
The first two-miles of the hike up to Piazza Rock were super easy, though muddy, and we cruised right along through fields of trillium and hobblebush. We decided to stop on the shores of Eddy Pond for a lunch break, where we could see a white-ish duck on the opposite banks. We eventually decided it was a merganser once it flew overhead.
After lunch, the trail started to get steeper as we headed up the ridge toward Saddleback, our first of three mountains. The trail leads over glacially smoothed bedrock for about three-miles, providing an awesome ridgeline hike. The views were fantastic even though the day was cloudy. Every once in a while the sun would pop out over one of the mountains around us -- particularly Abraham, but then it would hike back behind the clouds again fairly quickly.
As we headed down the steep rocks into the col between Saddleback & the Horn, we met a day hiker, the only other person we’d see all day. That also marked our first encounter with the snow… still more than a foot in places and rotten. It was a lot better than last weekend on Bemis & Old Blue, but it was still boot-soaking. Michael in particular did some rather nasty postholing, including one that resulted in a somersault of sorts. Atop the 4,041-foot Horn, we celebrated, and prepared to start another steep, snowy descent into the col between the Horn and 3,655-foot Saddleback Jr.
I was initially hoping that one of the little bumps, rather than the bald peak ahead was Saddleback Jr., but a quick check of the map indicated that Saddleback Jr. was not wooded & had panoramic views. Even though the mountain looked pretty daunting from the col, the hike up was really not all that difficult and we soon found ourselves on top of the day’s final peak, with just over a mile to go to Poplar Ridge Shelter, our destination for the night. We arrived at around 7:30 p.m.
We were happy upon arriving at the shelter to find that we were the only ones there so we wouldn‘t have to tent in the rain. (The shelter only sleeps six.) It had a baseball bat floor, which wasn’t the most comfortable but it wasn’t all that bad either. The lean-to has a list of frequently asked questions and Rachel was quickly declared the winner of the Poplar Ridge Jeopardy! Challenge after knowing that the scars on Abraham were from the removal of trees infected with spruce budworm. Mary Ellen attempted to bribe everyone into wearing her wet socks to bed to dry them out, but there were no takers… (though it became a running joke throughout the weekend.)
Sunday: We were up early and on the trail before 7 a.m., heading up the hill to Poplar Ridge. While we only had eight AT miles planned for the day, we also wanted to hike the 3.4-mile round-trip detour to Mt. Abraham, making for a long day. After just a half-mile, we reached Poplar Ridge, which was really our only view of the day, thanks to the clouds and rain.
We quickly reached Orbeton Stream, our first of two rivers we had to ford for the trip, which flows through a deep canyon. Since our boots and socks were already soaked from yesterday’s postholing and mud-fest, we just waded on through. The stream was about thigh-deep on me, but it didn’t have a fast current and was fairly warm so it wasn’t too difficult. We stopped on the rocks to wring out our socks and headed back on our way, after a quick stop at the falls on Sluice Brook. The brook was surrounded by fields of painted trillium and it was a beautiful little walk.
The trail was uphill for much of the next three miles as we scaled the side of 3,280-foot Lone Mountain. The summit was wooded but it was still a good place to stop for a lunch break since the clouds had stopped sprinkling for the time being.
It was just a mile to the 1.7-mile spur trail to Mt. Abraham. We decided it was too long to leave our packs at the spur but figured we would drop our packs about half-way in (though Mary Ellen, being the hero of the group carried hers all the way to the summit.) The spur path was one of the toughest parts of the hike because there were a myriad of blowdowns.
Half-way up the spur trail, we met fellow VFTTers Julz & Paula, who were on their way to Spaulding Mt. Lean-to. They had come up the fire warden’s trail and were planning to meet Wildpeaks & Davehiker there as well. After a short chat, we headed up to treeline, where the rain, wind and fog all seemed to pick up. The last half-mile of Abraham really reminded me of Adams -- lots of rocks to climb over and a few false summits (at least when it’s foggy out.) I was relieved to see the summit tower so I took a quick picture and headed down.
I headed down with Michael, who was feeling very cold from his wet feet. After reaching his pack, he layered up and had a snack and seemed much better… he was back to his regular pace at least. We headed back down the spur trail to the AT and had a mile-long walk to the lean-to, which was one of my favorite parts of the day. It was a pretty little ridge, lined with trees.
We reached the shelter fairly early-- at around 4:30. Julz & Paula had already set up a tent, (and Wildpeaks & Davehiker did so later) so we were alone in the shelter. Davehiker started a fire, but much of the wood was wet. It soon was out and that was it for cowboy TV. Another great night chatting until it got dark enough for bed time!
Monday: Up early again and on the trail by 7:30 for our final day of the trip. We started off with a steep climb up the side of Spaulding Mountain, which was surprisingly snowy. Fortunately, at this point our boots and socks were hopelessly wet so it didn’t matter much. Upon arriving at the short spur, we all headed up to Spaulding’s summit, which had a crazy homemade looking sign.
Lots of uphill through alternating areas of snow and mud as we climbed the shoulder of Sugarloaf, Maine’s second highest mountain. We dropped our packs for the .6 mile spur path up to the summit. The rock staircases were just surging with water and we quickly became drenched with rain. A quick summit picture on the 4,250-foot peak (my 60th on the NE67 list) and we were all ready to head back to the car to dry off.
Heading down the snowy slopes of Sugarloaf wasn’t as bad as postholing up so we made pretty good time. The clouds started to part as we reached the viewpoint for the 500-foot ravine between Redington & the Crockers so we had a little bit of a view.
By the time I arrived at the south branch of the Carrabassett River, Mary Ellen had already scoped out the banks and found a decent place to cross. The water was actually lower than the Orbeton but the current was a little stronger. It was just a quick tenth of a mile back to the car and we ended our hike at 1:30 p.m. On the way back to Route 4, after Rachel noted we didn’t see any moose on the trip, and like magic a moose crossed the road in front of our car… so at least we saw one!
-- Ivy
Nice.
