By Louise Jensen
The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust hosted its first community hike of the season to Baldpate Mountain in Grafton Notch. There are two summits: the somewhat wooded West Peak at 3,662 feet and the wide-open and beautiful bald East peak at 3,780. This rugged hike, complete with bog planks, ladders and open bald ledges starts on the east side of ME Route 26 and follows along on the Appalachian Trail heading northbound.
Five hikers participated this day, two who had not hiked the Baldpates before and were promised a bit of a wow factor. It was a warm, slightly muggy and a little-bit-buggy day but the skies were clear and really, it was an almost perfect day to be on a hike in the Maine mountains. We started out around 9:25 or so, stopping briefly from time to time to sip water, have a quick snack or sometimes chat with AT thru hikers, many of whom are finally heading through Maine. Along the way we took the .2 mile detour to visit the Baldpate lean-to.
We soon arrived at the West peak and sat down just beyond the summit to eat lunch and admire the views looking Northeastward toward the East peak. After lunch, we gathered our things, took some pictures and headed off to the East peak.
No hike can be complete without a minor mishap or two and this day was no different. There is a small boggy area below the summit of the East peak where the bog planking has long since disintegrated. Over the bog are some scrawny tree branches serving as some pretty anemic plank substitutes. Two of our hikers took a nice step into bog while trying to negotiate the “planks”. One ended up with a soggy and completely mud- covered boot, but a dry sock and a plastic bread bag (hiker hack to keep the foot dry from the inside of a wet boot) saved the day.
Up the East peak we went and the wow factor kicked in. The views as you climb up or down from the East peak never disappoint, especially on a clear day like we had. We hung out on top of the open summit with its 360° views and after awhile reluctantly headed back down. The descent was uneventful – no bog mishaps – and we reached the parking lot safe
and sound and quite satisfied with our day’s hike.