At long last, the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust will be having a hike up to the ridge of Saddleback Mountain along the route of the Berry Pickers’ Trail on Sunday, September 27th.  This trail has yet to open to the public, but the land trust has received special permission to lead a group along the route of the trail for the Great Maine Outdoor Weekend!  This route is the traditional trail inhabitants of the valley between Saddleback and Mount Abraham would take to pick berries above the town of Madrid.  It will be formally opened as an official Appalachian Trail side trail next year.

The trailhead is located on the Orbeton Stream easement and follows logging roads for approximately 1.5 miles before ascending a ridge through about 0.7 miles of thick spruce forest on land trust property.  The remaining mile plus of the trail ascends the long flank shown in the photo above, until reaching the Appalachian Trail on the ridge between the summits of Saddleback Mountain and The Horn.  TBD which summit we choose to ascend.

This hike will be a bushwhack, meaning that we will not be following a maintained trail.  However, this is an old, well-traveled route, which has recently been flagged, and for those who know the way it is a great hike.  Please be advised that there will be some challenging terrain, particularly in the areas where the trail winds through heavily-forested areas.  Nonetheless, if you are an experienced hiker this should be a nice adventure!

To sign up, please RSVP to info@matlt.org, through our social media pages, or by calling 207-808-2073.  We will only be taking 5-10 hikers for this trip so don’t wait!