With the latest winter forecast showing a snowy winter on the way, we have started thinking about our winter Next Century Hikes on the A.T.! Some of the outings we are thinking of:
If you have an ideas for hikes that will be appropriate for large groups of vary abilities that does not have extensive terrain above treeline, send your ideas along by email or social media! We will be releasing the calendar in November.
Maine A.T. Land Trust Executive Director Simon Rucker was lucky enough to attend this year’s A.T. Partners’ hike, which is an annual event hosted by the Maine Appalachian Trail Club. It’s a good opportunity to connect with A.T. organizations in a great environment, i.e. outside on in Maine on a fall day at Height of Land on Route 17. And though it was a brisk 37 degrees at the start of the hike and the wind made it feel like January, once we entered the woods and proceeded on the hike to Moxie Pond, the sun warmed us nicely. Lester Kenway, President of MATC, and Dave Field, former President, remarked on the history of the trail in the section south of Rangeley, and the history of trail improvements. It was a working hike but with the great scenery, it was worth the trip out.
Maine A.T. Land Trust had our latest (and final of the season!) hike up the Baldpates in Grafton Notch on Saturday and as you can see from the photos, it was spectacular and almost every way. The weather, although not sunny, was warm enough and the rain held off until the evening. The fall foliage was at peak and despite the predictions of prognosticators that this year there would not be much in the way of good color (due to drought conditions), there was plenty.
The group met at the Grafton Notch parking area and hit the trail at about 9:30am. Most of the group had climbed the Baldpates at one time or another (like a “failed” attempt last year), but everybody was looking forward to climbing these lesser traveled peaks that are often overshadowed by Old Speck, just across Route 26 to the west. One of the group, Sue, is working on becoming a trip leader for the Appalachian Mountain Club and this was a practice hike of sorts for her.
We made good time to West Baldpate (3,662 feet) and headed down to the bog area between the peaks. This is one of the highlights of the hike, as there are views in all directions and the terrain is unique. After the bog, we reached the steep ledges on the final ascent to East Baldpate (3,812 feet). It took everybody a few minutes to adjust to this open, exposed terrain, but it was more exciting than scary. We reached the summit at about 1pm. There were great views in all directions and though there was a chill in the air the lack of sunshine was a welcome feature of autumn.
On the way back down, we encountered several groups going up or down, and everybody remarked at how great an experience hiking the Baldpates is. It was a great way to end the warm-weather of our Next Century Hikes program!
Stay tuned for our updated calendar for the fall and winter season! Make sure those snowshoes are operational by December.
By Deb Carroll
On Sunday, September 25, the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust joined forces, once again, with my other favorite (NH based) hiking group. For most of us, our hike up Pleasant Pond Mountain was preceded by a day of whitewater rafting, so our collective spirits were high. 11 women, some seasoned and some inexperienced hikers, met in Caratunk at about 9:30AM and hit the trail shortly thereafter.
Directions to the trail head for Pleasant Pond Mountain can be found in the Maine Mountain Guide and are pretty accurate, with one exception. As you get close to the trail head, don’t take the obvious right hand turn onto the decently maintained dirt road. Rather, keep going another hundred yards or so until you get to a rutted right turn with a brown AT parking lot sign on the tree. The trail to the top of Pleasant Pond Mountain is just 1.6 miles long and follows the Appalachian Trail the entire way. It’s a 3.2 mile, “out-and-back” hike, with 1,077 feet of elevation gain. Even with one novice hiker in our group, for whom this was a “first time on the AT” experience, the trip took only about 2.5 hours. It was cold, so we chose not to stop at Pleasant Pond for a swim.
We found the trail to be in excellent condition, though well-trodden due to frequent use. Although there were some leaves falling from the trees, as evidenced by the lack of color change we found that most trees had yet to realize that autumn had arrived.
Surprisingly, this late in the year, we ran into a 6 thru hikers – with names like “Falcon” and “Brother Blood,” a couple and a lone young lady – still making their way north to Katahdin. Overall, though they were pleasant and conversant when engaged, they looked tired.
Reaching the moderately treed and lichen speckled summit, we found just a small cairn marking the top. The views to the south and west, however, were extraordinary for the effort expended to earn them. With rain in the distance, and a cool autumn wind swirling about, we didn’t linger long on top.
The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust had a GREAT outing for the Great Maine Outdoor Weekend on Saturday, September 17th. The weather was perfect, we had a great (very large!) group and we accomplished our goal of getting up the first signs for the Berry Pickers’ Trail.
We met at Edmunds Market in Phillips and proceeded to break into groups according to planned hiking agendas for the day. One group was planning to go up to the summits of both Saddleback and The Horn, one was going to accompany Dave Field on a loop hike over Saddleback to Eddy Pond and back to the car spot on the Fly Rod Crosby Trail, and one was just going up to the junction with the Appalachian Trail between Saddleback and The Horn, where the Berry Pickers’ Trail ends.
After re-meeting at the ATV gate on the Fly Rod Crosby Trail – which is a multi-use trail, allowing hikers, bikers, ATV riders, cross country skiers and snowmobilers – we proceeded up to the actual trailhead of the Berry Pickers’ Trail, which is located at a bridge crossing Winship Stream. Betsy and Bud, who live in the area and have used some incarnation of the Berry Pickers’ Trail for thirty years, met us on their fat tire bikes! We – actually one volunteer (thanks Rob!) – carried a post to put up at the trailhead, with a sign that has the following text.
Since there were 19 hikers who were all excited about the opening on this trail, we had many hands to make the work light. Dave Field dug the post hole with some help from Deb Carroll, Maine A.T. Land Trust board member. Hikers Kimberly, Charlie and Terri helped gather stones to put around the post once it was up. When it was standing, Dave Field read the text and put the sign board up. Applause!
Back to the hiking, where we proceeded in a long line up to the ridge to Saddleback Mountain. People went at different paces, but everybody was having a good time and meeting new people. Betsy and Bud had lunch with the big group and went back down to their fat tire bikes. We made it to the A.T. junction at about 1pm and Dave Field took out another, identical sign board, which he then hung at the intersection of the A.T. and Berry Pickers’ Trail. Mission accomplished!
At the junction, everybody took in the views and then proceeded on their different hikes. One large group headed up Saddleback, where five individuals went down to Eddy Pond. Nine would backtrack and then head over to The Horn, before backtracking again down the Berry Pickers’ Trail. And a last group lingered at the junction spot for a long time, watching the others head up, before heading back down.
It was a great day on the trail and we want to thank everybody for coming out for the Great Maine Outdoor Weekend and helping us to finish the work on the Berry Pickers’ Trail. And most of all, thanks to Dave Field and Maine Appalachian Trail Club for trail work to get it open.
Check our website for updates on our next hike up Pleasant Pond Mountain on September 25th!
The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust had an excellent night out with Portland Greendrinks on September 13th at Thompson’s Point. Greendrinks supports non-profits by helping to sponsor an event built around a common interest in the environment and doing good work by helping organizations that do that work. As you can see, we had about 500 people at the event and the location is a beautiful spot for an after-work gathering. We raffled off two Hyperlite backpacks (thanks Hyperlite!) and had volunteers around to help with the activities and talk about our mission and the Appalachian Trail in Maine.
Thanks again to Portland Greendrinks and all our volunteers for helping out! PS – sorry we ran out of beer everybody!
Congratulations to Kingfield, which recently became the fourth Appalachian Trail Community in Maine. A celebration was held in conjunction with the Kingfield Bicentennial Celebration. There was some great potluck food, drink and dancing. The weather held out (for the most part) and proclamations supporting the A.T.’s importance to Maine communities along the trail were read by representatives of:
It was a great occasion and congratulations to Kingfield on turning 200! You couldn’t have done it without all the great people in town.
The Maine A.T. Land Trust held our hike in honor of the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service on a beautiful Saturday – just a few days after the designation of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument as the newest National Park Service landscape. We chose Mt. Abraham because the land trust holds a conservation easement over the summit area – which is part of the State of Maine-owned Mount Abraham Public Reserve Unit – but at the same time it is an integral part of the Appalachian Trail landscape. It is an excellent example of the partnerships and cooperative working relationships that help make the A.T. what it is.
We crossed over the newly-replaced Twin Bridges and headed up the Fire Warden Trail. It was a beautiful day with low humidity, and we reached the MATC campsite very quickly, and treeline shortly thereafter. The going was not as fast since the sun was bright out of the trees, but the breeze was nice. We made it to the summit just in time for lunch and had plenty of time to enjoy the views.
On the way down, there was lots of discussion about what the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument will mean for Maine, since this was the NPS 100th anniversary hike. Most think it will be a positive thing, and everyone was primarily focused on turning the designation into an opportunity for economic development and recreation for the local area. It was an interesting end to a great day.
Join us next month for the Berry Pickers’ Trail opening for the Great Maine Outdoor Weekend!
Before trail clearing and after
Thanks to the efforts to Maine Appalachian Trail Club, some volunteers from Camp Tekawitha and Dave Field, the Berry Pickers’ Trail will be ready to be opened for our Great Maine Outdoor Weekend hike on September 17th. Dave blazed the trail with the A.T.’s trademark blue paint for official Appalachian Trail side trails and numerous crews worked to clear the brush from the footpath. Maine A.T. Land Trust Executive Director picked up the slack by pulling off the flagging from the trees:
For the GMOW event on September 17th, we will be bringing in a post to put in the ground at the trailhead, and Dave Field will be bringing trail signs to post there and at the junction with the Appalachian Trail between Saddleback Mountain and The Horn. On the hike, Dave will be happy to answer any questions about his work, the Berry Pickers’ Trail or the A.T. in this section which Dave has been involved with since 1956. (Note – for those of you hoping to use this hike to ascend The Horn or Saddleback proper, we will not be going further than the junction this time.) If you want to join us for the opening of this spectacular trail, with some of the best views in the state for nearly the whole length, please RSVP at the link above or contact us at info@matlt.org or 207-808-2073.
The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a grant of $25,000 for the Appalachian Trail Maine: Next Century program from the Quimby Family Foundation. These funds will help advance this program in all three facets: Next Century Priorities, Next Century Land Protection and Next Century Outreach. Currently, we are working on our GIS mapping for the land trust’s Land Acquisition Priorities 2016 document and increasing outreach efforts as we approach the National Park Service 100th Anniversary.
The Maine A.T. Land Trust would like to thank the Quimby Family Foundation for providing this much-needed funding for an important program for the future of A.T. conservation in Maine. With it, we hope to advance the protection of the Appalachian Trail landscape, increase opportunities for recreation in Maine and provide a framework for economic activity based on both activities.
