We have a great day for a hike last week – given the lateness of the season, the fact that we got all the way to West Baldpate without any traction aid is pretty remarkable!  But given the icy conditions – see the monorail on the trail in the photo above – it probably would have taken crampons to get to the next peak.

The day started out a bit cloudy and chilly, but everybody was in their best hunter orange and bundled up enough to start shedding layers.  The A.T. heading east out of Grafton Notch is not very steep and we progressed rapidly up the slope of the Baldpate massif.  Somehow everybody in the group missed the junction point with the Baldpate shelter spur trail, which is seen as the point at which you start really ascending.

The trail began to get icier and we encountered a group heading back down the mountain.  They did not have traction aids and had to turn back.

We reached the summit of West Baldpate, and knowing that the trail was going to be fully-iced over, and that we had a limited amount of daylight to work with, we decided to turn back.

We enjoyed the view before heading down.  The additional time we had allowed us to stop at the Baldpate shelter on the way back to enjoy a leisurely lunch in the sunshine.  It was a great day and a perfect hike leading into Thanksgiving!

Land trust Vice President Pete McKinley and Executive Director Simon Rucker paid another stewardship visit to the proposed Redington Forest easement area late in October, along with the property owner’s forester.  The purpose of the visit was to go over many of the forestry operations infrastructure on the land and get a tour of the property from the man who knows the land best.  On each visit, land trust staff and board members have been pleasantly surprised by the diversity of the ecological features on this special A.T. landscape, and this visit was no exception.

There is a large wetland area with a small pond which neither McKinley or Rucker had seen before.  It is classed as inland waterfowl and wading bird habitat by the State of Maine and is perhaps 25 acres in size.  Along with the mountain features along the A.T., the valuable stream corridors and intact forest, there’s lots to be excited about at Redington.

Stay tuned for next month’s report, as there are plans to explore the potential ecological reserve area on the property adjacent to the Appalachian Trail corridor!

The land trust’s annual monitoring trip to the Mount Abraham easement marked the initial visit of a new stewardship volunteer – Mike Marrone.  Mike is a New Gloucester native who returned to Maine from Colorado, having experienced the majesty of the American West.  As we all know, there’s no place like Maine, and Mike came home to volunteer for the land trust as a monitor of conservation easements.  He currently works for TD Bank as a supervisor at the Auburn Contact Center and will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in the fall of 2016 with his girlfriend, Brittany.

Mike and land trust Executive Director Simon Rucker headed up the Fire Warden Trail on a clear, cold Saturday for the annual conservation easement monitoring visit.  Mike is an experienced hiker but had never climbed Mount Abraham, which is a spectacular mountain with a variety of interesting terrain and features.  Despite this, it is often overlooked for day trips and there was only one other group on the mountain that day.  The first surprise they encountered were the TWO NEW BRIDGES over Rapid Stream.

Many a Mount Abraham trip had been made more harrowing by having to cross the two streams just to reach the trailhead.  We are happy to report that, with the installation of these bridges, high-clearance vehicles can once again drive right to the Fire Warden Trail trailhead.

Mike and Simon made it to the summit – about 4.5 miles – in about 2.5 hours.  The summit was wind and very cold and there was some icing above treeline.  Despite the conditions, they were able to inspect portions of the easement area shown above.  Another significant year-over-year change to the property (which is owned by the State of Maine) was that the old fire tower structure had fallen over.

The two chose to eat lunch lower down the trail on the return hike and despite the shortening of the days, made it back to the car before sunset.  It was a great day and it was great to have Mike aboard for stewardship duties!

The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust’s monthly hike on the A.T. was a short trip up to Table Rock over Columbus Day weekend.  The weather was cooler than most of the days have been this fall (there was rime ice on the summit of Old Speck) but the trip attendees dressed more suitably than trip leader Simon Rucker, who wore just a sweater.

As this hike was a joint effort between Mahoosuc Land Trust and Maine A.T. Land Trust, there were attendees from the Maine Outdoor Adventure Club in addition to those who are familiar with the land trusts’ work.  A few had never before been to Grafton Notch, and they were impressed by the fall foliage and the mountain scenery on the westernmost portion of the Appalachian Trail in Maine.  As the group headed up the trail we encountered other large groups of Mainers and tourists alike who were out for a pleasant hike in the fall weather.  After a chilly lunch on top of Table Rock – one hiker brought a blanket and it was needed – the group headed back down the trail.  There were many cars lining the road with license plates from all over the country when we got back to the parking lot.

The Maine A.T. Land Trust had its long-awaited trip up the Berry Pickers’ Trail on Saddleback Mountain for the Great Maine Outdoor Weekend, and the trip was as spectacular as we could have hoped!  After a chilly, 30 degree start, the weather was warm and sunny, and though some hikers had to drop out at the last minute, we had three in our party bushwhack up to the A.T. from the valley below.

The Berry Pickers’ Trail was the long-time route from the town of Madrid up to Saddleback Mountain.  When it opens next spring, the trail will connect the Fly Rod Crosby Trail to the A.T.  There is vehicular access to the trailhead via logging roads.

We set off at 8:30am, heading up an ATV trail which gradually intersects with and becomes co-terminus with the Fly Rod Crosby Trail.  From there the Berry Pickers’ Trail heads north into the woods up the slope of Saddleback Mountain and into conservation land owned by Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust.  The trail was flagged by Maine Appalachian Trail Club’s Dave Field and he has done an excellent job of finding a path through some thick terrain.  Thanks Dave!

The trail soon reaches the open area of the ridge and proceeds gradually to the A.T. corridor between Saddleback and The Horn.  Saddleback Jr. can be seen to the northeast.  One of our hikers, Eben, is the descendant of a local Madrid family which once owed nearly all of the land in the Orbeton valley (see photo in the slideshow).  Eben helped us deal with the many scratches and tumbles as we bushwhacked by imparting his knowledge about the landscape, which was extensive.  His family is still involved in conservation efforts in the area, and though many members of the family live in other parts of the country, they maintain close connections with the land and community.

The group made it back safely in the late afternoon, with only half of the first aid kit depleted of supplies needed to cover the scratches, bruises and tweaked ankles.

Be sure to join us for next month’s hike along the Appalachian Trail in Maine!