The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust ended the winter hiking season with a spectacular April hike to the summit of Old Speck Mountain in Grafton Notch.  By this time of year, many people in Maine are experiencing winter fatigue and can’t wait to put away the snowshoes, skis, facemasks, gloves and hats.

Not this group!  A fresh 3-6 inches of snow had fallen over hard-packed trail, so we were able to leave the snowshoes in the car.  Temperatures were in the low 30’s to start and the sunshine at this time of year is bright enough to make it feel warmer.  One member of our group even hiked the lower portion of the trail in shortsleeves.  When crossing in front of the Eyebrow we heard the thunderous crash of ice chunks falling from teh cliff wall down to the forest below.

Nonetheless, the winds picked up at higher elevations and the snow, already powdery enough, began to blow and even drift over the trail.  Areas where the sun was blocked by the trees were very cold.  There were three groups ahead of us on this fine day and it was fortunate that we could follow their tracks.

It took about 3.5 hours to reach the summit, and due to the bright sunshine on the summit we stayed for about half and hour and ate lunch.  Views from the summit tower stretched in all directions, and continued on the way down.  At lower elevations the temperature had warmed enough to melt all the snow from the trees and melt much of what had fallen on the trail.  Back in the parking lot all of the snow that had fallen the night before was gone.  Oh and we stopped at three bakeries on the way up/back.

Check out website in the next few weeks for our warm-weather A.T. hikes schedule!  We’ll start in mid-May and go all the way to November!

Maine A.T. Land Trust had a great hike over the weekend up Bald Mountain in Oquossoc on a beautiful late winter day.  Due to the coastal storm the day before, some hikers had to drop out but we had a good time with a small group of three.  While the coast was still dealing with high winds and poor conditions, the mountains of Maine have plenty of snow.

The Appalachian Trail doesn’t go over Bald Mountain, which is on a small divide of elevated land between Mooselookmeguntic Lake in the west and Rangeley Lake in the east.  However, as the photos show, you can see a stretch of about one hundred miles of the A.T. from the summit on a clear day.  The view is spectacular from the observation tower at the summit and the route is only 1.3 miles up.  In the winter this hike does require traction aids to get up over some steep sections that tend to ice up, but it’s not a long stretch and if you take your time it is doable.

Join us for our next hike up Burnt Hill this coming Saturday!

The latest Maine A.T. Land Trust community hike – a make up for the Great Maine Outdoor Weekend – was up to the Four Ponds area just north of Height of Land.  A seldom-travelled area of Maine’s A.T., especially in the winter, Four Ponds is a gem of a section that is perfect for day hiking and filled with natural beauty and opportunities for solitude.

Our group consisted of four hikers, who headed out from Height of Land on a brilliantly sunny, calm Saturday morning.  Temperatures were in the 20’s with light winds – even at the Height of Land overlook there wasn’t much of a breeze when the hike began.  Despite the warm temperatures in areas of Maine at lower elevations to the south, the A.T. was covered in VERY deep powder with a slight crust on top.  Trail had not been broken and it was slow going but our group was content to take what conditions gave.

On the backside of Spruce Mountain a group of grey jays, cuter than average with thick plumage, joined snack time and eventually ate out of the hands of a few of the hikers.  The group came to regret being so generous as by lunchtime the birds became annoyed when the food source dried up.  Lunch was eaten on the shore of Moxie Pond, which is really a bay of Long Pond (largest of the Four Ponds), and that was the furthest extent of the hike.  At different times of year Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust hikes have gone as far as Sabbathday Pond, 3.6 miles from the parking area, but the snow conditions made for slow (but beautiful) going.  The sky turned cloudy and the wind picked up by the time the group got back to the road, so the day was well-timed.

Join us for our next hike to Bald Mountain (show above in the photo of Mooselookmeguntic Lake) on March 3rd! 

The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust had another great hike with the Ladies Adventure Club this past Saturday up to Table Rock in Grafton Notch.  LAC is a group that gets members out in all areas of Maine: kayaking on the coast, hiking the A.T., fat tire biking, and tons of other great stuff.  Like the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust, LAC lowers some of the barriers to participation in Maine’s outdoors by organizing peers and pooling resource.  This was our second hike with LAC and hopefully we can lead them again!

It was another cold morning but fortunately we were able to get in this, our second hike of the winter, after having to postpone our first two due to the cold temperatures.  It was about 5 degrees when we started out on snowshoes – not terrible but still pretty chilly, and soon enough various items of gear were tested by the wind and cold.  Feet were cold, fingers were getting numb, faces stopped feeling stuff.  The forest cover grew thicker pretty quickly and after about twenty minutes everybody was starting to warm up nicely.  Once we headed over to Table Rock on the side trail (the upper, blue-blazed official A.T. side trail, not the orange-blazed rocky one) the trail conditions deteriorated.  Damage from The Storm in the fall left us groping for the next blue blaze, despite being within sight of Table Rock.  After about 15 minutes we found the route, but then faced very icy conditions on the last steep grade up the rock with rungs.  We eventually made it by sticking together and helping each other out.

We ate lunch pretty quickly due to windy conditions on Table Rock, and the ice was dangerous near the edge.  We descended pretty quickly, taking care on the ice, and made it back to the parking lot by 2pm.

This weekend is the Great Maine Outdoor Weekend and we’re heading up Old Speck!  Join us by signing up here.

By Louise Jensen

Saturday temps were predicted to be above freezing with partly cloudy skies and some high winds. Not a bad weather day for a winter hike. Our 2 cars with 6 hikers arrived at the A.T. trailhead on Route 4 in Sandy River Plantation around 10am where the parking lot was not plowed. No surprise there. Fortunately, we were able to squeeze the vehicles along the side of the road.

Snowshoes were the preferred mode of transport for the day.  The trail was snow covered but broken out a bit and the surface was hard with some icy spots. Pretty decent conditions for snowshoeing.  Although the wind howled a bit overhead, the trees, covered with that winter wonderland mantle of snow, kept us protected most of the time.

Heading out we descended slightly and crossed the bridge over the still flowing Sandy River. Ascending gradually, we reached a snowmobile/logging road at about 1 mile or so in. Looking both ways – it was “Snowdeo” weekend – we safely crossed over and reentered the woods. Eventually, we reached the Piazza Rock lean-to and the side trail to the Rock.  We decided to trek on to Eddy Pond and explore the Rock on our return hike out. Further along the trail are some boulder caves but investigating those was not on the day’s agenda.

We continued up and down through narrow sections where snow laden branches crowded the trail. We passed Ethel pond on the right and Mud pond on the left, finally reaching Eddy Pond where the wind howled and lunch time was spent huddled under the canopy. Once nourished, we spent some time by the shore of the pond, admiring the cold gray starkness of the sky and the frozen pond surrounded by the evergreen-covered foothills of Saddleback.

The wind eventually chased us out and we trekked back to explore Piazza Rock. The rock formation is an enormous overhanging flat-topped boulder with trees growing out from the top. It is amazing to behold and we all had notions of what it looked like: a snake, a dinosaur head, even a sock puppet. It is definitely worth the .1 mile climb off the beaten path. Unfortunately, we couldn’t linger too long as it was growing late so we hurried out before it got dark.  All would agree later that this was a really wonderful and fun winter hiking adventure!