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!

Maine A.T. Land Trust Vice President Pete McKinley and Executive Director Simon Rucker headed up to the White Cap Mountain range recently as part of the due diligence process for the land trust’s role in the Gulf Hagas-Whitecap project.  The Appalachian Trail was routed over White Cap Mountain (3,654 feet) in the 1930’s by Walter D. Greene, a Broadway actor, Maine Guide and early proponent of the Appalachian Trail.  McKinley and Rucker took the White Brook Trail, an official A.T. side trail, which can be accessed via the Katahdin Iron Works Road from Brownville Junction.  This is very rugged territory and this trail is in need of a Maintainer, but it is a spectacular hike.

Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust will likely be holding a property interest bordering on the A.T. corridor just to the south of the White Cap range (the mountain is known in different sources as either “White Cap” or “Whitecap” but the former is more common).  This area would encompass Big Spruce, Little Spruce, Big Shanty and Little Shanty Mountains.  All four peaks are at or near 3,000 feet in elevation.

This area has been logged in the past, but most of it is too rugged and inaccessible and has an unspoiled quality.  The land would make a wonderful addition to the A.T. corridor south of White Cap Mountain, and the greater Gulf Hagas-Whitecap project will protect some fourteen miles of the A.T.

Check our website for more updates on this project.

We had a great hike this past Saturday up to Puzzle Mountain with a group of ten hikers total.  Puzzle is a great little mountain topping out at just over 3,000 feet.  There are three peaks which from the air form a triangle.

Our goal was the first peak.  There is a relatively new loop near the top of the mountain called the Woodsum Loop, but since taking this route would add almost two miles to our hike, we decided to opt for the west peak of Puzzle.

The weather was forecast to be warm and sunny, and in fact it turned out to be even warmer and more humid than expected.  While the terrain is mostly moderate with a few steep sections, it was slow going in the heat.  The trail winds through hardwood forests until reaching the 500-acre Stewart Family Preserve which surrounds the mountain.  On top of the mountain we all ate lunch, checked out the view and attempted to identify distant peaks and lakes with binoculars.  There were plenty of blueberries to pick and all of them were tasty and ripe.  Shyla the dog had a less-than-amicable encounter with another black labrador retriever, her first of two encounters with an identical looking dog on the hike.

On the hike down, a minimum of the hike attendees asked trip leader Simon Rucker how much further it was to get back to the trailhead parking lot, which usually happens.  The group had plenty to talk about and the weather cooled down enough to make the return trip speedy.

If you want to join us for one of our monthly (and occasionally more frequent) hikes, check our website or social media pages.

Maine A.T. Land Trust Executive Director Simon Rucker headed out on a Saturday morning with a hardy group of three to tackle Goose Eye Mountain via the Wright Trail, an official Appalachian Trail side trail.  The weather was cool-ish and mostly cloudy with a few sunny breaks and a slight chance of showers.  One member of the group had previously hiked the Wright Trail and had slipped on a wet rock in Goose Eye Brook – she was looking to replace that experience with a better one and I’m pretty sure she succeeded!

After reaching the campsite where the former north branch of the Wright Trail used to head off, the group proceeded over steep terrain on what was fortunately a well-maintained trail, thanks to Maine Appalachian Trail Club.  Eventually they reached treeline and for the next mile headed west along the ridge.  Goose Eye is a large mountain with three peaks and several knobs which are more or less peaks in their own right.  The group reached a knob just below the East Peak (3,762 feet) before the junction with the Appalachian Trail and decided to head back.  There was some weather coming in from the west and the group had a long hike back to the trailhead.

And boy did it seem long!  Fortunately the company was good and the weather held until we got back to the car.  Thanks to Debi, Deborah and Linda for a great outing!

Note:  Redington Forest remains private property until the acquisition of the conservation easement.  Please respect the landowner’s rights until public access is granted.

Maine A.T. Land Trust Vice President Pete McKinley and Executive Director Simon Rucker headed up to Redington Forest for a second stewardship visit for work related to the conservation easement on the property.  The first visit was an overview trip of the property to review access and the conditions of roads, bridges and culverts on the property.  This second visit was taken with the intent to start exploring the conservation values of Redington Forest, in particular the eastern portion of the land and its high-elevation forests.

McKinley and Rucker navigated a complicated set of logging roads to reach an abandoned road leading to Appalachian Trail lands up and to the east, where they proceeded on foot.  Many of the roads at Redington are well on the way to reverting to “herd path” status and provide for a nice hiking experience.  The paths show signs of use by black bear, moose, white-tailed deer and other species.  There are many vernal pools.  McKinley was pleasantly surprised by the health of the forest as they headed up in elevation to areas above 2,700 feet.  The numerous streams flowed back to the main branch of Nash Stream through steep ravines lined with poplar (aka big-toothed aspen) and spruce.  There were groves of tamarack and yellow birch as well.

As the elevation increased, there were sightings of spruce grouse and the forest type transitioned to spruce-fir.  This area borders the State of Maine’s Crocker Mountain Ecoreserve area and under the Redington Forest conservation easement, this area would have a similar reserve status.  The presence of numerous species of ecological importance, such as Boreal Chickadee, indicated to McKinley and Rucker that Redington Forest was indeed a special property.  This notion was supported by a nice day hike and numerous spectacular views of the Crockers, Mount Redington, Black Nubble and other peaks all the way to Quebec.

List of bird species present:

Swainson’s Thrush, Black-throated Green Warbler, Spruce Grouse, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Boreal Chickadee, American Redstart, Magnolia Warbler.

Executive Director Simon Rucker and a group of six (Cindy, Jeanine, Terri, Debi, Deb and Shyla the dog) headed up Little Bigelow Mountain on a beautiful mid-June day recently.  The goal was to reach the summit, listed variously at 3,040 feet or 3,070 feet depending on the source (more on that later…).  Little Bigelow is a bit of the forgotten little brother in the Bigelow Range, being separated by the main ridge by the cleft in Safford Notch, but as you can see from the photos it is a nice mountain with spectacular views in all directions.

We met at the Appalachian Trail trailhead at East Flagstaff Road and were quickly on our way, since this was a group of seasoned Maine hikers, a few of whom had climbed Little Bigelow before.  The trail followed a brook until reaching the Little Bigelow Lean-to side trail.  There’s a swimming hole called “The Tubs” here but we decided to bypass the location in favor of heading to the summit.

Little Bigelow Mountain is actually a long ridge and we reached the first peak after just over an hour and a half of hiking and less than three miles in distance.  Rather than stop there, the group elected to head to the true summit of Little Bigelow which is at the northwestern end of the ridge.  From various guidebooks and sources, it seemed like the length of the ridge was about half a mile, but the true distance was probably over a mile.  This turned what was expected to be a 6-7 mile hike into a hike of somewhere over 9 mile!

It was well worth it in the end.  The first peak of Little Bigelow has spectacular views of the Crockers and Sugarloaf to the southwest, while the second peak has northerly views of Flagstaff Lake, the Boundary Mountains and even a faint glimpse of Katahdin (with the help of PeakFinder and a pair of binoculars).  The pleasant weather and lack of bugs, for the most part, made our descent easy and left enough time for Shyla the dog to splash around on the way back.

Thanks for a great day everybody!

We had a great hike on the Perham Stream Birding Trail in Madrid Township on Saturday, May 23rd.  The weather was a bit chilly at the start (there were a few snow showers in the mountains!) but it was a hardy bunch of about fifteen birders with binoculars and birding lists in hand.

The group was led by Pete McKinley, Ecologist at The Wilderness Society and Maine A.T. Land Trust Vice President, Kirsten Burbank, Trustee of the Sandy River Land Trust, and property owner Carson Hinkley.  We were treated to sightings of a Brown Thrasher, a few Magnolia Warblers, and a Northern Goshawk, among others (see full list below)!

Special thanks to Carson Hinkley for not only graciously opening his property up to public use, but for maintaining the trails and having a vision as to the design and future of the landscape.  His knowledge of the history of Madrid Township and the lands all around the High Peaks makes the trail what it is today.

Complete list of species seen (courtesy of Western Maine Audubon):

Turkey Vulture
Broad-winged Hawk
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Pileated Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Brown Thrasher
Nashville Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Pine Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Common Grackle
Purple Finch
American Goldfinch