.July 15, 2006
This was supposed to be my weekend off from hiking. I was on-call at the hospital but Jason was nice enough to be on-call for me on Saturday. Thanks again, Jason. Today is supposed to be very hot and I have quite a day planned which involves some biking in the middle. I won't be biking any of the AT because it is not allowed (nor would it be possible), but I'll use the bike to get me to one of the trailheads.
I started the day with a drive of about 2.5 hours just to get to the trailhead. I overshot the Caribou Valley/ Pond Road and reached the AT parking lot on Route 27. This would be the second part of today's hike. I hid a couple of water bottles in the bushes for later. Before the day is out, I will have water bottles hidden everywhere. I got back in the truck and headed 1.5 miles back down Route 27. I had no trouble seeing the Caribou Valley/Pond Road coming from the north. The AT is about 4.3 miles in. I made it just over 4 miles on this very rough dirt road when I came to a bridge. It had huge ruts before and after the bridge. I wasn't sure my small 2 wheel drive truck could make it, so I decided to pull off the road here and hike in. What's a couple tenths of a mile more?? Within a few more minutes I reached the trailhead. With this being such a remote area, I decided to create a little trail magic. I brought a lunchbox full of peaches to set by the trail.
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I headed south on the AT and almost immediately I crossed the South Branch of the Carrabassett River. It was a typical Maine river crossing with no bridge, but the Maine Appalachian Trail Club did provide a little help. Time to walk the plank mate.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The trail became extremely steep after this
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Some scrambling was required here.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The trail became easier after this but continued to climb. I reached the side trail to Sugarloaf where I hid a couple more water bottles in the bushes.
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Sugarloaf is a popular ski resort in Maine and is an official 4,000 footer, so up I go. The very top of the mountain is above treeline. Just as I came above treeline I met this little critter.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ A couple more minutes and I reached the summit of Sugarloaf. The day was overcast and hazy, but I still had a great view. Here's a look north toward the Crockers which I will be climbing later. It was odd seeing the ski lift not in use. It looked as if it had been closed for years, but in reality it had only been a few months.
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Sugarloaf is considered Maine's second tallest mountain by some and third by others. How come? Because of Katahdin. There are two peaks on Katahdin that are higher than Sugarloaf. There is enough of a drop inbetween the two peaks that the Appalachian Mountain Club has them both listed and therefore lists Sugarloaf as third for Maine. Unofficially, some say that although Katahdin has two peaks, it is still the same mountain, so Sugarloaf is second. Take your pick, Sugarloaf is the 2nd or 3rd highest mountain in Maine.
I met a section hiker named 'Wood Badge'. He is on his way up to Monson which will complete his Maine section of the AT. He was heading north, so I let him know about the peaches I had set out. I also told him that I would probably see him later. I could tell he was trying to figure out how since I was heading south. Then I told him how I would be biking around to the other end. He left ahead of me and I gave Lynn a call from the summit to let her know of my progress.
I headed back down to the AT. I decided to do some freedom hiking. I hid my pack, guzzled down some water, and headed south. It is great hiking without a pack, you can really cover some ground. I reached the AT completion plaque that I had hiked to from the other direction last week. No sense in taking another picture, it hadn't changed in the last week. Here's last week's picture.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Time to head back to the truck. I got back to the side trail for Sugarloaf and grabbed my pack and began the steep descent down to the valley. I met a southbound hiker.
"Did you leave the peaches below?" he asked.
"Sure did."
"They really hit the spot. Thanks."
"Your welcome. Glad to spread some trail magic."
I continued down and recrossed the Carrabassett River. Another minute and I would be back to Caribou Valley Road. As I neared, I passed two more southbound hikers who were enjoying the peaches I set out. I reached the road and decided to take inventory. Six peaches left. I headed down the road until I got to my truck. Phase 1 complete. Time to begin Phase 2. I restocked on water, hopped on my bike, and headed down the road. The 6 mile bike ride proved to be the easiest part of my day. I think I made better time biking the road than driving it. With the tires obviously much skinnier than my truck and only 2 tires instead of 4, it was much easier to dodge the potholes. Also, it was mostly downhill. I would pay for this later, but for now it was nice. It was so hot, but the breeze from going downhill quickly cooled me off. I reached the trailhead on Route 27, grabbed my hidden water bottles, hid my bike in the bushes, and headed off.
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It was over five miles to the top of North Crocker. This section of trail was not real steep, but seemed to go on and on without any landmarks to mark my progress. I thought this wooden log ladder was interesting. Interesting because the area didn't seem that steep and in Maine ladders tend to be very few and far between.
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As expected, I met 'Wood Badge' heading north. He thanked me for the peaches that I had set out. I finally reached the wooded summit of North Crocker, another 4,000 footer.
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I was starting to get really tired and the heat was beginning to drain me, but I better get used to it, since I am going to Virginia in six weeks. The trail dropped down into a col before beginning the climb up to South Crocker. I had this nice stone staircase to help with the climb.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I made it to the top where I found this sign nailed to a tree.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ This wasn't the true summit of South Crocker. There is another sign stating that the summit is another 50 yards. I took the very short sidetrail to the top. There was supposed to be a view from here, but it looks like the trees have grown too high. So there was a very limited view, but I get to cross off another 4,000 footer. This is my 3rd for the day and 37th for New England.
As I began my descent of South Crocker, I had mixed weather. I could hear thunder to the west, but it looked like it was finally starting to clear a little bit to the east. I came to a rocky area, where I got a tremendous view of the Bigelow Range. Although a little hazy, this view made my day.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I can't wait to hike Bigelow. I have heard it is tremendous. It is only 2 hours or so from my house, so I will wait for perfect weather so I won't miss anything. It was sunny over Bigelow and there were dark storm clouds over Sugarloaf. I was glad I was no longer up there because I saw several lightning bolts. I took about 15 pictures at random, trying to catch a lightning bolt, but no luck. After this, the trail became quite steep as I continued my descent.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ With the mix of rain, sun, and clouds, the elements came together for a symbol of God's promise: the Rainbow.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I continued down and passed the short side trail to the Crocker Circque Campsite. I made it back to my lunchbox by the trail. There were only 2 peaches left and I had a couple of very nice thank you notes that were left. I headed down Caribou Valley Road for about 5 minutes before I reached my truck. Mission accomplished.
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