Big Muddy Pond Loop (Long Trail State Forest)

Big Muddy Pond Loop (Long Trail State Forest)

Hike Type: Loop

Distance: 3.62 miles

Elevation: 810 feet

My Time: 1 hour, 58 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes moving)

Book Time: 2 hours, 12 minutes

Parking: Parking for 10-15 cars at trailhead off of VT-118.
Hiking Challenges: Long Trail Side-to-Side; 52 Hike Challenge 2026

The Hike 

Day two of Labor Day weekend! I was mentally flirting with the idea of hiking Belvidere Mountain via Frank Post and Forester Trails to keep knocking off trails on the Side-to-Side patch, but I just didn't feel like climbing a mountain. Emma and I slowly got up and got some chores done, and then I proposed we check out Big Muddy Pond, still at the same trailhead as Belvidere, which would hit the Babcock Trail and Babcock Extension on the same list - she agreed, and we were off!

We brought her dog, Lola, and were at the trailhead around noon, which was expectedly full (with room for us!). We got suited up, we got Lola suited up, and we gave Lola our drinks to hold, too! We hiked past a couple of thru-hikers eating lunch at the gate, and then hiked past the trail register and onto the Long Trail southbound! Lola was NOT a fan of her paw-protection booties, but she did her best.

We hiked past an old Agency of Environmental Conservation sign stating that the trail was closed to vehicles and then walked gently uphill over some fallen yellow leaves (FALL IS NEAR). We carefully crossed VT-118 and continued on the Long Trail southbound on the other side, riding gently through wonderful fern-filled forests. Lola was having a wonderful time smelling literally everything and trying to nosh on any grass she could find. 

We saw some leaves with a unique squiggly mark on them - we figure either slugs or really really small bugs, and then admired some common jewelweed flowers, which were incredibly unique looking. The hike began to moderate with a few steeper spots that got the two of us sweating (Lola was running laps ahead and behind us, basically). Lola got mad at her booties again, so eventually the back two came off. The trail continued rising to a height of land and the Rittenbush Lookout. The lookout was nice, but pretty grown-in. We could see the landmass on the other side of the pond below, but that was really it. We did love to see the early autumnal reds popping through!

The descent from the lookout was comically steep with many stone stairs - Lola had no problem flying up and down them as Emma and I fought for our lives while carefully stepping on the wet stones. Once further down, the trail rambled around, crossing a few streams (we had to fight Lola from drinking the mostly stale water - she had plenty of her own) and passing a teeny tiny red eft on the way!

Just after the final stream we came to a junction! On the left was an unmarked path to another pond, straight was the Long Trail southbound towards Devil's Gulch, which looked like a fun scrambly section, but not with the dog, and left was the Babcock Trail - our return route! We hopped on the blue-blazed trail and began to moderately climb back up on a very eroded stretch of trail.

We eventually leveled out and passed the first of three(?) beaver dams damming up Big Muddy Pond. The viewpoint began to open up as we began to hear the pitter patter of rain, which turned into a full RAIN. We decided to have our drinks and do some civilized hiking at this point, since it seemed we were just going to be wet. We thanked Lola for carrying our drinks, and comically, Emma's exploded from the josteling. 

The views down to the pond were nice, but there were no really good viewpoints. We could see a couple of loons on the north end of the pond engaging in... something. We saw the big wing flapping thing waterbirds do and then they did some diving too. I wish we were able to get closer! 

The Babcock Trail climbed again and then easily descended past some white baneberries, which look absolutely crazy with their magenta stems and white berries. Emma put Lola back on her leash as we began to hear VT-118 again, and soon we were CAREFULLY crossing again.

The Babcock Extension started straight across the road, but it was pretty overgrown with roadside wildflowers (mostly swamp asters, flat topped white asters, and goldenrods). We pushed through, getting nice a damp after the rain subsided, and then turned to follow a gravel road that we soon joined to follow.

There were a few apple trees above the gravel road that had begun depositing their small apples all over the road. We did NOT stop for a snack, even though Emma offered. The Babcock Extension turned back into the woods and followed a narrow, wet trail with a good amount of bog boards, and one bridge! We gently rose again up to the parking lot, and soon were back and READY to put dry clothes on!

We ended up driving towards Smuggler's Notch and got a late lunch at the Red Fox. Lola was not interested in sitting in the back seat, so she happily inserted herself into my lap for every drive, only slightly tearing up my arms with her claws in the process. We then stopped at the Cambridge Market to stock up for tomorrow - Jay Peak to Canada!

Step-by-Step

- Walk towards the Long Trail from the parking area.

- Turn right onto the Long Trail southbound.

- Carefully cross VT-118, then continue on the Long Trail southbound.

- At jct., turn right onto Babcock Trail.

- At road, carefully cross VT-118, then continue onto Babcock Ext.

- At terminus, return to car.

Map

Photo Album

Zealand Mountain via Zeacliff Trail (White Mountain National Forest)

Zealand Mountain via Zeacliff Trail (White Mountain National Forest)

Hike Type: -o- Loop

Distance: 12.73 miles

Elevation: 2,782 feet

My Time: 8 hours, 8 minutes (6 hours, 39 minutes moving)

Book Time: 7 hours, 45 minutes

Parking: Ample parking with overflow lot at Zealand Trail Trailhead ($5 Day Use Fee)
Hiking Challenges: New Hampshire 4000-Footers; New Hampshire Appalachian Trail

The Hike 

So I had been having car troubles since I got back to New Jersey from Florida. I got quoted $6,500 for a fix, which had me gasping for air. I called Ray's mechanic, who, in a thick Irish accent, said "oh shit man I don't do those repairs any more I'm too old," and Christien's said "listen you'll pay the same no matter where you go but the dealership will get it done faster." I brought the car back to the dealership after finding my warranty paperwork, which looked promising, and basically said "what do I do I can't pay $6,500 but I have this warranty." After 45ish minutes the service advisor comes back with a piece of highlighted paper, kneels down, and shows me what the paper said. It was an email from Honda from the same morning saying that they have extended the warranties for all 2017-2021 CRVs because of an engine problem, and because Honda extended their warranty, the repair would be FREE. I think my soul left my body.

ANYWAY, with that, I was advised to not drive my car until the fix, which will happen sometime next week. Yesterday, Chrsitien offered for me to borrow his car, which was super nice, and once I was done being stubborn I accepted the offer and drove up to hike Middle Sister. He was off today, so we decided to go hiking again! I proposed three possible hikes, knowing that he loves a water feature: Mt. Moosilauke via Gorge Brook (not much water, but treeline), Mt. Chocorua via Champney Falls, or Zealand Mtn. via Zeacliff Trail. None of the hike were horribly strenuous and all had views, but we ended on Zealand because of how many different views and water features, and that it would still be stunning even if we were socked in the clouds.

Knowing he doesn't like the super early mornings that I like, so I let him choose the time we were to leave, and he said 5:36 - specific, but sounds good! He got up at 4:30am, I got up at 5:00am. I was ready by 5:15am because I simply move quickly in the morning, so I tried to help him get ready, but I think I stressed him out instead (oops). I sat patiently, playing my New York Times games, and we were out the door just before 6:00am!

Our drive started with a listen to Sara Barellis's new album: Good Grief, which was slower music than I usually listen to on these morning drives, but the music was very pretty and poetic. This brought us directly to Hooksett (literally had 10 seconds left in the album when we parked), we had a potty break and stocked up on food. We stopped at the Tilton Walmart 20ish minutes later so I could grab a quick shirt to hike in for the day - I foolishly only brought my mid-weight merino long sleeve, and it would be far too warm for that. The second half our drive featured the newest episode of Normal Gossip, and we made it to the end of Zealand Road just after 9:00am! The main parking area was pretty busy for a Friday morning, and there were a few groups of hikers getting ready for their days. To my dismay, I didn't realize this was a day use fee area, and neither of us had our $5 (sorry, USFS!). We made use of the bathrooms, got suited up, and it was time to being our journey!

[9:18am - Start of hike on Zealand Trail] 

Our hike began on the old railway bed along the Zealand Trail, passing a mini-grove of ghost pipes. The trail was delightfully flat underfoot as we passed the "2.8 miles to Zealand Falls Hut" and official Zealand Trail signs. The morning spider webs were all off-trail (thanks to the hikers before us), and the off-trail survivors were illuminated with the morning dew and sunlight. It was a nice 67 degrees out, but it was HUMID!

[9:25am - Zealand Trail/Departs FPA]

The trail soon became more rocky and rugged and then departed the Forest Protection Area - this change of character is due to a relocation of the trail off of the rail bed, likely due to flooding/erosion. The trail brought us across a few bridges over (currently) minor streams, eventually rejoining the old railroad bed. The hobblebush in the forest were starting to show their fall color of dark red. 

Now alongside the Zealand River, there were a few herd paths on the left to see the scenic river, with a few cascades and swimming holes. The trail begins to menauver around the river, crossing it numerous times on bridges and a couple rock hops that were easily navigated. We were slightly swimming upstream, crossing paths with dozens of hikers leaving the Zealand Falls Hut. This whole hike in was wonderfully scenic and we kept saying that if it stayed like this we could hike forever!

[10:04am - Zealand Trail/Boardwalk]

We eventually arrived at the section I was excited to see for the first time - the beaver ponds! This section was marked by views of nearby mountains (possibly Mt. Tom on the left?) and views across the numerous (or one large?) ponds. There was a wonderful boardwalk lined with red berries and "common wrinkled-leaf goldenrods." 

We took a break in the woods for a quick snack and for Christien to put on my extra socks (he wore ankle socks which was already causing problems). We were cheered on by an increidbly yappy duck. The views to Mt. Tom increased with mostly cloudy skies and very humid air. We dipped back into the woods along the wetlands for a bit as we approached the junction with the A-Z Trail.

[10:23am - Zealand Trail/A-Z Trail]

[10:25am - Zealand Trail/Enters FPA]

I was now in slightly familiar territory, as Sarah and I had hiked this section this past December. We hiked over a lovely bridge and then entered the Forest Protection area just after. The Zealand Trail paralleled Zealond Pond here with a lovely view to what I think is the Zeacliff mass with maybe Hale's south peak behind? The pond levels were noticeable low and we could hear the rush of Zealand Falls in the not-too-far distance. 

[10:30am - Ethan Pond Trail]

We continued through the junction with Twinway onto the Ethan Pond Trail. I naturally took a photo of the sign(s), and a guy made a joke about "now you won't get lost!" - in hindsight it feels a little cheeky, but I took it playfully!

[10:33am - Ethan Pond Trail/Departs FPA]

We hiked along the still-delightfully flat railroad grade, eventually passing three backpackers along the way. The trail was narrower here and maneuvered some more eroded stretches (featuring a few rocky sections and dips), but overall it was pretty nice walking. 

We excitedly existed the woods onto the magnificent talus slope of Whitewall Mountain. It was cloudy and hazy out which made for some spooky views. Naturally, I took a ton of photos right away, but we continued on towards the Zeacliff Trail, where we would take our first break.

[11:00am - Zeacliff Trail & Break]

We hiked just a few feet down the Zeacliff Trail and found a nice spot to sit in the talus field. There was a commanding view to the landmass of Zeacliff on the right, and Carrigain and the Hancocks were through the haze on the left. Behind us was the namesake white-wall of Whitewall Mountain. It was wonderfully quiet here - the only sound was the Whitewall Brook running below. 

[11:15am - Zeacliff Trail]

We continued into the Pemigewasset Wilderness and I warned Chrsitien about wilderness trails and their more rugged character. We wiggled through the talus slope and tight blueberry bushes (Christien shouted "are you SURE we're on the trail?) a couple times - I was sure, he's just used to hiking out in Utah! The trail turned left and went into the woods. We noticed just a few very faded blue blazes, I guess from before this was a wilderness area? The trail then truly PLUMMETED down to the brook, with soft, careful footing needed to avoid slipping. It was borderline comical how steep this drop was. 

After a few minutes of praying our feet didn't slip, we landed in the valley, which was actually delightful and scenic. Soon after flattening out, we arrived at teh crossing of the scenic Whitewall Brook. It was pretty easily rock hoppable, even though I dipped a toe into the water. If I was using my poles I am fully confident I would have survived unscathed, but truly the water felt nice! Christien followed in my footsteps, except he decided to dunk a whole foot. He was not happy about this, but ultimately he said it felt kind of good!

After the river crossing, we hiked past some swamp asters and goldenrods, and then arrived at the base of an old slide, which marked the start of the climb up. I found some information on it through Steve Smith's document "LANDSLIDES OF THE WHITE MOUNTAINS": 

"There has apparently been at least one slide in the 1900s on the west side of Zealand Notch, scarring the steep eastern flank of the prominent ridge that descends south from Zeacliff. For more than half a century from its opening in 1923, AMC Guide descriptions of the Zeacliff Trail (originally designated as part of the Zealand Ridge Trail) have noted that it used a slide for the first part of its ascent out of the notch. As the 1963 edition described it: “Crossing the [Whitewall] brook it ascends the foot of a slide. About one-fourth of the way up the slide the trail diverges R and follows near the slide although the slide itself may be followed.” By the 1972 edition the slide was described as “overgrown,” and it was last mentioned in the 1983 edition. Part of this small slide can be seen in a 1939 aerial photo, but it has long since been completely revegetated"

We slogged up the initial boulder mess and onto the next... mess of boulders. This was steep climbing! Footing was... fine, but relatively unpleasant. The two of us were basically fighting for our lives and pouring sweat (I used the word pouring becuase I don't think there's a single word that accurately how intensely we were sweating). It wasn't hot out, but my god was it humid. 

Partway up the initial climb, we heard commotion - it was a man with a full backpack and his dog! This would be a beastly trail to descend. The dog was definitely surprised to see us. He was an addorable mid-sized dog probably in the poodle hybrid family. His coat was dark grey with black splotches and a dark green doggy backpack. We said our hello's and continued on. A couple minutes later we met another down-hiker who asked if we had met Ernie - the dog's name was Ernie! We chatted a little and she said this was her first hike, to which both of us were shocked. I said "you really picked a hell of a trail!" and she said it was her cousin's idea, which was Ernie's owner. She then yelled to him "ROBBIE!" and took off.

We continued to suffer up the mountain side, but eventually the trail rounded a shoulder and mellowed out for a bit in a more-open forest full of hobblebush and old blowdowns. I caught a bug in my hand and offered it to Christien as a gift. His response was "you are so thanks," which paints a picture of how tired we were. There was a very light passing shower overhead, which was more than welcomed. 

We began to climb a bit moderately again, climbing along a spide with hardly noticeable tree views to mountains on either side. We saw our first and only pile of moose poop and felt something we hadn't felt in a white - a breeze! The trail skirted a cliffy area and then we arrived at the next segment of the trail: the wet scrambles!

The wet scrambles were just as such - wet, and required use of all fours. Thankfully, three points of contact were always achievable, and my upper body is only a little tired today as I am writing this. We started to feel glimmers of hope as we could see a couple very obstructed peek-a-views to Carrigain Notch through the trees. We hit one particularly tricky scramble, but it led to a slightly better view of Carrigain and Carrigain Notch, so it was more than welcomed.

The trail's footing improved afterward (but did not get good), as it climbed through seas of bluebead lily (I am now realizing that I was calling all bluebead and trout lily trouy lily this past spring - who knew there was a difference! The leaves are the main tells). The USDA website describes the berries as such: "These blue berries may look appetizing, but they are not blueberries. Although they are not poisonous, they are quite foul tasting and should be avoided. The appreciation of this plant should be in its viewing, not its flavor."

We soon rounded the shoulder of the mountain, the trail turned into a bedrock sidewalk, we exited the Wilderness, and we made it to the Twinway!

[12:51pm - Twinway]

We did a quick pit stop at the Twinway junction so I could wring out my shirt (NECESSARY) and swap out my water bottles. The Twinway was an absolute delight after twhat we had just hiked! It was wonderfully flat at first and lined in blueberries! We spent a couple minutes descending easily with pretty good footing and then reached the Zeacliff Pond Spur.

[1:11pm - Zeacliff Pond Spur]

[1:14pm - Zeacliff Pond]

As a sucker for a side quest, of course I had to follow the spur. The spur entered the Pemigewasset Wilderness and descend mostly easily with rocky footing down the shoreline of the small pond, which was truly a delight to see. Water levels were expectedly low, but we couldn't walk too far out because the ground was extraodinarly squishy and moist. We watched the dragonflies buzz about, and especially liked the bold red ones (the white-faced meadowhawk). We noticed the rocky knob on the right that we would soon be scrambling up to. 

Our return trip to Twinway was nice and easy, and we were soon back on task!

[1:20pm - Twinway]

Back on the Twinway, we had a brief moment of relatively flat walking before we started to climb-climb again! The trail first got rocky, then it got scrambly, and then maneuvered up a large wooden ladder that is missing it's second rung. We worked our way around some mud and up a slab to the top of the knob seen from Zeacliff Pond. Poking around, there were some views, too! We could make our Stairs, Resolution, and Crawford through one hole in the trees, Mt. Webster through another, Mt. Carrigain a bit further over, and we could make out Zeacliff Pond, which was effectively straight down. I excited said "we can see the pond!" as two thru-hikers passed, and they were just as excited for me!

We descended slightly from the knob and reentered some lovely trail. We saw some tree views to the Twins (with an impressive slide on North Twin) on the right and a minute later could just make out some of the Northern Presidentials, which still had some cloud cover. A topic question came up: how many rocks does one step on during a hike? And to clarify: stepping on a rock means the sole of one's foot touches a rock detached from the earth that is at least one square inch in size. We roughly concluded it was 1.25x or 1.5x the hiker's overall step count for the hike. This is open to refinement.

From here, the trail rambled through some boards and mud pits, keeping a relatively steady pace. We climbed up and over a false summit area strewn with old blowdowns and young conifers that exfoliated our legs. Christien helped me get my visor out since we were facing directly into the sun here, and after a bit more hiking, we were at the Zealand Mtn. Spur trail!

[2:00pm - Zealand Mtn. Spur]

I can't remember if the spur trail had this adorable sign when Gen and I hiked out here in 2021, but I was sure delighted to see it! What I do remember is that when Gen and I hiked it, it was a busy superhighway of day hikers, Bonds traversers, and Pemi Loopers all trying to tag the viewless summit. Plus, last time it had rained a bunch so the full spur was a sloppy, flooded mess. Thankfully, it was more or less a delightful 0.1 miles on this day!

[2:03pm - Zealand Mtn. Summit]

In just a few minutes we were at the top of Christien's first 4000 Footer! I told him that if he gets bit by the hiking bug he'll have fun telling people this was his first one, becuase I feel like this is a relatively uncommon first. We booped the sign and found spots to sit for our snacks and hydration. Christien ran out of water just before here, but I always bring extra, and we had the hut not too far away.

We sat for some good time just enjoying the solitude. There were very obstructed tree views out to nearby peaks, and eventually a juvenile grey jay joined us! I had told Christien about them, but I was glad he was able to see them! The juvenile had more of a speckled pattern to his feathers, and he was very brave! Eventually, two more adult birds joined him - they did NOT get any of our food! 

As we sat, we could feel the cold front beginning to blow in. Some breezes were warm and some were CHILLY. We both got a little chilled up here, so after 20ish minutes we packed up and started our return!

[2:25pm - Zealand Mtn. Spur]

[2:28pm - Twinway]

We cruised down the Zealand Mountain Spur and turned left back onto the Twinway for some backtracking. In the higher, flatter stretches we had a lovely breeze that alternated between warm and cold. We pretty mindlessly made our way to the top of the knob over"looking" Zeacliff Pond, and then carefully worked our way down the wet slabs and semi-tricky scrambles. We caught a few views to the Presidentails that were poking out of the clouds just for a moment. I had a medium loud yawn near the top of the scrambles, and it had the most insane echo I had ever heard. It reverberated incredibly quickly, almost like a yodeling woodpecker? 

[3:06pm - Twinway/Zeacliff Pond Spur]

[3:15pm - Twinway/Zeacliff Trail]

The steep section concluded at the Zeacliff Pond Spur, and then some more easy hiking brought us to the junction with the Zeacliff Trail. Time to continue the loop section of our hike! We noticed a bunch of mountain holly on either side of the trail - not sure how we missed it before. The berries looked so yummy but after a quick search on the computer just now, it turns out that we made the right call to only stick to blueberries. The trail was MUCH warmer here, and I knew we were approaching the Zeacliff Spur when we entered the land of 1,000 bog boards, some of which were rotted and flooded.

[3:18pm - Zeacliff Spur]

The Zeacliff Spur junction was incredibly scenic, formed by a three-way junction of bog boards over water. The spur followed a few more boards and then wonderfully soft dirt. We crossed paths with a duo who told us to enjoy the view, and landed at the viewpoint as another duo was departing. 

[3:20pm - Zeacliff]

For lack of a better word, the view is absolutely insane. I remember when Gen and I were planning out Hale-Zealand-Bonds hike, I read over and over again that Zeacliff is touted as one of the best views in the Whites, and I sure do agree. Similarly to all of my recent White Mountain hikes, I absolutely love revisiting old viewpoints because I know what I'm looking at now, which is just the best!

The first thing we noticed was the Ethan Pond Trail cutting through the talus slope of Whitewall Mountain and then the Whitewall Brook river valley below - we were able to mostly trace our route up on the Zeacliff Trail, which was so much fun. Behind Whitewall was Jackson and Webster, and behind them on the right was Stairs, Resolution, and Crawford. 

Moving to the right, we had the mountains surrounding Carrigain Notch, the Hancocks, and many, MANY more peaks beyond. Far on the left we could see Jefferson, Clay, and Washington, which was back in the clouds. We were both tired and ready for dinner, so we didn't stay too long, but boy did we enjoy the view!

[3:26pm - Twinway]

We backtracked to the Twinway to start our descent, which was ultimately fine but felt a bit like a slog. The grade was moderate with decent, rocky footing basically the whole time. Nothing exciting, nothing dreadful, all of it was just... the same. I noticed my watch was on low battery, which was also a huge bummer! We were tired and in and out of the void, but again, it ultimately was totally fine. 

[3:54pm - Twinway/Enters FPA]

We felt some relief when we entered the Forest Protection Area after crossing a little stream. Just a few minutes later we made it to the crossing of Whitewall Brook above Zealand Falls, which Gen and I had to fully submerge our feet in last time to cross! There were a bunch of guys swimming in a swimming hole a bit further down the trail - it was a BEAUTIFUL day for it! If we weren't hungry for dinner, we would have probably stayed a bit longer. 

[4:03pm - Twinway/Lend-a-Hand Trail]

We crossed another branch of the brook, which was just a sliver of a natural water slide, and then came the junction with the Lend-a-Hand Trail. I joked about adding in Hale real quick, and he said "see you at the car!" From here, the Twinway descended along the brook and falls moderately, soon landing at the beloved Zealand Falls Hut!

[4:07pm - Zealand Falls Hut]

We took a sit at the hut, refilled waters, and enjoyed the falls for a bit. Someone was celebrating their birthday in the hut, so we kept to the outside. I washed my face off in the water and Christien enjoyed staring off into the void. Whatever they were cooking inside smelled wonderful! Again, we could have styaed up there for hours, but we had dinner on the mind!

[4:20pm - Twinway]

The Twinway descended moderarately with more rocky, but stable footing for a few more minutes, passing a wonderful falls lookout on the way, before bottoming out at the outflow of Zealand Pond, which I guess flows both toward Whitewall Brook and Zealand River.

[4:29pm - Zealand Trail]

[4:33pm - Zealand Trail/Departs FPA]

[4:35pm - Zealand Trail/A-Z Trail]

Back on the Zealand Trail, we started our cruise out. We loved seeing folks swimming on the Falls from Zealand Pond, and then we left the Forest Protection Area and passed the junction with the A-Z Trail again. We briefly admired all the views of the ponds, but kept a steady pace.

[4:46pm - Zealand Trail/Boardwalks]

We were absolutely loving the flat railroad beds and had a good discussion on the difference between a boardwalk and a bridge as we crossed... the boardwalk over and through the beaver ponds (we never hit a conclusion). Blue skies were still shining, but there were also some dark clouds rolling in. 

A red squirrel stopped to pose for us for a while, so naturally I took dozens of photos. We then began our wiggle across the two streams and over many, MANY bridges. As we got onto a relocation, the woods became DARK and a light drizzle ensued. My watch tragically died around the 12 mile mark, but thankfully we were amost done! We also crossed a cross-country trail we didn't notice on the way in - I'm curious about the network of cross-country ski trails in the Whites.

[5:20pm - Zealand Trail/Enters FPA]

We enjoyed some flat and then it was back on a rocky, now-wet relocation again, which required just enough brain power to force us to lock in. We rejoiced when we rejoined the old rail bed again and even more at the Forest Protection Area sign. We turned a corner gently, and were soon back at the parking area, with NO TICKET on the car! We did it!

[5:27pm - End of Hike]

We changed into our apres clothes once back at the car, had a very careful drive out (his Civic did NOT care for the dirt roads), and worked our way to the Woodstock Inn and Brewery! We each had a drink, shared some soft pretzles (the beer cheese was to DIE for). He had a mediocre burger and I had a wonderful pulled pork quesadilla. Afterwards we did a quick walk around North Woodstock and started the long drive home. We listened to two episodes of Normal Gossip and I stopped a couple times - once for an energy drink and once for some popcorn. 

That night, I would have the best sleep I would have since the family issue of August 10th!

Step-by-Step

- Start hike on Zealand Trail.

- At terminus, continue onto Ethan Pond Trail (AT).

- At jct., turn left onto Zeacliff Trail.

- At terminus, turn left onto Twinway (AT).

- At jct., turn left onto Zeacliff Pond Spur.

- At terminus, turn around.

- At terminus, turn left onto Twinway (AT).

- At jct., turn right onto Zealand Mtn. Spur.

- Summit Zealand Mountain.

- Turn around and retrace steps on Zealand Mtn. Spur.

- At terminus, turn left onto Twinway (AT).

- At third jct., turn right onto Zeacliff Spur.

- At Zeacliff, turn around and retrace steps.

- At terminus, turn right onto Twinway (AT).

- At terminus, turn left onto Zealand Trail.

- Return to car.

Map

Photo Album

The Horn & Saddleback via Fly Rod Crosby, Berry Picker’s, and Appalachian Trails (Saddleback Ski Area/Appalachian National Scenic Trail)

The Horn & Saddleback via Fly Rod Crosby, Berry Picker’s, and Appalachian Trails (Saddleback Ski Area/Appalachian National Scenic Trail)

Hike Type: Lollipop Loop w/ Spurs

Distance: 13.65 miles

Elevation: 3,409 feet

My Time: 8 hours, 56 minutes (7 hours, 36 minutes moving)

Book Time: 8 hours, 31 minutes

Parking: Parking for 3-4 cars at Fly Rod Crosby trail, parking for hundreds of cars at Saddleback Mountain.
Hiking Challenges: Maine 4000 Footers, New England 67, Operation Alaska Benchmark Challenge

The Hike 

Vacation Day 3! Sarah and I were up at 6:00am and out sometime around 6:30am for a beautifully scenic drive to our beloved Rangeley to hike our even more beloved Saddleback (and The Horn)! We stopped at Lakeside Park in downtown Rangeley becuase of how stupidly beautiful the morning was (and we made some plans to visit after our hike to soak up some bonus views (and our feet). It was a sunny morning in the mid 50s with some fog over the lake - it was pretty spectacular.

We did the familiar drive up to the Saddleback base area. I remembered reading to park in the ski area parking lots, but just to investigate we drove all the way to the trailhead, and found parking just after the dumpsters! I'm thinking they don't want hikers parking here in the winter, but summer appeared to be fair game! We got suited up, threw on some bug spray, and started our hike!

[7:48am - Saddleback Spur of Fly Rod Crosby Trail]

Our hike began on the Saddleback Spur of the Fly Rod Crosby Trail, explained at a kiosk a few minutes down the trail. We hiked through an absolutely stunning field of purple lupines (with a few pink ones for good measure) and then hiked through the "Morning Glory" ski run - a trail Gen and I followed on our first visit to Saddleback, not knowing there was a road crossing and a LONG skate section. After crossing the ski trail, we arrived at the kiosk for the Fly Rod Crosby Trail, written as "FLYROD CROSBY TRAIL."

[7:51am - Fly Rod Crosby Trail Kiosk]

A bit of information about the Fly Rod Crosby Trail was found on a brochure online:

“Welcome

The Saddleback Spur is a branch off the main Fly Rod Crosby Trail, leading to/from Saddleback Ski Resort. This 1.9-mile spur passes Midway and Rock Ponds, offering stunning views of the surrounding mountains. It also connects with the Appalachian Trail.

Who is Fly Rod Crosby?

Cornelia “Fly Rod” Crosby, 1854-1946 was Maine’s first registered guide. She was a flyfisher extraordinaire who promoted the Maine woods as a tourist destination. Crosby grew up in Phillips, guided in Rangeley, and is buried in Strong. The FRCT is linked to the landscape of her life. The blue and white trail sign sports the image of a fishing fly.

Is this section of trail on public land?

No. Most, but not all of the Saddleback Spur trail, is on land that is privately owned. The landowners have granted permission for passage through their roland. Stay on the designated trail and practice array-in carry-out ethics.”

The initial plan was to just follow the Saddleback Spur to the main trail and then follow that to the Berry Picker's Trail, but the little map at the kiosk sparked some curiosity in us (mostly me). We continued along the trail corridor, which was now wet and grassy, very slightly uphill with a few bog bridges to keep things interesting. 

[8:02am - Saddleback Spur/Rock Pond]

Our first stop was to a viewpoint along Rock Pond, which featured three canoes!We could hear a symphony of bullfrogs over the rippling water. We also noticed a metal sign that read "In loving memory of Ernie the Big E, 1959 - 2024," maybe someone who used to fish here? We half-joked about taking the canoe out for a spin, but we reminded ourselves that we had a full day's hike ahead of us, so back to the trail we went!

[8:06am - Saddleback Spur]

We followed the Saddleback Spur past another viewpoint of Rock Pond. We saw an old blaze for the trail and admired the light green new growth on the trailside evergreens. Footing remained good, and we soon came to a split. The originally planned route had us going straight to stay on the Saddleback Spur, but if we turned left we could visit an Overlook and Midway Pond. Sarah wasn't convinced about the side quests, but once I said I wanted to and she was welcome to chill out or get ahead, she said "noooo I'll get FOMO I'll come." My plan worked!

[8:13am - Bobcat Cut]

This turn was called the Bobcat Cut, I guess a relatively newly cut trail, and it hiked like one! The spider webs were abundant on this trail, but it was also beautiful and lined with young ferns.

[8:16am - Overlook Trail]

A few minutes later we turned onto the Overlook Trail, which we truly knew nothing about. Again, Sarah wasn't overly convinced, but the fear of FOMO had her coming along with me! The trail meandered upward at reasonable grades with a variety of blazes (faded paint, new paint, and some small wooden signs) to a point where a sign pointed right to the "Rangeley Overlook." There was more trail to the left that seemed to descend from the mass we had just climbed, but there was no evidence of it on any maps, so we kept to the (current) plan.

The trail was lovely from this point on - it was just a lovely flat meander. We hiked over a small moose poop and then a BIG moose poop! We passed a log with "trametes cinnabarina," aka "pycnoporus cinnabarinus," aka "cinnabar polypore" (thank you, Seek!), which was a shelf-looking mushroom of a beautiful burnt-orange color. 

The forest was young up here and it was unclear how long ago it was blazed (and how often it was traveled), but I loved it! Sarah... it's not so clear how she felt!

[8:32am - Rangeley Overlook]

We soon arrived at the Rangeley Overlook, which was simply a nice view of the Rangeley Lake. We could see some nearby hills and a light fog over parts of the lake. The lower part of the view was obstructed by trees, but overall it was nice! Nothing to write home about. Sarah said she would not be back. I said "me neither, becuase when are we going to be hiking out here again."

Our return trip was nice and easy, and soon we were back at the Saddleback Spur!

[8:48am - Saddleback Spur]

[8:49am - Midway Pond Spur]

We were on the Saddleback Spur for less than a minute before turning again onto the Midway Pond Spur to... Midway Pond! The trail initially descended easily with rocky footing and then became dreadfully muddy once closer to the pond. Thankfully, the pond was absolutely stunning. Again, there were three canoes with life preserveres. We enjoyed the view (better than Rock Pond, in our opinions) and soon turned around to actually make some mileage on our hike. Also worth noting: we were in a TIGHT game of fart baseball!

[8:59am - Saddleback Spur]

Now officially back on the Saddleback Spur, we were hiking on some truly DELIGHTFUL trail. It followed Midway Pond for a bit and then made a scenic, mossy descent. The trail was decently wide, but we were still catching spider webs. This was a moment where we went "wow, what a shame that we need to climb a moountain still). 

[9:21am - Saddleback Spur/Stream Bed Trail]

We crossed a bridge and turned right - on the left was the Stream Bed Trail, which our original route followed. The trail was now following a very old, VERY eroded road. Thankfully the footing was decent, even with the wet ground and taller undergrowth. 

[9:32am - Fly Rod Crosby Trail]

We soon turned left again onto a large dirt road - this was the main Fly Rod Crosby Trail. A sign at the junction read:

"NOTICE

Fly Rod Crosby Trails

After a thoughtful review, the High Peaks Alliance has changed the Fly Rod Crosby Trail.

Open Hiking Trails: Sandy River Railroad Trail (Phillips), Reed's Mill Loop (Madrid), Saddleback Spur Trail (to Midway & Rock Ponds).

These sections will now receive improved maintenance and care.

All other sections of the original hiking trails are discontinued.

Please respect the closures and follow the open trails only.

Thank you for your understanding.

More information & maps: https://highpeaksalliance/projects/fly-rod-crosby-trail/"

Naturally, this piqued my interest. What trails were discontinued? Why? Maybe landowner stuff - a mystery!

Continuing on the main Fly Rod Crosby Trail, we were on a wide dirt road, and saw a little snake! This stretch of trail was pretty featureless. We were mostly shaded, at least for the first bit. The road was relatively dry, to our delight! We passed some signage for ITS 89 South and ITS 84 East with snowmobile, ATV, and hiking icons just before crossing a bridge, and then we began to rise pretty gently for a while. This trail must get heavy use in the winters and on weekends, because it's huge!

We eventually rose into more direct sunlight. It was an absolutely stunning day, but the we sure did feel the sun! We passed another snake sunning itself and at the height of land, we turned right to follow the AT briefly to Eddy Pond!

[9:54am - Appalachian Trail]

[9:55am - Eddy Pond]

The AT followed some slippery boards through mossy woods to Eddy Pond, which, per tradition, had three canoes! It was breezy here now and the pond was stunning with a hill in the background. One of the canoes was in-use by a fisherman - we saw his ATV parked on the side of the trail! The bullfrogs continued their silly song and we were most delighted at the absence of bugs - thank you, wind! We took a brief break here and just enjoyed the tranquility. 

[10:14am - Fly Rod Crosby Trail]

We could have followed the AT up and over Saddleback, but we opted to continue around the Fly Rod Crosby to make the hike as much of a loop as possible! We passed a memorial site for two members of the Holbrook Family on the left and caught very small tree views to Saddleback's ridge. 

[10:28am - Fly Rod Crosby Trail/Moose & Deer Pond]

We passed Moose & Deer Ponds on the right, which were nice but nothing compared to Eddy or Midway! Overall, it was a fantastic day for ponds! Along the road, the sun was starting to feel increasingly warm, but that was made up for when we started to catch views out to Abraham! It was really cool and a little geographically confusing to see Abraham from here, but we were thrilled!

Two side-by-side ATVs passed us kindly, but they seemed to pull over at a sharp corner of a trail at a nice view ahead. When we caught up, Sarah offered to take their photo for them (she's so nice). We chatted a bit about the Rangeley area, and the dad of the group really tried to convince us to get into snowmobiling! We exchanged a few laughs and eventually Sarah and I were on our way, with the side-by-sides passing us soon after with waves.

Later on we passed an American flag on trail with a sign that read "in honor of all veterans, in memory of Alfred Bachelder" and the man who was canoeing on Eddy Pond drove past us. Saddleback's ridge that the Berry Picker's Trail follows slowly came into view right as we were starting to feel all done with this stretch, and then lo behold we were at a bridge and the Berry Picker's Trail!

[11:22am - Berry Picker’s Trail]

A sign at the upper terminus of the Berry Picker’s Trail read:

“THE BERRY PICKER’S TRAIL

(OPENED 17 SEPTEMBER, 2016)

WHAT IS THIS TRAIL? THIS IS A SIDE TRAIL BETWEEN THE FLYROD CROSBY MULTI-USE TRAIL AND THE APPALACHIAN NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL THAT FOLLOWS, IN PART, A ROUTE USED BY LOCAL RESIDENTS FOR MORE THAN 150 YEARS TO HARVEST MOUNTAIN BLUEBERRIES AND CRANBERRIES ON SADDLEBACK MT. THIS WAS ALSO THE ROUTE ORIGINALLY PLANNED FOR THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL IN 1933.

LOCATION OF THIS SIGN: THIS POINT MARKS THE JUNCTION WITH THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL. FROM HERE, IT IS 0.4 OF A MILE TO “THE ERRATIC” (A PROMINENT GLACIAL BOULDER ON OPEN LEDGE), 0.8 OF A MILE TO BOUNDARY LEDGE, AND 1.7 MILES TO THE FLYROD CROSBY TRAIL.

TRAIL MARKING: EXCEPT FOR OCCASIONAL DOUBLE BLAZES, WHICH INDICATE SHARP OR UNEXPECTED TURNS, THE TRAIL IS MARKED BY SINGLE, RECTANGULAR BLUE BLAZES AND ROCK CAIRNS.

TRAIL DIFFICULTY: THE TRAIL DESCENDS STEADILY, BUT MODERATELY, FOR A TOTAL ELEVATION DROP OF 1,480 FEET BETWEEN HERE AND THE FLYROD CROSBY TRAIL. MUCH OF THE ROUTE FOLLOWS OPEN LEDGES WITH OUTSTANDING VIEWS.

WATER, STREAM CROSSINGS: YOU WILL FIND NO WATER ON THIS TRAIL UNTIL YOU REACH WINSHIP STREAM ABOUT 1.5 MILES FROM HERE.

LAND OWNERSHIP: THE TRAIL BEGINS ON A.T. CORRIDOR LAND OWNED BY THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, THEN CROSSES LANDS OWNED BY THE MAINE APPALACHIAN TRAIL LAND TRUST, CROSSES BRIEFLY NEAR BOUNDARY LEDGE ON TO LAND OWNED IN COMMON AND UNDIVIDED BY LINKLETTER AND THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL CONSERVANCY , AND FINALLY CROSSES ORBETON CONSERVATION EASEMENT LANDS OWNED BY THE LINKLETTER TIMBERLANDS LLC.

HUNTING SEASON: DURING HUNTING SEASONS, ESPECIALLY DEER SEASON (USUALLY EARLY NOVEMBER TO EARLY DECEMBER), WE STRONGLY URGE A.T. USERS TO WEAR FLUORESCENT ORANGE.

PLEASE HELP US TO KEEP THIS TRAIL A PLACE THAT YOU WILL WANT OT RETURN TO.

GOOD HIKING!

MAINE APPALACHIAN TRAIL CLUB

BOX 283, AUGUSTA, MAINE 04332

www.matc.org”

The first stretch of the Berry Picker's Trail was quite lovely. We were in the shade and following a lovely, cascading brook. The trail is blazed in blue and we did find a few piles of moose poop!

Phase II of the hike initiated when we turned and began to steeply climb on relatively soft ground with a few scrambles and tons of moose poop dispersed around. 

Phase III was the longest phase, and by far the best. The rest of the climb from here would be on relatively open slabs, just like climbing up my beloved Mt. Monadnock! Even this open stretch was littered in moose poop, which was really cool to imagine! We caught a few views up to Saddleback's summit ridge as we came to Boundary Ledge.

[12:07pm - Berry Picker’s Trail/Boundary Ledge]

Boundary Ledge is simply a ledge with yellow paint marking a land boundary, but with wonderful views! We admired some small collections of blooming sheep laurel as we ascended the slabs, which were never too steep. We were absolutely floored by the views to Saddleback, especially as one of our favorite ski mountains. Once we were higher up, Abraham began to peek up over the other side, too!

The Horn was the next mountain to join the view party. Even though Sarah and I were roasting in the sun (our skin, that is, the temperature was wonderful), we were absolutely loving this climb! We saw some flowering mountain cranberry higher up, and I'm sure there would be blueberries in-season. 

[12:37pm - Berry Picker’s Trail/The Erratic]

At this point of the climb, we had pretty consistent views of Saddleback to the left and The Horn to the right with Abraham further over. I cannot stress how beautiful this hike was! We could even see some hikers on the ridges. A few clouds provided us a nice break from the sun as we arrived at The Erratic, which is simply a rock in the middle of a flat slab. Great views, though!

The next flower for our list was the bushel of white flowers that make up the American mountain ash, bog labrador tea, and of course the Canadian bunchberry. The trail eventually turned into the woods on a very soft, somewhat wet stretch of narrow trail that gave us a little peek-a-view over to Sugarloaf and Spaulding. The final bit of uphill brought us to the sign written out above, and then we were back on the Appalachian Trail!

[12:59pm - Appalachian Trail]

We turned right to hike on the Appalachian Trail northbound towards The Horn. My notes read: "immediately into the open and holy shit." We caught views right away towards both Saddleback and The Horn. It was sunny with a lovely breeze truly the whole way, with only a passing cloud to break it up. There were a reasonable number of people out, maybe we crossed paths with someone(s) every ten-ish minutes, but we pretty much had the trail to ourselves!

We hiked past some bog pools with beautiful cotton grass blowing in the wind. There was an occasional butterfly flying about. There were a few moments where we dipped back into the woods, which was usually accompanied by a scramble or slightly steeper climb. On one scramble I hurt my already-hurting wrist, which did not feel great! Sarah and I hiked together and apart, both of us just in a wonderful void. 

Some of the more open stretches were marked with scree walls, and one wooded section had an iron ladder to climb! Higher up, Saddleback looked absolutely ridiculous with the Berry Picker Trail's ridge in full view - including The Erratic! 

The climb to the top of The Horn felt somewhat never ending, but it was also so outrageously beautiful that neither of us needed it to ever end. Once we could see the summit sign, we noticed some of the Saddleback ski trails behind us (hello, Green Weaver!). 

[1:43pm - The Horn Summit]

We joyfully gave the summit sign a firm boop and found a perfect spot for our break. There were a few other hikers up top, but the summit area was pretty big so we had some nice privacy. The views were just amazing - 360 degrees. We could see our whole hike from yesterday - from Abraham to to Spaulding to Sugarloaf. Saddleback Junior looked adorable and slightly tempting, but not tempting enough for this trip. 

In the not-too-far distance we could see some showers heading toward Sugarloaf the Bigelows - thankfully none near us! The ski trails in the Green Weaver/The Pass area of Saddleback were in full view, and the White Mountains were mostly hidden behing a summer haze. 

We enjoyed some snacks, caffeine, and delightful silence. We ultimately decided to start moving again when we started to get chilly, and when there was a suspicious cloud on the horizon!

[2:19pm - Appalachian Trail]

It was more cloudy than sunny for our descent, which was kind of nice on the sunburnt skin! We looked back down toward The Erratic, and I used PeakFinder to learn that we could see Carter Dome to the left of Saddleback and Waumbek/Cabot on the right, which was cool! I managed to fall on a rock almost immediately after starting the descent, but we were moving well! The rain was starting to look like it was coming for us, and it wsa sure starting to look spooky!

[2:57pm - Appalachian Trail/Berry Picker’s Trail]

I will admit, I was moving QUICKLY up Saddleback due to the spooky clouds. Definitely a little faster than Sarah would have liked! I did take photo breaks to let her catch up, though! The Horn and Saddleback Junior were standing broud, and the long, talus-covered ridge of Abraham was looking mighty fine behind them. The trail up Saddleback was full of slabs and some fun scrambles with a few breaks in the woods!

It seemed as if more an dmore storms were starting to pop up, and then I heard a rumble, which had me fully spooked! I think I saw on TikTok that you can be struck by lightning 7(?) away from a storm (EDIT: I just Google'd it - it's actually up to 25 miles from the storm!). I didn't vocalise this, because that wouldn't have solved really anything, but I was definitely feeling a bit stressed!

After some quicker climbing, I could see the summit sign in the distance! I was STRESSED. Thankfully, the views were still spectacular! I was ahead of Sarah, so I ran further ahead to get the pictures I needed, but at this point, being the tallest thing in the area, I wanted to be DOWN. 

[3:25pm - Saddleback Mountain Summit]

Sarah caught up, but she also stopped leisurely for photos, and I stressed it was time to GO. She was not thrilled with my rushing, but I am also not going to explain to her mom that she got struck by lightning on my watch! I thought we were in the clear, but we still had a few more minutes of hiking on this high ridge before we dipped into the woods. Saddleback is basically a double-breasted peak - the first breast is the summit, and the second is the spur to the ski area (thank goodness).

[3:31pm - Spur to Saddleback Mountain Ski Area]

We started to follow the spur down and it was once the trees were taller than us when I told Sarah "I guess now is a good time to tell you that I'm absolutely terrified of lightining." She switched from being a little miffed at me to very understanding, which I appreciated! I will say, all in all, I held it together better than I thought I would! She said I could have gone ahead to get off the ridge, but I told her that simply wasn't an option because I would have panicked when she wasn't right behind me!

[3:36pm - Top of Saddleback Mountain Ski Area/America Ski Trail]

The spur trail was short and we were soon at the top of our beloved Kennebago Quad! I was REALLY hoping the patrol shack would be unlocked as a storm shelter... nope! There was a DENSE rain cloud coming right out way - I guess this is our new fate! It would have been so nice to wait out the storm in the safety of a mountain top shelter, but I guess that wasn't in the cards...

[3:43pm - America Ski Trail/Rain Gear On]

It seems the most common route down via ski trails is Tri Color to Green Weaver or Grey Ghost, but Sarah and I opted for our favorite trail on the mountain: America (not for the name, but for the views!). It was absolutely crazy seeing it this time of year, and almost surprising to see how tall the trees actually are! This route was listed as a hiking route on the Saddleback Hiking Map, but it clearly is less traveled/maintained as a hiking route.

When the trail turns, we put our rain gear on and my camera away, and not soon later it began to absolutely downpour. But that wasn't it! It also began to thunder overhead again. But that wasn't it! It also then began to hail?! It soon became VERY silly. I was still mighty stressed about thunder, but the precipitation and the sopping wet ground was enough sensory input to moderately distract me. 

The trail was absolutely soaked, which was ultimately fine. Once I was rightfully drenched I simply did not care anymore! It was even too wet to worry about ticks!

[4:01pm - Hudson Highway Ski Trail/Rain Gear Off]

Less than 20 minutes later, the storm was officially passed us, and it was a... beautiful sunny day? We turned onto the Hudson Highway ski trail and I took off the rain gear that I was now sweating through. Hudson Highway was initially a nice gravel road (thank goodness). We came to the junction that gave me a run for my money as a beginner skier, and then the trail became full of vegetation again. It looked like The Pass was more traveled/maintained, but it would have added mileage, so we opted just to suffer through the sopping wet undergrowth. 

Overall, it was fine. Wildly unpleasant, but totally fine! The sun was back to making my skin nice and crispy as we worked our way down. We liked the signs for the Woolly Bugger Glades and the Uphill Route (we were hoping the Uphill Route would be maintained as a summer hiking trail, guess not!). Further down, we passed what we believed to be a sopping wet gopher sunning itself on a rock (I didn't know there was a difference between a groundhog and gopher until I saw this animal with a groundhog-like face and a rat-like tail). 

Further down, we began to follow MANY moose prints, but sadly no moose. The trail was somehow even more wet in the flat stretch, and we had to watch carefully for our trail back to the car, as a few condo trails began to branch off to the left. 

[4:36pm - Morning Glory Ski Trail]

Thankfully, the return of the stunning lupines marked our turn! We turned left onto the Morning Glory ski trail, followed whatever drainage we could to not be sucked into the mud, and were soon back on the Saddleback Spur! 

[4:41pm - Saddleback Spur]

The hike out through the lupines was again, stunning, but my skin was DONE with the sun! After just a couple minutes we were thankfully back at the car!

[4:43pm - End of Hike]

I had officially won fart baseball in a close-knit 5-to-4 match. We threw on some dry clothes, drove by the base area just to see it (more amazing lupines and a few art pieces and mowed areas likely for weddings), and then went into town and got dinner at the Rangeley Inn, which was just short of phenominal! We drove back to the lake to soak our feet for a minute before driving up Quill Hill for one last batch of views. Our drive home was pretty easy and we stopped again at the Mountainside Grocers for some dessert. Once back at the condo, we ate our respective desserts and did some parallel play on our phones before passing out! Tomorrow I'm back to hiking solo.

Step-by-Step

- Start hike on the Fly Rod Crosby Saddleback Spur.

- At jct., turn right onto Bobcat Cut.

- At jct., turn right onto Overlook Trail.

- At overlook, turn around.

- At jct., turn right to complete Overlook Trail.

- At terminus, continue right toward Midway Pond.

- At Midway Pond, turn around.

- At jct., turn right onto Saddleback Spur.

- At terminus, turn left onto Fly Rod Crosby Trail.

- At jct., turn left onto Berry Pickers Trail.

- At terminus, turn right onto Appalachian Trail.

- At The Horn summit, turn around.

- Summit Saddleback Mountain, then continue on the Appalachain Trail southbound.

- At jct., turn right onto Ski Area Spur.

- At terminus, turn left onto America.

- At terminus, turn left onto Hudson Highway.

- At jct., turn left onto Morning Glory.

- At jct., turn right onto Saddleback Spur.

- Return to car.

Map

Photo Album

Abraham, Spaulding, and Sugarloaf Traverse (Mt. Abraham Ecological Preserve/Appalachian National Scenic Trail)

Abraham, Spaulding, and Sugarloaf Traverse (Mt. Abraham Ecological Preserve/Appalachian National Scenic Trail) 

Hike Type: Traverse

Distance: 15.32 miles

Elevation: 5,200 feet

My Time: 11 hours, 10 minutes (9 hours, 28 minutes moving)

Book Time: 10 hours, 15 minutes

Parking: Parking for 5-10 cars at gate on Caribou Valley Road. Limited roadside parking at the bridge washout on Rapid Stream Road.
Hiking Challenges: Maine 4000 Footers, New England 67, Operational Alaska Benchmark Challenge

The Hike 

Sarah arrived around 9:00pm last night, and due to the forecast we were reluctantly planning on hiking the Crockers and Redington, BUT to our delight the weather had cleared when we checked in the morning! We then pivoted to hiking the Abe-Spaulding-Sugarloaf Traverse instead to maximize the views. We were up at 6:00am and out around 6:40am. Thankfully, we were super close to the AT trailhead. The drive to the trailhead on Caribou Valley Road was listed as 30 minutes, but took close to 45 with the condition - it was by far the roughest road I'd driven on. The potholes weren't even the main issue - it was the exposed culverts and ditches before bridges - sketchy! We each scraped the bottom of ours cars once on the way up. At least it was a beautiful day!

We dropped my car and Sarah hit three culverts on the way out as we shuttled around to Rapid Stream Road, which was listed as 45ish minutes, but took well over an hour from point to point. Rapid Stream Road was in... better(?) condition than Caribou Valley Road - it was just ROCKY. We did see a deer and a house cat(?), so that was fun. There were some interesting camps tucked away along the road, and the real winner was discovering the bridge was out! Online I could find that Rapid Stream Road suffered significant damage from Hurricane Irene in 2011. It seems the bridges were repaired in 2015 with the current iteration, but they were destroyed again in [unknown]. A local snowmobile club built a snowmobile bridge sometime in the past few years, and refurbished it even more recently, but that too has been washed out at the time of this hike!

After a good giggle, we parked the car before the first bridge washout and started to suit up. We decided to start barefoot to ford the stream, even if it COULD have been rock hoppable, we decided to save the brain power and just walk through.

[8:16am - Start of Hike]

[8:25am - Crossing the Rapid Stream]

We started our hike without shoes, which involved carefully stepping our way down to the former snowmobile bridge to the left of the washed out bridge. Temps were in the upper 50s and it was a dream! I made it half way across the stream when Sarah asked "where are your boots?"... they were in her car. I walked back and forded the stream again with much success!

The second crossing was deeper, so I followed a path to the still-intact bridge and put my shoes on up there. Sarah spent some time playing with the stream, but ultimately decided to join me. Between the bridges there was a little island with plenty of mushrooms and slugs, it was a really nice area. There were also two guys just behind us who were hellbent on crossing with dry shoes - I think they succeeded? We let them get ahead of us. 

[8:38am - Actually start moving on Rapid Stream Road]

[8:39am - Right Turn]

Sarah joined me and we were FINALLY on the move! We hiked along the continuation of Rapid Stream Road and turned right at a junction, following a written sign for "Salem, Strong, Rangeley," eventually entering the Mt. Abram Trail Riders Trail System (sign), and the officialy Mt. Abraham Trail trailhead. I guess this used to be the official start of the trail before the major washouts. 

[8:51am - Mt. Abraham Trail Sign]

We turned right at the sign to follow the road towards the Firewarden's Trail (same trail as the Mt. Abraham Trail). The snowmobile trail we were following continued straight ahead to a washed out bridge, and the Firewardens Trail turned left into the woods.

[8:53am - Mt. Abraham Firewardens Trail]

The Firewardens Trail entered the dark, moody woods following blue balzes near a stream, on and off of an older route. The hobblebush was growing in, but was not obstructive of the trail. The trail turned away from the stream, later passing a small landslide before easily meandering through the forest and crossing a snowmobile road.

We hiked over some moose poop and descended to a scenic, mossy stream before crossing a few more streams. The trail then began to climb more moderately, stepping over and over and over moose poop. 

[10:18am - Firewardens Trail/Campsite]

We eventually came to the Firewardens Campsite, which featured some tentsites and a privy. The trail became a bit more moderate afterwards, paralleling some blowdowns that provided very small peek-a-views. We continued on, slow and steady for some time. We noticed some old telephone wire embedded in some older trees which was pretty cool! The trail felt decently relentless here, and it was WET. Thankfully, the sun began to shine!

The Firewardens Trail eventually entered a coniferous forest and became much prettier and more reasonable to climb. Sarah stopped for a snack, but I kept moving along, hellbent on waiting to see a view before stopping. The peek-a-views became more abundant, the flies found me, but soon I found myself entering the beloved Alpine Zone (NOTE: I didn't realize this was acutally an alpine summit, but BOY was I delighted!). 

[11:06am - Firewardens Trail/Alpine Zone]

One final push brought me into the Alpine Zone and a truly spectacular view from a rough, talus field. I knew this hike would be pretty, but I had no idea it would be this stunnnig! I took a nice break here while I waited for Sarah to join me. The main views were of Spaulding and Sugarloaf with the Rapid Stream Valley below. I could hear the water raging down in the valley with the Bigelows out in the clouds. 

Sarah joined me and out journey up the steep, loose talus slope began. This felt just like a climb in the northern Presidentials. The clouds were rolling over just above our heads and the views were seemingly endless. Higher up, I could start to see the Crockers and Redington. Darker, denser clouds were in the vicinity, but it was absolutly beautiful. We crossed paths with a few duos, including the two guys from the beginning of the hike. 

The Firewardens Trail entered the scrub and passed some small, alpine flowers like Bog Labrador Tea. This climb took us around 45 minutes, but any climb above treeline never feels that brutal. I hiked over a few giant spiders classic to the alpine zone and then saw the remnants of a firetower cabin just off of the trail (roof included!). 

[11:50am - Mt. Abraham Summit]

We soon landed at the summit, which was just spectacular. The spiders were abundant but wanted nothing to do with us. The flies were out, but generally tolerable. We booped the summit sign and absolutely gawked at the the fallen fire tower about 100' away from the summit, which fell in a 2014 windstorm. The views were incredible. The Bigelows were popping through the clouds, Sugarloaf and Spaulding were near and proud, Saddleback (!) and The Horn were standing behind the fallen tower, and with some maneuvering I think I could make out the Crocker and Redington, too. It was really just wonderful. We spent some good time up here exploring and snacking, but eventually some more hikers arrived and and the flies got the better of us. 

[12:21pm - Mt. Abraham Trail]

Now, the joy we were feeling was slightly cut short as we began to descend from the summit, which was similarly akin to a painful northern Presidential descent (aka: Rock Hell). Thankfully, the views were still wonderful (we just loved being able to see Saddleback, one of out favorite mountain to ski). We spent a little bit of the time in the woods before emerging on a final talus field. The trail slowly became more scrubbly before steeply descending the talus back into the woods. The final talus field had such a spectacular view.

The rest of the Mt. Abraham Trail was just a delight. A fine, soft footbed with scenic woods throughout. The bunchberry flowers were lining the trail as we joyfully followed the path, eventually landing at a trail register in the middle of a fir wave. 

[12:56pm - Mt. Abraham Trail/Register Box]

We were wildly confused at the register box seemingly in the middle of nowhere, we weren't quite sure what to even do with it. In hindsight, we should have signed a register card, but it seemed so random we didn't realize!

The rest of the Mt. Abraham Trail was similar in character - windy and delightful. The moose poop began to increase in frequency, but we never saw a moose (tragically). The ferns were abundant, but the footbed was crystal clear. We began to enter the Appalachian Trail corridor, amrked by abundant white blazes, and soon after we landed at the Appalchain Trail!

[1:24pm - Appalachian Trail]

The Appalachian Trail was surprisingly tighter than the Mt. Abraham Trail and had an impressive amount of moose poop - we even saw our first person in a WHILE! About ten minutes into this segment, Sarah took a nice tumble resulting in a butt touch (which by definition, means she owes me ice cream). We caught very limited peek-a-views to the talus slopes along Mt. Abraham, but overall it was a pretty solid tree tunnel. 

[2:03pm - Appalachian Trail/Spaulding Mtn. Lean-To]

We waved hello to a frog and came to the Spaulding Moutnain Lean-To, which we decided to check out for funsies. We ran into two trail runners who were running a LOOP with Sugarloaf, Spaulding, and Abrahm? We couldn't figure out how they were making that work, and frankly are still a bit confused, just doing the trail we're doing plus the roads would be upwards of 40 miles... I guess they could descend Sugarloaf via some ski trails to cut a few miles out, but that's still a LOT. Who knows! 

The Lean-To was nice. Not too big or small, with a privy and a spring nearby. The Appalachian Trail felt a bit more rugged from this point, getting wetter and mossier as we began to climb slowly and steadily. Clouds had overtaken the sky, but there were peeks of sunlight every now and then. We saw a peek-a-view to Saddleback and the Horn as the bugs began to envelope us. The trail steepend as we hiked past some flowering trout lily and starflowers, but to our joy, we came to the Spaulding Mountain Spur!

[2:40pm - Spaulding Mountain Spur]

There was no sign for the spur, but it was evident from the trail and blazed in blue. The final push got the heart pumping but was nice and short. We got a small view from a clearing that was growing in, and soon after was the summit, comically marked at 3988 feet.

[2:43pm - Spaulding Mountain Summit]

"4010'" was etched into the sign, assumedly after the last survey. Blue blazes continued past the summit along a flat, soft footpath to one more viewpoint.

[2:46pm - Spaulding Mountain Viewpoint]

This view was mostly enveloped in the clouds, but we took a nice sit for a snack and caffeine break. The bugs were alive and well, but not overly supressive. The clouds eventually revealed a view to an unknown-to-me peak, and on the way back we made out another view to Saddleback and The Horn. We descended the spur trail, soon rejoining our beloved Appalachian Trail.

[3:00pm - Appalachian Trail]

[3:30pm - Appalachian Trail/Maine C.C.C. Plaque]

The next hour-plus was filled with some really lovely, mindless hiking. The clouds were rolling overhead, getting darker and closer throughout. We went up and over a few humps, one of which had a plaque dedicated to the Maine Civilian Conservatioin Corps with some interesting history:

“MAINE C.C.C.

IN HONOR OF THE MEN OF THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS WHO, FROM 1935-1939, CONTRIBUTED GREATLY TO THE COMPLETION OF THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL IN MAINE AND WHO, ON AUGUST 14, 1937, NEAR THIS SPOT COMPLETED THE FINAL LINK OF THE ENTIRE 2,054-MILE TRAIL. DEDICATED AUGUST 14, 1987 BY THE VOLUNTEERS OF THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL CLUB.”

Later on, we caught some very small peek-a-views back to Mt. Abraham, which really is such an impressive mountain. We traversed over a blowdown area and caught another, larger view back to Spaulding and Abraham on the right, up to Sugarloaf on the left, and vast valley that these mountains circle straight ahead - we were finally getting closer!

Just before the Sugarload Spur we passed what I think is the most adorable creature to ever exist - a young snowshoe hare! It looked like what baby bunnies in cartoons look like. Simply PRECIOUS. We weren't able to get any good photos, but I did catch one of it's behind as it hid from us behind a tree. 

The Appalachian Trail traversed a wet section with plenty of rock-hopping-rocks that was open enough to see the ridge up to Sugarloaf. We dipped back into the woods and soon were at the junction with the Sugarloaf Spur! We were excited to visit this third peak of the day, but also mindful about possible incoming storms. Neither of us had service on the AT, but we were hopeful that we would be able to check the weather once on the summit!

[4:14pm - Sugarloaf Spur]

The Sugarloaf Spur was rugged and wet, but with decently decent footing. The grade was moderate to steep at times (or were we just tired? The world may never know!). We followed the blue blazes, excitedly getting glances back to Spaulding and later to the towers atop the summit. We even saw a grey jay! I almost tripped on an Appalachian Trail survey disc, and then we were at the summit area!

[4:44pm - Sugarloaf Mountain Summit]

The summit area is pretty huge and fun to explore, even with the cloudy views. We roughly took a counter-clockwise route around the top, hiking near the helipad and then to a lovely viewpoint of the long Mt. Abraham complex with Spaulding on the right. It was very rewarding to see basically the whole route we had just hiked. We were able to check our phones - no storms! Just clouds!

We then hiked the rest of the trail up to the true summit, past the helipad and to a pile of rocks at the clear high point with a "4237 FT" painted in a faded blue. We enjoyed seeing the Crockers from here in addition to Abe and Spaulding. Looking down into the valley, we could trace the logging roads and rivers all the way into the towns. Maine is such a unique place, especially compared to the Whites. 

We checked out one of the radio towers that had a sign that read:

"NOTICE

INSTRUCTIONS FOR WORKING AT RADIO FREQUENCY SITES

1. Authorized personnel only allowed on this site.

2. Electromagnetic energy (EME) awareness training is required for personnle working on this site.

3. Posted signs must be obeyed at all times.

4. Transmitters must be disabled and owners notified prior to working on antennas.

5. Assume all antennas are active.

6. Base station antennas must not be operated in equipment room.

7. No stopping in front of antennas.

8. A safe distance must be maintined from all antennas.

9. RF monitors must be used when working near antennas.

10. Transmitters without shields in place must never be operated during normal operation."

We noticed a view down to Burnt Mountain and it's pseudo-alpine trail - I was hoping to hike that some point duirng my trip, too - and the Bigelows across the way from the ski resort. Sarah and I continued over toward an old, abanoned hexagonal building (I guess the old gondola top shack?) and ended up taking our snack break on the chairlift. It was a little spooky getting on the chair, and it DID rock, but it was fun! We were looking right at Abraham and Spaulding while I ate my pistachios. The only issue was that the flies had woken up the second we sat down, so we didn't stay for too long. When we left two teens had hiked up from the ski area, tried to get into the patrol shack, but when it was locked came and sat in the lift shack. They looked like they were planning on staying the night?

[5:07pm - Sugarloaf Spur]

We finished our counter-clockwise tour of the summit back to the Sugarloaf Spur, and our descent was relatively uneventful, minus passing one duo - we did the usual "how's it going?" to which one of the guys said "I need a defibrulator," which gave us all a good laugh.

[5:30pm - Appalachian Trail]

Back on the Appalachian Trail, it would be 2.3 miles to Caribou Valley Road/Caribou Pond Road, but it would be a slow 2.3 miles! We descended briefly past a guy backpacking shirtless and absolutely covered in bug bites, and then we traversed a wet section on muddy, partially submerged boards. It was pretty, though! 

We passed a rock "2000" and then another "2000 mi :)" written on a tree stump a couple minutes later. The trail remained wet and rock as it lightly began to descend in the woods, and then it began to open up to some lovely views across the drainage to Spaulding yet again. We could then see at least south Crocker, and maybe Redington? I was feeling both excited and timid to tackle that hike - another day!

The trail begins to descend with increasing views of the western bowl of sugarloaf with some impressive slides right at the headwall. We could see and hear the water rushing down! We briefly dipped into the woods before coming back out into the open, now (possibly) seeing both Crockers and the Carrabassett River far down below. The trail became more rugged with a few tricky scrambles, but moving slowly and steadily kept us nice and safe.

It got stupid steep, but at least it was scenic! Once back into the woods, we continued the steep descent on well-placed stone steps, passed a little baby snacke, and eventually reached the floor of the valley where the humidity must have been at 300%. We could hear the river and soon were following the drainage. 

[7:07pm - Appalachian Trail/Carrabassett River Crossing]

We found another AT survey disc and soon it was time to cross the river on... a cracked piece of wood? Oh my god. I already don't like river crossings, and this river was FLOWING and that board was wobbly. No matter, I took a DEEP breath and slowly but steadily walked right across. I had to turn my brain off, and I was simply shaking once on the other side. Sarah, the jerk, crossed it no problem. Comically (and smartly), the plank was held onto one side of the river via a wire leash, probably for when people inadvertendly knock it off or when a big rain comes and washed it away. The river was beautiful, at least!

[7:13pm - Appalachian Trail/Campsite]

[7:16pm - Caribou Pond Road]

We crossed a small campsite with a "KINDLE NO FIRES IN THIS AREA" sign, and hiked up to finally join Caribou Pond/Valley Road! We were absolutely delighted to be on the final stretch of our hike. We were tired, but had just enough in us to get out! The road was well-traveled and both tire ruts were grass-free. The final obstacle was crossing a super sketchy metal bridge that appeared to be falling into the river? It was totally fine on foot, thankfully! We crossed the bridge, hiked across the gate, and were ruinted with my car!

[7:29pm - End of Hike]

Oh but they journey is unfortunately FAR from over! I did an EXPERT job driving out of Caribout Vallond Road, only hitting the bottom of my car on the one exposed, shredded, plastic culvert, and then we had a nice, long drive to Rapid Stream Road, which was another slow, dreadful drive. Sadly, there was no chance that we'd made it to the Silly Goose Bar n Grill before it closed, and apparently we wouldn't make it anywhere before anywhere closed. There was one gas station market that still did hot food until ~9:00pm, so that's where we had our sights set!

I dropped Sarah at her car and ZOOMED at 5-8mph out of Rapid Stream Road to hopefully get us some dinner, but they had closed up shop for the day. Thankfully, I did get a delicious cookie! Our final pivot was to the Dollar General, where we got frozen dinners to heat up back at the condo. I got mine right away, and Sarah joined about 20 minutes later. It wasn't the Silly Goose, but it got the job done!

Back at the condo we had our showers, had our dinners, and got right to bed because tomorrow was our Saddleback day!

Step-by-Step

- Drop car at the gate on Caribou Valley Road.

- Park at washed out bridge on Rapid Stream Road.

- Carefully cross Rapid Stream, then follow woods road up to bridge.

- Hike Rapid Stream Road, turning right at the fork.

- Arrive at the original trailhead, turn right towards trail.

- At sign, turn left into woods onto Firewardens Trail.

- Follow Firewardens Trail to Mt. Abraham.

- From summit, continue on Mt. Abraham Trail towards the AT.

- At terminus, turn right onto Appalachian Trail.

- At jct., turn right onto Spaulding Mountain Spur (no sign).

- Summit Spaulding Mountain and check out view past summit, then return.

- At AT, turn right onto Appalachian Trail.

- At jct., turn right onto Sugarloaf Spur.

- Summit Sugarloaf Mountain, explore!

- Descend via Sugarloaf Spur.

- At terminus, turn right onto Appalachian Trail.

- Carefully cross Carrabassett River.

- At jct., turn right onto Caribou Valley Road.

- Return to car.

- Obtain other car.

Map

Photo Album

Poplar Falls via Maine Huts & Trails, Warren’s Trail, & Narrow Gauge Path (Penobscot Free Land)

Poplar Falls via Maine Huts & Trails, Warren’s Trail, & Narrow Gauge Path (Penobscot Free Land) 

Hike Type: Figure-8 Lollipop Loop

Distance: 7.30 miles

Elevation: 617 feet

My Time: 2 hours, 39 minutes

Book Time: 3 hours, 57 minutes

Parking: AMPLE parking at Airport Trailhead.
Hiking Challenges: N/A

The Hike 

I had a super easy drive from the Reed Brook Falls trailhead to the Airport Trailhead - my next destination! This hike would follow trails in the Maine Huts and Trails system to Poplar Falls. I didn't know much about this trail system, but it seemed like a perfect hike for a rainy day! The weather was cooperating for now, with storms expected sometime in the 3:00pm hour. At the trailhead, it was brighter out and a little misty. There was a HUGE parking area - I assume it gets a lot of attention in the winter. I was able to fix my hip belt with an old multi-tool that has lived in my car for YEARS, yay!

[12:40pm - Maine Hut Trail]

My hike started on the Maine Hut Trail, which followed a gravel path through a flowery meadow near the airport featuring abundant orange hawkweed. The mist was actually feeling kind of nice! I crossed a junction with another gravel path, continuing straight in this "runway protection zone." 

[12:44pm - Maine Hut Trail/William Munzer Multi-Use Recreational Bridge]

[12:46pm - Maine Hut Trail-Airport Trail]

I soon crossed the William Munzer Multi-Use Recreational Bridge over the wide, scenic Carrabassett River. On the other side of the bridge, the Maine Hut Trail turned right and then immedaitely veered left onto the woods, coinciding with the Airport Trail. 

The Airport Trail was a little grassy, so I put some bug spray on to attempt tick prevention. The Maine Hut Trail was blazed with white diamonds while the Airport Trail had blue squares. I paralleled the gravel road (Huston Brook Road/Narrow Gauge Path), which paralled the river. There were some deer tracks in muddier spots and a cute little slug racing me (I won). I hiked over a few culverts and maneuvered one step-over blowdown - this was quite a pleasant walk!

I got two mosquito bites, which convinced me to put bug spray on the rest of my body now. I passed an old road, dodged some slugs, and admired an eft! The road started to turn away from the river at exactly 1.0 miles. There were so many slugs at this point where it would be statistically impossible that I hadn't squished one. I slowly began to hear the sound of Poplar Stream, and then I approached the Carriage Road.

[1:09pm - Maine Hut Trail/Carriage Road]

[1:09pm - Warren’s Trail]

I crossed the Carriage Road and decided I would follow Warren's Trail on the left side of Poplar Stream and eventualy make this hike into a lollipop loop. Ahead on the Maine Hut Trail, there was a bridge over the stream, but I would save that for later.  I turned left onto blue-blazed Warren's Trail and started my journey on the soft footpath along Poplar Stream.

I realized that the blazing for this trail system is like the Appalachian Trail - the main trail is white and connector trails are blue. Warren's Trail descended to the bank of Poplar Stream which had tannin-dyed water and some large boulders strewn throughout. The trail appeared to have been partially relocated in places likely due to erosion from floods. I meandered around some mossy boulders and then slightly rose above the brook onto a more stable footbed - the water was so pretty down below.

I loved watching the river interact with the boulders, rushing through chokepoints and relaxing as the riverbed grew wider. I was catching a few spider webs and rock hopped across a slippery stream before rambling upwards away from the main stream. I climbed up some stone steps, which was the first time my heart rate rose all day. A sunnier area of trail was full of high ferns - the sun was really trying to poke through the clouds, but the clouds continued to win the battle (and the humidity!). 

I caught some tree views to the other side of the riverbed, which was far below me now. I hiked past some really cool lichens that resembled swamp monsters, and later entered a younger forest full of tall, skinny, abundant trees and slightly descended back to the water, ultimately leading me to the falls!

[1:47pm - Warren’s Trail/Poplar Falls]

A side path descended along the river's bank to a nice view of the falls, and another more eroded path just after led toa  closer view. These falls were lovely - not as wonderous as Reed Brook, but still an absolute delight! I took a few photos, and then climbed up the trail to join the service road, which crossed the top of the falls on a bridge suitable for cars.

[1:50pm - Warren’s Trail/Service Road]

[1:52pm - Warren’s Trail]

I enjoyed the view down the stream from the top of the bridge, and then turned left just afterwards to hike the remaineder of Warren's Trail towards Larry's Trail. The trail on this side was similarly wet, mossy, and slippery, but pretty! I skipped a side path down to the falls and continued across some SUPER slippery boards. I tired to talk myself out of going to the hut because I was feeling lazy, but I couldn't check in until 4:00pm anyway, so at the terminus of Warren's Trail, I turned left onto Larry's Trail toward the hut.

[1:57pm - Larry’s Trail]

I was immediately rewarded with my decision to not be a baby with a WONDERFUL trail. The footbed was wide and soft, rising easily to moderately at most. It was truly a delight. I made it over a height of land, and Larry's Trail then terminated back at the Maine Hut Trail, which coincided with the Poplar Stream Trail.

[2:01pm - Maine Hut Trail-Poplar Stream Trail]

The trail here was basically a service road with medium-at-best footing. There was a cool breeze, which felt heavenly in this dreadfully humid weather. The Maine Hut Trail neared a branch of the Poplar Stream, passing a decomposing wasp nest on the ground. I entered a clearing with a strange building - must have been some river gauge type thing? Just after there was a peekaview into a gorge-y area, but I didn't get off-trail to explore.

I passed an old blaze that said "Maine Huts and Trails - Mahoosucs to Moosehead" - I wonder if that's an old slogan? Maybe the original goal was to connect the two regions but they scaled down?

[2:08pm - Hut Spur]

[2:10pm - Poplar Stream Falls Hut]

I climbed up to the height of land and turned left to hike the spur to the hut - I had no idea what to expect! The spur was short, and soon I was at the hut area, which was much larger than I had expected!

There was one main building and three seperate bunkhouses. A sign at the main building said it was closed for the season - I wonder what season it's open for? From the Maine Huts and Trails website:

"The Northwoods Nook

Poplar Stream Hut is the closest hut to our Kingfield office and can be accessed from the Airport Trailhead in Carrabassett Valley. Reaching the hut requires crossing land owned by the Penobscot Indian Nation and leased by Maine Huts & Trails. Please be respectful of the land and wildlife as you enjoy a gentle ascent alongside Poplar Stream to some spectacular waterfalls on the way to the hut.

Visiting Poplar Stream

This off-grid eco-lodge is open primarily during our winter season (late December through mid March) for private room overnight stays. During the winter season, day visitors on Saturdays and Sundays can enjoy delicious soups, sandwiches, and beverages from 12:00–2:00 p.m. Overnight winter guests can choose full-service trips on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays (meals included and optional gear shuttles) or self-service trips (pack in/out gear and prepare your own food) on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. The hut is currently not open during our summer season, but the surrounding trails are great for summer day hikes. Don’t miss visiting the two waterfalls along the way! Bring a swimsuit for a refreshing dip under the falling water.

Staying at Poplar Stream

Guests at Poplar Stream Hut will enjoy a quiet woods nook with easy access to some of the most spectacular waterfalls in the area. Poplar Stream Hut utilizes the nearby South Brook for hydroelectric power, and has hot water, heat, indoor plumbing, a full commercial kitchen, and electricity for guests. The hut also offers a unique lofted library and game room. Bunkrooms are kept at temperatures around 55°F during winter. Due to the remote nature of the hut, be prepared for limited access to power outlets and cellphone service. All rooms at the huts are booked as private accommodations, with 7 bunkrooms available at Poplar Stream Hut. We do not book shared rooms with other groups. Please bring a pair of shoes or heavy socks to wear inside when you take off your trail shoes and boots. Removing outside shoes helps us keep the hut clean and ready all our guests.

Getting Here

The Airport Trailhead is the closest starting point for Poplar Stream Hut. The intermediate level Maine Hut Trail from the trailhead takes trekkers through rolling woods and along Poplar Stream to climb up to the woodsy hut. Explore on Larry’s or Warren’s Trail to see views of the waterfalls! All huts are accessible by our trail network by using people-powered modes of transportation like biking, hiking, skiing, fat biking or snowshoeing. We have put together a list of driving directions to the best trailhead for each hut to get your car as close as possible and the best trail route for each hut to get you the rest of the way."

[2:13pm - Maine Hut Trail - Poplar Stream Trail]

Back on the Maine Hut Trail, I continued along, deciding against backtracking to Larry's Trail (even though I'd get a view of one more waterfall) simply because I did not want to backtrack - onward! 

I noticed on the trail signs that it seems bikes are no longer allowed, I wonder why? I hiked with some horse prints towards the next height-of-land, which was at a dammed pond that ultimately feeds Poplar Stream. I turned a corner and crossed the stream on a bridge and there were little fish underneath! The trail got grassy here, which was unpleasant, but I was accepting of it. 

The trail followed the stream down low on the right with pretty wonderful footing after some wet grass, eventually starting to descend past some massive mushrooms. I walked across some SLIPPERY snowmobile bridges and many frogs, eventually bringing me to the lower junction with Larry's Trail.

[2:38pm - Maine Hut Trail/Larry’s Trail]

The sign read just 1.8 more miles to the Airport Trailhead - yay! The Maine Hut Trail began to near Poplar Stream again with occasional views down to the water.

[2:45pm - Maine Hut Trail/Poplar Stream Bypass]

A few minutes later, the Poplar Stream Bypass trail turns off on the left, which looked more like a snowmobile trail that does not get much summer use. I continued on, running level with the stream, and soon coming to the bridge over Poplar Stream, closing the lollipop loop! 

[2:49pm - Carriage Road]

I decided to go rogue to avoid thinking and instead of following the Airport Trail I would do a road walk back. I turned left onto the very quiet carriage road, which featured a needed lovely breeze. The skies were ready to start raining at any moment it seemed! I passed an empty camp on the left as I descended on the Carriage Road, eventually coming to a gate with a sign that read:

“THE CARRIAGE ROAD IS CLOSED UNTIL FUTHER NOTICE. THE CARRIAGE ROAD IS A PRIVATE ROAD AND AN OPENING DATE IS NOT KNOWN AT THIS TIME. 5/20/2021” - sign at gate.

After the gate, the road transitioned from gravel to pavement with more homes on the right and the river on the left. 

[2:55pm - Narrow Gauge Path]

Next, I turned right onto Huston Brook Road, which doubled as the Narrow Gauge Path. I passed a ton of absolutely adorable A-Frame homes donned with ski memorabilia. Eventually, the road came to the Carrabassett River. I came up to an open gate that was signed as closed, but was clearly open:

“THIS GATE IS CLOSED TO PROTECT THE ROADWAY FROM DAMAGE DURING THE SPRING MUD SEASON BY VEHICULAR TRAFFIC. **PEDESTRIAN FOOT/SKI/BIKE TRAFFIC TO CONNECT WITH THE NARROW GAUGE PATHWAY IS ALLOWED**” from sign at gate.

I could sneak a little peek to the Airport Trail through the woods as it paralleled the road, felt a few specks of mist, almost stepped on a small dead snake (and three slugs munching away on it), and spooked a pileated woodpecker. 

[3:12pm - Narrow Gauge Path/Maine Hut Trail]

[3:13pm - Maine Hut Trail/William Munzer Multi-Use Recreational Bridge]

I joyfully made my way to the bridge and saw DARK skies downriver - I think I timed this hike perfectly! The crickets were chiping throughout the meadow, and I soon was back at my car!

[3:17pm - End of Hike]

I packed it in and the SECOND I closed my car door, the rain began! I passed a big deer on my drive to Sugarloaf and took a stop at the Mountainside Grocers. My check-in was super easy, and an owl cheered me on as I unpacked through the rain - it was a perfect start to vacation!

Step-by-Step

- Start hike on Maine Huts Trail from Airport Trailhead.

- After crossing bridge, veer left to stay on Maine Huts Trail (coincide with Airport Trailhead)

- Cross carriage road, then turn left onto blue-blazed Warren’s Trail.

- At Poplar Falls, turn right onto Service Road (coinciding with Warren’s Trail), cross bridge, then turn right again to stay on Warren’s Trail.

- At terminus, turn left onto Larry’s Trail.

- At terminus, turn right onto Maine Huts Trail (coincide with Poplar Stream Trail).

- At jct., turn left to Poplar Stream Falls Hut.

- At hut, turn around.

- At jct., turn left onto Maine Huts Trail-Poplar Stream Trail.

- At Carriage Road, turn left onto Carriage Road.

- At jct., turn right onto Narrow Gauge Pathway.

- At bridge, turn left onto Maine Huts Trail.

- Return to car.

Map of Maine Huts and Trails System

Photo Album