Mt. Megunticook, Ocean View, & Adam's Lookout (Camden Hills State Park)
Hike Type: -o-o- Loop
Distance: 4.12 miles
Elevation: 1,158 feet
Time: 2 hours, 6 minutes (1 hour, 56 minutes moving)
Hiking Challenges: N/A
Hiking Challenges: N/A
The Hike
Vacation! Gen and I were kick-starting our annual Maine trip with a trip to the Camden Snow Bowl, but first we decided to go for a little hike in the Camden Hills. We had a nice, easy drive up to Camden Hills State Park and easily found parking in the main campground lot on this Friday afternoon. The Mt. Battie Auto Road gate was closed at the gate house, so this was the only parking lot. There were a few other cars in the parking lot and a few snowmobiles wizzing by. There was a privy (that was open!) and a few locked buildings. There was an iron ranger to collect day use fees, but it was unclear of how many people actually were using it. We spent a little bit of time changing out of our driving clothes and into our hiking clothes, and soon we were off! Temperatures were in the high 20s with a slight breeze and abundant sunshine!
[12:57pm - Start of Hike on Mt. Battie Auto Road]
We followed the groomed Mt. Battie Auto Road after the gate, swinging left and climbing gradually with lovely trees on either side. There was one other hiker out with her dogs, but otherwise it was a delightfully quiet morning!
[1:03pm - Nature Trail]
We soon came to the summer trailhead for the Nature and Megunticook Trails. The snow was a little unconsolidated here, but we stomped our way into the woods, following a mixture of traditional blue blazes and blue star plackards.
[1:08pm - Nature Trail T-Intersection]
Once in the woods, the trail was in fantastic condition. The snow wasn't too deep, but it held firm beneath our spikes. We soon crossed a nice long bridge, turned a corner, and came to a T-intersection where the nature trail split. Left would bring us to Mt. Battie in 1.3 miles, and right would bring us to the Ocean Lookout in 1.4 - we went right!
We had one lowkey stream crossing that only chewed up the spikes a little bit and were truly just enjoying being outside! The forest was full of young trees and very restricted seasonal views to... the ocean?! We knew we'd get a view of the ocean from the top, but we didn't realize we were actually this close to the ocean! That was pretty awesome.
[1:15pm - Megunticook Trail]
After some relatively gentle hiking, we turned left onto the Megunticook Trail, which still had the traditional blue blazes but now was featuring yellow star plackards instead of blue ones. There was less of a well-defined trench on this trail, but the snow was firm and did not require snowshoes.
We began to climb at a more moderate grade and we both shedded some layers in the proceess. The trail was well-sheltered from the wind, so we were cooking! This was Gen's first hike in a while, so we were taking it as easy as we could for the time being. The ocean views through the trees were also getting better and better!
[1:37pm - Megunticook Trail/Adams Lookout Trail]
We hit the junction with the Adams Lookout Trail about 40 minutes into our hike. The Megunticook Trail forward was supposed to get steeper and looked unbroken since the last snow, while the Adams Lookout Trail was in much better shape. As a glutton for punishment and a sucker for a loop hike, I decided to follow the Megunticook Trail while Gen opted for the out-and-back with the plan to meet up at the Ocean Lookout, where the two trails would merge again.
The trail was, in fact, barely broken out after the first 50ish feet. Here we go! I put my snowshoes on and go to work, circling on the backside of the hill and crossing a slightly exposed from the snow streamy ledge.
The trail turned a corner and began to climb more steeply with wind drifts that fully hid the trench, making for some adventerous stomping. It was chillier back here in the shade, but thankfully warmed back up once I turned the corner again and started working even harder than before. The trail steepened yet again with pillowy-soft snow and eventually started to mellow out near the Ocean View. I got a small preview just before, and WOW - the view was really beautiful.
[1:55pm - Ocean View]
[1:57pm - Ridge Trail]
A few dozen feet after the view on the Megunticook Trail was the Ocean View, and it just spectacular. I could see down the coast to Camden and further south with the vast ocean straight ahead. The Camden Snow Bowl was off to the right and it looked like a Normal Rockwell painting. Gen was not there waiting for me as I anticipated, so I called her and she was about 10 minutes behind me. It was a 0.5 mile hike on the Ridge Trail to the true summit, so I told her I'd be right back, and I HIKED.
The Ridge Trail was blazed with red X's and traversed a truly beautiful pine/spruce (I should learn the difference) forest with tight trees and a chilly breeze. The trench was in medium shape - better than the past bit of the Megunticook Trail but not as a nice as the trail below the Adams Lookout junction. I stomped along, crossing paths with two people on the way. There were a couple of uphill sections with smaller downhills, and one final push brought me to the summit, marked by a large cairn and a sign.
[2:07pm - Mt. Megunticook Summit]
[2:07pm - Ridge Trail]
Gen was almost at the Ocean View when I hit the summit, so I truly blasted off to meet her. Thankfully, she was not waiting too long for me. At the end of the Ridge Trail I could just make out her jacket, so I yelled "MY FRIEND!," not realizing there was a woman about 20 feet away from her who was unsure who I was talking to... Whoops!
[2:16pm - Ocean View]
We touched base on each other's adventures (she stopped for a while at the Adam's Lookout by accident), took a few photos, and headed on down. There was another lovely view a few minutes down the trail (blazed with red squares), and we even got a peek to Acadia National Park with Cadillac Mountain - that was cool!
[2:27pm - Adams Lookout Trail]
We passed a sign that read "New Stairs! This gully was two feet deep, and eroding rapidly. It takes many rocks to stop erosion, and many hands. Come help us! Email CamdenTrails@gmail.com." We couldn't see the gully or the stairs due to the snow, but nice! The Adams Lookout Trail was well-traveled and held nicely. I kept my snowshoes on just to be a good samaratin (and I was too lazy to remove them).
[2:31pm - Adams Lookout]
After a few minutes we were at the spur to Adam's Lookout! It provided the best view towards Acadia and the islands between here and there. I was just blown away by how pretty this hike was, and how cool it was to hike a mountain right at the ocean (I need to get back to Acadia!). We took a few photos and got back on the trail.
[2:36 - Megunticook Trail]
With the upper loop closed, we turned back onto the Megunticook Trail, and we truly cruised on down. Even with the sun shining, the snow held up wonderfully, so no issues!
[2:50pm - Megunticook Trail/Nature Trail]
At the Nature Trail junction, we turned left to continue on the Megunticook Trail back towards the campground area (making a second loop). The trail was a little less consolidated here, but I had my snowshoes on and felt invincible. We rounded a corner with some structures, crossed a snowmobile bridge, and were soon back on the Mt. Battie Auto Road!
[2:53pm - Mt. Battie Auto Road/Campground Road]
We followed the groomed road all the way back to the car, yapping at just about anything. We did a relatively quick change back at the car and were on our way to the Camden Snow Bowl.
Step-by-Step
- Park at Camden Hills State Park campground.
- Start hike on Mt. Battie Road.
- At trailhead, turn right onto Nature Trail.
- At jct., turn right onto Mt. Megunticook Trail.
- At Ocean Lookout, turn right onto Ridge Trail.
- At summit, turn around.
- At Ocean Lookout, follow Adam's Lookout Trail.
- At terminus, turn right onto Mt. Megunticook Trail.
- At jct., turn left and follow trails back to campground and parking.
Photo Album
No comments:
Post a Comment