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