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
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.
