Downeast Sunrise Trail Ellsworth Section

I went cycling today with both of my sons on the Downeast Sunrise Trail in Ellsworth.   The trail was in good condition despite heavy rains yesterday.

Four Season Adventure Trail - Corinna to Dexter

 My older son and I biked the Four Season Adventure Trail today from Corinna to Dexter.  There is a small parking area in downtown Corinna from which we headed north.  Although it had a number of puddles, the trail was mostly flat and well packed, although there was a section just north of Lincoln Mills Road where the trail was softer dirt.   

It was a cold but beautifully sunny Sunday.  As such, there were a number of ATV riders out on the trail, although for the most part they were courteous.   

This section of trail travels through forests and wetlands and has a remote feel to it.

Here is a map of our ride.

 

 

 

Biking Walden Parke, Bangor City Forest, Caribou Bog and the Veazie Railbed

My younger son and I biked a number of contiguous preserves in Bangor, Orono and Old Town today, including the Walden Parke Preserve, Bangor City Forest, Caribou Bog and the Veazie Railbed.  

We started our trip at Walden Parke.  We took the north fork of the blue marked loop trail, which was moderately difficult due to rocks and leaves on the trail hiding rocks.  The trail lead us to the Veazie Railbed, which we took briefly until entering Bangor City Forest.  

After a quick loop around the Forest, we headed back out to the Railbed and rode down to Caribou Bog.  We continued along the Railbed until we saw signs for Kirkland Road.  We followed that trail (which equaled Walden Parke in difficulty) until reaching Kirkland Road, and then turned around and retraced our steps.  

We departed the Railbed and headed back into Walden Parke on the southern portion of the loop trail, which was significantly easier than the north fork.  

Our total ride was a little over 14 miles and proved to be an excellent way to spend a warm Saturday in October.  Here is a map of our ride.

 

 

 

Great Pond Mountain - Stuart Gross Trail (Orland)

A friend and I hiked the Stuart Gross Trail today at Great Pond Mountain in Orland.  Despite the intermittent rains and clouds, the trail was surprisingly crowded.  

The trail climbs gradually through a series of forested switchbacks until opening to a rocky ledge.  Once near the summit, there are two spur trails - the 0.3 mile summit loop and the 0.1 mile south overlook.  The summit loop is a forested loop across the top of the mountain. 

The views from the top of Great Pond Mountain are exceptional, made even more so by the fall foliage.  

The total hike was a little over 3 miles.  Here is a map of our hike. 

Great Pond Mountain is part of the larger Great Pond Mountain Wildlands land trust.  For more information visit https://www.greatpondtrust.org/. 

Bald Bluff Trail, Amherst Community Forest

My younger son and I hiked the Bald Bluff Trail in the Amherst Community Forest today.  The well-marked trail, a little over 2 miles in length, travels though a heavily wooded forest until reaching an overlook area.  It then travels along a ridge on the side of the mountain until reaching a second overlook.  From there it travels over the summit and then down.  

It was a beautiful September day, and we had the trail entirely to ourselves (other than a snake and a very large spider).  Here is a map of our hike.  For an official state brochure of the forest, visit http://mainegov.informe.org/dacf/parksearch/PropertyGuides/PDF_GUIDE/amherstguide.pdf. 

Baxter State Park - Celia, Jackson, Little Beaver and Rocky Ponds Trails and Abol Trail and Campground

A little over two years ago I hiked Mt. Katahdin up the Abol Trail.  It was one of the most difficult hikes I've done and afterwards I was completely spent.  Towards the end of the hike I had run out of water and food and was overwhelmingly tired.  This weekend I helped a group of co-workers hike Katahdin and also explored more of Baxter State Park.  

My friend Chris and I arrived at the park on Friday and after setting up camp at Abol Campground, we explored the Celia and Jackson Pond Trail, along with a side trail to Little Beaver Pond.  The fairly level trail leaves the Kidney Pond day use parking area and heads through the woods, first reaching the small and grassy shored Celia Pond on the way to Jackson Pond.  On the way back we explored the remote Little Beaver Pond.  Other than two people on a canoe, we did not see a single person on our hike.

Jackson Pond

Celia Pond

We returned to our lean-to for the night and woke the next morning to help a group of 10 co-workers get started on their way up the Hunt Trail to Mt. Katahdin.  More friends soon arrived and while the group of 10 hiked Katahdin, our smaller group explored the Rocky Pond Trail.  

Rocky Pond

We returned to camp for lunch and afterwards prepared for the return of the Katahdin hikers.  Once four of the 10 returned, I set out to provide snacks, water and moral support to the remaining six hikers in the group as they completed the last section of Abol Trail.  Hiking the Abol trail knowing that I wasn't going to be attempting to summit the mountain was refreshing, and allowed me to focus on the beauty of the trail.  Around 1.5 miles in, I encountered the rest of the group and, after a brief snack and water break, accompanied them back to camp.  Our smaller group prepared dinner for the Katahdin hikers and then shuttled them back to their van.

 

Abol Trail

 

Here is a map of our hikes.

 

 

Mariaville Falls Preserve

My son and I hiked Mariaville Falls Preserve today.  The preserve has well worn trails that lead to a series of small cascading waterfalls through a shaded forest.  The preserve is owned by the Frenchman Bay Conservancy.  

Here is a map of our hike.