Friday, December 31, 2021
Thursday, December 30, 2021
Snowshoeing Baxter State Park, Foss and Knowlton Trail (Abol to Foss and Knowlton Pond)
The Foss and Knowlton Trail is located in the southwest corner of Baxter State Park, branching off from the Appalachian Trail shortly after Abol Bridge.
We snowshoed 6.4 miles round-trip to Foss Knowlton Pond from Abol Bridge. The hike started mostly flat, mildly undulating for the first half of the hike, then gradually ascended to the pond, gaining 400 feet of elevation over the final 1.5 miles.
This was a great hike through Baxter's forested landscape. The trail had been hard-packed from previous travelers, making hiking relatively easy. On a clear day the shoreline of Foss and Knowlton Pond provides excellent views of Mt. Katahdin. Today was cloudy, however, and it started snowing as we approached the pond. We enjoyed the limited views anyway, stopping to heat up lunch and relax before journeying back.
Our trail guide (the excellent Katahdin: A Guide to Baxter State Park) noted that we would cross two streams during our hike, including one requiring a ford. A deep layer of snow and ice covered the portion that would have required fording, and a bridge crossed the second stream.
A 45 acre area near the trail had burned in a May 2020 wildfire, and it was interesting to observe the impact of the fire and the regenerative growth that has occurred since.
Here is a map of our hike.
Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Reynolds Forest (Sidney)
Reynolds Forest is a 35 acre preserve managed by the Kennebec Land Trust. The preserve features a short lollipop hiking trail leading through woods to a waterfall and historic foundation. More information on the property can be found at the Trust's website.
We had an appointment in August this morning so made a brief stop and hiked the preserve's 3/4 mile trail.
Tuesday, December 28, 2021
Reeds Brook Trails & ITS 82 (Hampden)
Sunday, December 26, 2021
Richardson Tract (Orrington)
We went for a nice 1.9 mile hike today at the Richardson Tract in Orrington. The 160 acre town-owned property has trails leading through forested areas in different stages of growth. Here is a map of our hike.
Friday, December 24, 2021
Lake George Regional Park (Canaan)
Thursday, December 23, 2021
Snowshoeing Lily Bay State Park
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
Snowshoeing at Sunrise, Bangor Municipal Golf Course
Monday, December 20, 2021
HRS Meadow Farm Wildlife Sanctuary (Stockton Springs)
Sunday, December 19, 2021
Snowshoeing Hermon/Bangor Snowmobile Trails
Saturday, December 18, 2021
Acadia Mountain (Acadia National Park)
Sunday, December 12, 2021
West Side Park and Glenburn Snowmobile Trails (Glenburn)
I was looking for a local hike to do at sunrise this morning and found a great trail system in Glenburn. The Town's website mentions simply that there are trails and includes an aerial photo of West Side Park without delineating the trails (although they are somewhat visible in the photo).
Starting at the Park's parking lot off Ohio drive, the park itself has a small looping trail system with wide trails. The trails connect to a linear snowmobile trail running east to west parallel to Ohio Drive. The snowmobile trail is mostly flat and in good condition. I hiked west until I saw a house, then hiked east until I came to a flooded section (due to yesterday's rains and snow melt). Had I continued west, the trail would have linked with a longer snowmobile trail system.
Overall this was a nice 3 mile hike through woods. Here is a map of my hike.
Friday, December 10, 2021
Quick morning hike at Ecotat (Hermon)
Sunday, December 5, 2021
Trenton Community Trail (Trenton)
The Trenton Community Trail is a 2.4 mile mostly flat and wooded trail located behind the Acadia Gateway Center off Route 3 in Trenton. The 8 year old property is owned by the Town of Trenton and is maintained with assistance from the non-profit group Friends of Acadia.
Friends and I hiked the trail this very cold morning. The well maintained trail travels through a variety of forest communities and includes a boardwalk and interpretive signs. The short boardwalk leads to a view of a bog with an informative sign detailing the history of the bog.