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I hope you took the time to read my hiking buddy Brad Viles’ last two columns published on these pages. He was gracious enough to fill in for me while the holidays took me outside the walls of my cubicle. And his advice to the cabin-bound hikers was great.
Winter shouldn’t be a time to be discouraged from getting out and taking a walk, even if it’s a short one. The scenery is fantastic, the air fresh, and the experience refreshing. Snow and ice may curtail your water activities, but turn the winter white into an opportunity rather than a drudge and winter will pass as quickly as the summer.
I had a chance to begin the new year with a hike on New Year’s Day in Acadia National Park. The temperatures had risen above freezing, the wind was up, and the sun was making its best effort to make it seem like spring. The rest of my family was in different parts of the country, so I was free to fly when my paddling buddy Karen Francoeur called.
We set course for Bar Harbor and decided to try what appeared to be a mild hike up the Cedar Spring trail that takes you to a point about halfway between Penobscot and Sargent mountains that lie to the west of Jordan Pond. (It turned out to be a little more difficult than mild – say moderate?)
The Parkman Mountain parking area is on the left, 4 miles south on Rte. 198 from the light in Somesville. (The new restroom there is closed for the season.) We took light packs, gaiters and hiking poles, and thankfully, an extra clothing layer. It turned out to be warm walking out of the wind, but pretty chilly above the tree line in the gusty afternoon winds.
From the parking area we picked up a carriage trail south for maybe a quarter of a mile and hit a trail next to a brook that, on the map, looks like it flows into Upper Hadlock Pond. Following the brook, which was flowing heavily thanks to snow melt, we climbed until we hit the carriage trail again, followed it a bit and soon hit the Maple Spring stone bridge. The Maple Spring trail passes under it and we followed it upstream past Cedar Swamp Mountain, to the open ridge between Penobscot and Sargent mountains. Northwest winds around 30 mph worked their evaporative wonder and I was happy to have had a windproof, hooded parka to keep them at bay.
The view southward past Northeast Harbor and out to the Cranberry Islands was breathtaking. Puffy white clouds contrasted with the baby blues of the sky and ocean. Underfoot the recent snows had mostly melted, leaving the footing squishy in places. We tried as much as possible to stay on pink granite.
For the return we decided to head south on the trail that would take you to the Asticou. From it we picked up the Birch Spring Trail and then hooked back up with the Maple Spring trail and then the carriage trail.
But just before the Hadlock Brook bridge we stopped for some soup, crackers, and cheese as the sun set behind Bernard and Mansel mountains to the west. Headlamps came in handy as we made our way back onto the carriage trail over slush and roots.
When you’re hiking during the cold, shorter days of the year, it’s smart to take along something warm to drink, snacks with high energy, and a light source, such as a headlamp. I’ve made a PrincetonTec Aurora part of my paddling and hiking kits. The three-LED headlamps are small enough to put in a pocket, yet they shed enough light to hike. And when you get back to your car, they come in handy as you round up your gear for the trip home.
The hike was just right for me that day at just under 4 miles and a vertical rise of around 1,100 feet. I’ve been lazy this season, my legs reminded me.
Good warmup for last weekend
The romp in the park served as a good warmup for last weekend’s jaunt along the Appalachian Trail north of Brownville. Francoeur and Dave Morrill had the itch to get out, and Morrill suggested the Jo-Mary Mountain area off Route 11. We headed north on I-95 around 9:30 a.m. with Lagrange, Milo, and Brownville Junction on the itinerary. About 18 miles north of Brownville Junction (13 miles south of Millinocket) on Route 11 is the turnoff for the Jo-Mary Road.
The dirt road is plowed in the winter and the Jo-Mary checkpoint near Route 11 is closed for the season (i.e., no gate fee!). There were lots of pickup trucks and empty snowmobile trailers parked on the road near the Jo-Mary Campground at Upper Jo-Mary Lake. We went several more miles in to where the Appalachian Trail crosses the road. At that point it’s adjacent to Cooper Brook and 13 miles in from Route 11. Total drive time from Bangor is around 90 minutes.
Cooper Brook was picturesque as it dropped over ice-covered ledges and rocks and passed under the roadway. We pulled off the road, donned snowshoes (even though the snow was only about 6 inches deep), and headed south on the trail. I was happy to have brought snowshoes because under the snow was an icy crust. Without the grip of the snowshoes, walking would have been sketchy.
The Appalachian Trail in this area follows a “classic tote road dating from the 1800s,” according to the “Appalachian Trail guide to Maine” published by the Maine Appalachian Trail Club in cooperation with the Appalachian Trail Conference. I didn’t learn this until several days afterward, but while we were walking the trail, we spotted a glass insulator on an old pine tree, and what appeared to be an old cedar pole with some wire attached to it.
The trail follows Cooper Brook for a way, then bends around the northern side of Church Pond. A side trail took us to the shore where the remains of a cabin lay. It looked as if it recently had been demolished. We walked across the pond, bushwhacked back to the AT, and resumed our walk. Squirrel, moose, and coyote tracks laced our path, but we saw only a few red squirrels.
After Church Pond the trail bends away from Cooper Brook, but the two come together again after a fashion. Tributary brooks were running, and in a couple of places we had to walk over ice bridges, cautiously probing ahead with our poles so as not to break through.
Our goal was the Cooper Brook Falls lean-to that is 3.7 miles from the Jo-Mary Road. Talk about a little bit of heaven. The rustic structure that accommodates up to six overnighters overlooks a pool deep enough for swimming. It is fed by a beautiful cascade that drops some 15 feet over a series of rocks and ledges.
As I sat on the lean-to’s floor in my Crazy Creek chair waiting for some water to boil to make soup, I thought how nice it would be to stay here for a day or two just being serenaded by the rushing waters. We snacked on crackers and cheese and drank in the view. My canister stove, by the way, doesn’t boil water in cold weather like it does in warmer weather. I was in no rush, however, and eventually we had hot water for soup.
Darkening skies prompted us to pack up and head back.
Along the way we watched for signs of wildlife since the actual critters and birds were not cooperating (except for the squirrels). Woodpeckers had left their calling cards all around – big excavations by pileated and hundreds of smaller ones in symmetric rows by what we surmised were yellow-bellied sapsuckers. And all over the snow were tracks left by mice and squirrels.
The walk out was easier since we’d essentially packed the trail on the way in and it was slightly down hill. Dusk enveloped us as we reached the car. Most of the ice fishermen had departed when we passed Upper Jo-Mary Lake, and by the time we reached Lagrange, the snow showers that had painted the Bangor area white earlier that afternoon had started.
Loon license pays off two ways
If you have loon license plates, you probably got a letter the other day from the Department of Conservation with your one-day free pass to state parks and historic sites. It’s the department’s way of saying thanks for supporting conservation in Maine. Coming next year is a loon weekend pass. The sale of the license plates since 1994 have put $15 million in the state’s coffers to support improvements at state parks and historic sites and toward efforts to protect threatened and endangered species in Maine. This year more than 75,000 of us have chosen to support the effort.
Canoe symposium set
Here’s an early sign of spring: The Maine Canoe Symposium folks are gearing up for the 20th anniversary celebration that will take place June 10-12 at Winona Camps on Moose Pond in Bridgton. If you haven’t attended one of these celebrations of all things canoe, mark the date on your calendar and make arrangements to attend. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. For reservations call 647-3721 or for information call 892-3121, or: www.mainecanoesymposium.com for more details.
Jeff Strout can be reached at 1-800-432-7964, 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.
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