Kicking off the Maine High-Peaks region with Sugarloaf and Spaulding

As you'll notice, this post has a date-stamp in 2014, and it is clearly November of 2015.  I am trying to put up older trip reports so my Index of Hikes page is more complete with links to the hikes I've been on.  So here is my first hike up to the high peaks region of Maine.

The morning began with some vibrant colors over the eastern sky from my house.

Sunrise colors to the east

I believe I left quite early that morning, the drive being about 2.5 hours up to Carrabassett Valley, and I was hoping for plenty of time to complete my hike, even with abundant summertime daylight.

After some research, I determined that I was going to need to take our truck, since the end of the drive was along a rough gravel road with some washed out culverts. (I was driving a Miata at the time, and those.....well, they don't have much ground clearance.)

From Rt. 16, which passes through the town of Carrabassett Valley, I took a left on the Caribou Valley Road (CVR), which was the road of questionable condition.  There were 3 or 4 culverts that were exposed on top, so a truck or SUV with 6-7" or more clearance would be required as of last year at least.  The CVR is barricaded about 3.9 miles in, and you can park here and walk a ways down the road until you see the AT cross the road.  It's pretty obvious.  Heading left, you walk along the South Branch of the Carrabassett Stream, and soon there is a crossing.  I had slightly higher waters than normal, though I heard from other hikers that in the days past, it was much higher, and the board you see crossing the farthest part of the stream was washed downstream a bit, despite being attached with a cable.

After the crossing, the trail makes haste in rising quickly up the western gully of the mountain.  There are frequent places you can turn back and see the valley, also good places for water replenishing.

Until you get along the edge of the ravine, the trail is pretty hands-on, but well marked with white blazes, since this is a section of the AT.

Good job MATC for these lovely steps!

Looking to the right, you can see the valley with its rockslides along the steep sections.

After 2.3 miles, you reach the junction for the spur trail up to Sugarloaf, which was my first stop.  Soon into this 0.6 mile leg to the summit, I was amongst the krumholtz (German for twisted wood, if I remember correctly).

A view of Mt. Redington, and the Crockers (left to right)

The summit is a bit startling, as you come around a bend and it's there in front of you with big towers.  I'm not generally a big fan of towers on summits (unless we're talking fire tower lookouts!).  There was a tube of sorts on one of the towers that was making the most interesting whistling noise, since the wind was strong up here on that day.  The harmonic series was audible as the wind speed changed.  It reminded me of those tubes you can buy in the toy store, meant for spinning, and the faster you spin, the higher the note goes.  That's pretty much what it sounded like.

I munched down some chow up here, and just as I was about to pack up lunch, a lady working her way south along the AT appeared.  She kindly took my picture. (Thank you Magellan!)

Sugarloaf Mountain, 4249'

We were both headed to Spaulding, so we decided to hike together until the next peak.  I learned she had done a fair amount of trail work, which was interesting to hear, since I was on my way in a month to go work on the trail crew at Baxter State Park.  (If I haven't said it enough, that was one of the best experiences ever.)

Mt. Abraham from between Sugarloaf and Spaulding

We saw the plaque indicating the completion of the final segment of the AT.  A pretty neat area to hike around in, knowing that this was the last piece to the puzzle.

There is a short but steep side trail up to the summit of Spaulding Mountain, which is not great as far as views go.  But, hey, I made it, and the trail along the way was very nice.

Spaulding Mountain, 4009'

A small side trail from the top allowed for a peek at Sugarloaf again.

A segment of the ridge walk between Sugarloaf and Spaulding

To keep with my standards, here is the Google Earth track and elevation profile. The sign mileage added up to 11 miles, even though Earth says 9.6 miles.  It could be possible to have 1.5 miles in twisties along the trail.  (My road walk is included in this track, since anyone doing this mountain from the CVR would have to park before the barricades.)

Hike Details
Miles hiked: 11.0
Time elapsed: 6.5 hours
Total ascent: 3560'