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1.29.08
Undiscovered
Finished just last year, western Maine's newest great hiking
trail — the Grafton Loop
— offers spectacular views and
few crowds.
text and
photographs by
David Mills
.JPG)
OTHER THAN
THE SOOTHING SOUND of a distant flowing stream, there was dead
silence. I was camped alone on my first night out of a four-day,
38-mile backpack through the mountains of Grafton Notch in
western Maine. Deep in the woods, I pitched my tent at Knoll’s
Camp Site, which was just lightly used. There was no privy yet,
not even a fireplace. All day I had met one person, and she was
a volunteer doing trail work.
It is easy to find a
sense of solitude and welcome lonesomeness on this
—
one of New England’s newest and therefore
less-traveled trails
—
the Grafton Loop Trail (GLT). Given the
weather forecast
—
cool temps and deep blue skies were
predicted for most of the next four days
—
I eagerly anticipated the western style
vistas from wind swept summits, remote woodlands and hiker camaraderie
that was sure to come.
This 38-mile trail, by connecting to an
8-mile section of the Appalachian Trail (AT), forms a loop encircling
Grafton Notch in western Maine, near the village of Bethel. Aside from
the AT portion of the loop, the Grafton Loop remains largely
undiscovered, as the trail has only been fully open since last July.
.JPG) The
trail follows the ridges along both sides of Grafton Notch, crossing
Route 26 twice, once on the north end of the loop and once on the south
end. This makes it possible to complete the entire loop as one three- to
four-day trip, or over the course of two weekends. The trail has several
new campsites, all purposely situated at least a good half-day hike from
the road. Apart
from Baldpate Shelter, which receives heavy use due to its location on
the Appalachian Trail, one can fine absolute solitude at every campsite,
especially on the western portion of the loop south of Old Spec
Mountain. The trip involves plenty of climbing, but rarely do you reach
significant altitude. There are just three peaks on the route that reach
over 3,500 feet.
During my AT thru
hike in 2006, I was taken by the wildness and remoteness of western
Maine’s mountains. When I later discovered that a trail was in the works
to form a loop through those mountains and permitting an escape from the
crowds typical of the AT, I knew I would have to hike it. I finally set
out on the Grafton Loop Trail on a cool, crisp morning early last Labor
Day Weekend. I left the trail’s parking lot around 8:30 a.m. and quickly
entered the woods. The trail climbs steadily, reaching the sub-alpine
summit of Pleasant Mountain within a couple hours. Aside from some large
clear cuts in the valley on the other side of this mountain, the trail
remained in pristine woods. By about 5 p.m. I reached Knoll Camp Site.
This camp site, like all others on the Grafton Loop, was located off a
short side trail and consisted of several widely spaced tent sites. The
soft breezes, chirping birds, and distant stream were the only sounds to
be heard. Day
two of my hike was a dream. I got an early start out of the camp site
and, for a couple miles, the trail paralleled a gently flowing stream.
Then some prolonged climbing over several hills ensued. After a steep
climb I topped out around mid-day on the wide open windswept summit of
East Baldpate, where the Appalachian Trail section of the hike starts.
From this 3,800-foot peak the views were stunning. Mountains rippled out
to the horizon in all directions. The whole scene was underlain by an
endless carpet of dark, green forest dotted by lakes. In fact, the ninth
edition of the AMC
Maine Mountain Guide says that this peak “offers some of the best
views of the western Maine mountain and lake country.” Being early
afternoon, I had plenty of time to relax on this peak as my destination
for the night was Baldpate shelter, only a couple miles away.
Bald Pate Shelter is
on a short side trail off the Appalachian Trail just a couple miles from
Route 26. It gets a lot of use and there was a full house when I stayed
there. I had the opportunity to hear many stories of the exploits of the
northbound AT hikers that had stopped there for the night.
A night at Baldpate Shelter is typical of
a stay at any other shelter along the Appalachian Trail. Should you
arrive as early as mid-afternoon, you will most likely be alone, as I
was. I passed some time by gathering wood and birch bark and lighting a
fire. People always arrive in the late afternoon and early evening and
they always enjoy a campfire. Mice are native residents at nearly every
shelter; keep that in mind when you stow your gear. As well as hearing
about various adventures along the trail, you can always count on
hearing stories about food. What the hikers are having for dinner, what
they had at the last town, and where their next re-supply will be. The
beverage of choice, particularly for the under-30 crowd, is usually
beer. And they are either drinking it, talking about it, or dreaming
about getting it.
Day three was perhaps
the hardest day of the trip. After an easy descent to Route 26 along the
AT, there was a long and relentlessly steep climb of nearly 2,700 feet
over three miles to the 4,180-foot summit of Old Speck. After a relaxed
break on the summit, I picked up the Grafton Loop Trail again and
descended, fairly steeply in places. In three short miles I reached my
destination for this evening, Slide Mountain Campsite. This was a very
nice camp site located again off the main trail. There was a privy, a
separate cooking area complete with a steel bear box, and at least three
widely spaced tent sites. There was scarcely a sound to be heard at this
site. After
breaking camp early the next morning, I walked for several hours in
total isolation and undisturbed woodlands. In time I ascended back to
the alpine and sub-alpine zone on Sunday River White Cap. This was
perhaps the most spectacular outlook on the entire trail. Despite its
relatively low elevation of 3,300 feet, this alpine peak offers
outstanding views. As I sat on the summit with crystal clear blue skies
above, the view from west to east included the White Mountains of New
Hampshire, the Mahoosic Range into Maine, all of Grafton Notch and its
mountains, and the mountains east and north into Maine. A wild and
wooded tableau surrounded me. Three to four more hours of hiking from
this remote windswept peak were all that was needed to descend to the
low elevation hardwood forests and back to Route 26, which I followed
for about half a mile back to my car around mid-afternoon.
In roughly four days I had experienced all
the rewards of a classic northern New England mountain hike. Northern
hardwood forests, spruce fir forests, arctic windswept summits with
endless views and a solitude and remoteness that is increasingly rare in
this corner of America. Considering that weather conditions where ideal
for hiking and that this was Labor Day Weekend, the amount of solitude
found on this hike was remarkable. Yet there were also human contact and
friendly conversations. All in all, this was an ideal early- to mid-fall
hike that provided me some of western Maine’s finest scenery.
Ж
.JPG) David
Mills has hiked throughout New England, as well as in the Alps
and Rocky Mountains. He has a degree in Environmental Studies and is a
student member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America. He lives
in Concord, New Hampshire. |
