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  1. #1
    Senior Member DougTheElder's Avatar
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    Doug's Maine Adventure

    May 17 (Sat.) I flew from South Carolina to Portland, ME for a week's outdoor adventure with my son, DougTheYounger. On Sunday afternoon we arrived at the trailhead just outside of Stratton, ME with the plan of hiking up the Bigelow Range Trail to Cranberry Peak, up the ridge (AT) to West Peak, and circle South back to the trailhead. We left the trailhead in t-shirts and shorts, and soon encountered blowing misty rain, so out came the ponchos, etc. Maine trails are steep. The term "switchback", if ever conceived of, has never been put to practical use in that area, at least not that I'm aware of, anyway. The straight-forward, no-nonsense attitude of Mainers is reflected in their trail building. They come to a mountain...they go straight up one side...over the top...and, straight down the other side. It's a straight-forward, no-nonsense way of making one aware of his age and/or physical condition. Having made but a few miles and being anxious to set up camp before dark given the deteriorating weather, we hung our hammocks trailside in a Balsam forest with our backs protected from the wind by the mountainside. This was DougTheYounger's first night in a hammock- a brand new HH HyperLight with a 2Q's Zipper mod, HH SilNyl Hex tarp, JRB RMS,JRB Katahdin, and WeatherShield II. Part of my plan was to show him the light and get him off of the ground. In fact, since we were on the side of the mountain, we would not have been able to set up camp anywhere for miles had we not been in hammocks. I felt sublimely brilliant, if not outright cocky. A good night's sleep was had by all- dry, warm and toasty in spite of the blowing mist and sometimes snow. The next day, it was on to Cranberry Peak and then to Horn's Pond Shelter (AT). As we climbed higher, the snow and ice on the trail became more frequent and the blowing mist turned more to intermittent sleet and snow. It wasn't really much of a problem...some of the patches of ice and snow were hollowed out by melting underneath, and that made for some interesting moments...but, the temperature was cool enough to keep us from stewing in our rain gear. Late that afternoon when we arrived at Horn's Pond Shelter which is located on a pretty exposed ridge between Cranberry Peak and West Peak, the thermometer read 38f, but the wind was really whipping. Fortunately, we were able to hang the hammocks in the shelter since all of the campsites were very exposed. Signs warned of reforestation efforts and prohibited camping anywhere off-trail or outside of the designated campsites. Being greatful guests with a bent for stewardship, we complied. Had we not been able to hang in the shelter, we would have frozen to death and/or blown off of the mountain...that night the winds really increased and became extremely gusty...easily 50 - 60 mph. We met a local at the shelter (Brian Smith, from Stratton--very nice guy) who had tried to hike through where we were intending to go the next day. He had turned back due to deep snow-postholing in places up to his thighs. We elected to shorten our loop and headed back to the trailhead the next day. Weather and trail conditions on that side of the mountain (the south side) were much better, and the slope much more gentle...and down. We drove back to Portland, spent two nights, and then drove to Acadia NP for one night. The weather was glorious...day temp about 60f, night about 40f. The trails were much more benign... and the views defy description...everywhere you look is a postcard view....mountains, shore, ocean, all in one. I thought it odd to view a working lobster boat from the top of a mountain. It occurred to me on my way home that during that week I would have driven about 16 hours and flown over 2000 miles, just to walk about 35 miles. Seems like a reasonable trade, don't ya think? With any luck, you can go to http://photobucket.com/albums/mm301/DougTheElder/ and see some pics of the trip.
    Last edited by attroll; 06-05-2008 at 01:02.
    Sometimes even a Blind Hog finds an Acorn

  2. #2
    Senior Member headchange4u's Avatar
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    Good report Doug. It's amazing how a little thing like elevation can change the temps and weather.

    I'm gonna move this thread to the public side of the forum for all to see.
    “Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it." -Terry Pratchett



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  3. #3
    Senior Member angrysparrow's Avatar
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    Nice! You've related some of it to me before, and the pictures really do the story justice. Thanks for sharing.
    “I think that when the lies are all told and forgot the truth will be there yet. It dont move about from place to place and it dont change from time to time. You cant corrupt it any more than you can salt salt.” - Cormac McCarthy

  4. #4
    slowhike's Avatar
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    Wow. Neat place! Looks like a great father/son trip.
    I too will something make and joy in it's making

  5. #5
    2Questions's Avatar
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    Great trip! Great pics! Is DTY a hanger for good?

  6. #6
    Senior Member NCPatrick's Avatar
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    Wow, looks like a wonderful trip. Lots of memories made there, I'm sure. Thanks for posting the pics and report!


    "Civilization is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities."
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    “I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.”
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  7. #7
    all secure in sector 7 Shug's Avatar
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    Howdy DTE,
    What a brilliant trip. And with your son to boot!
    That wind can get ya' huh? Good thing for that shelter and I liked the pix of your camp set ups.
    The best trips are the ones that dole out the unexpected and then you deal with the challenges of handling the situation and continue to have fun.........
    Thanks for sharing the trip.
    Shug
    Whooooo Buddy)))) All Secure in Sector Seven

  8. #8
    Senior Member DougTheElder's Avatar
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    Is DougTheYounger a hanger for good? I suspect so. He's got everything he needs to do it right. And a lot of people deserve thanks for helping to make it happen: Hennessey shipped the hammock and tarp to 2Q's to make the mods, he did the work and shipped it to DTY. The Jacks at JRB shipped the quilt, underquilt, and WeatherShield to Maine. Ed and Karen Speer's friends at Steady Lane farm in MA even shipped a pound of mighty fine Beef Jerky to Maine. All of this came together in time for our most excellent adventure. ATTroll and Jim Bowie from this forum provided weather advice and trail condition insights that helped us make a destination decision. The dramatic change in weather and trail condiitons and our subsequent change in route came as no surprise and were therefore planned for as a contingency. We were not out to set any sort of speed or distance records and, in all honesty, the day's layover back in Portland was a welcome relief for my old knees. If you look at the Gazetteer for the Bigelow Range Trail, the topo lines are numerous and very close together going up to Cranberry Peak. The Maine backwoods are absolutely incredible. We saw numerous signs of both bear and moose-everything from clawed trees to the usual poop, to moose tracks postholed in the snow. Also, there were two occasions where we both commented, after the fact, that we had smelled an animal... something like a sweaty horse, but not quite. I suspect that some of the "wildlife viewing" was the wildlife viewing us! So, yeah, I think DTY will be a longterm hanger...at least for the summers and shoulder seasons. I traded tarps with him, leaving my HH hex with the doors...so I hope he will put my most prized possession to good use. But, I also left him the new tent I had bought just prior to my first night in a hammock. I never spent another night in the tent and didn't foresee ever needing it again. How's that for committment!!!
    Sometimes even a Blind Hog finds an Acorn

  9. #9
    Senior Member fin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DougTheElder View Post
    Also, there were two occasions where we both commented, after the fact, that we had smelled an animal... something like a sweaty horse, but not quite.
    I know a fellow camper that smells like that after a good day's hike.

  10. #10
    Peter_pan's Avatar
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    DE... Well done on the fammily conversion... nice report, sorry not to be there.

    DY... Welcome.... Here is to hanging, Hope you never have an uncomfortable night on the ground again.

    Pan
    Ounces to Grams.

    www.jacksrbetter.com ... Largest supplier of camping quilts and under quilts...Home of the Original Nest Under Quilt, and Bear Mountain Bridge Hammock. 800 595 0413

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