and they really take some planning. Last year I was able to combine
- a Thursday, Aug.3 visit to a beautiful art museum (Colby College Museum of Art) plus a Counting Crows concert in Bangor, Maine (see "Crossover Blog in Maine - Day 1")
- with a Friday, Aug. 4 hike up Knife Edge Trail to the Baxter Peak of Mount Katahdin (see "Crossover Blog in Maine - Day 2")
This time I was planning (hoping?) to carve out 3 days in late-September to
- drive up to far-northern Maine (visiting a couple of museums on the way)
- hike up to Hamlin Peak (of Mount Katahdin)
- hike up to North Brother (and peak-bag 2 other "100 Highest"), and drive home.
I was afraid I would be hiking through SNOW, but it turned out to be BEAUTIFUL weather all 3 days!!
My first stop was the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, which was disappointing - I have to arrange an appointment to see the lovely works in their collection. Another hour up the road took me to the Colby College Museum of Art, which was LOVELY. They have enough space to display selections from their Permanent Collection, as well as show special exhibitions. I won't repeat entries from last year's "Crossover Blog in Maine - Day 1", but additional treasures include:
Winslow Homer - Evening on the Beach, 1871-1878 oil
Frederic Edwin Church - Mount Newport on Mount Desert Island, c. 1851-1853 oil
detail:
Thomas Moran - The Great Blue Spring of the Lower Geyser Basin, 1872 watercolor
I left Waterville, Maine at 4:30, arriving at the Appalachian Trail Lodge in Millinocket at 6:30. Pizza and sudokus, and bed a little after 8 (hey, it has been dark for over an hour!).
Up and at 'em Thursday morning at 5:15 - hot shower and GREAT BREAKFAST at the The Appalachian Trail Café, and then north to be "at the gate by 7" (I got there at 6:50 with my reservation to day-park at Roaring Brook Campground). [YES< YOU NEED TO CALL AHEAD and make a reservation, even to day-park at Roaring Brook Campground.] Another 40 minutes on a dirt road got me to the car park, and hiking at 7:50 AM. MapMyWalk didn't work, so here is my hike:
I finished at 2:45, so I calculate I did 10-and-1/2 miles in just under 7 hours; slower than my "regular" pace, but a little faster than last year's Knife Edge Trail hike.
In some places the trail is nice:
but in most places the trails are lousy with roots and boulders!!
Beautiful view over lower Basin Pond:
Fun boardwalk over a swampy area:
I took North Basin Cutoff to get to Hamlin Ridge Trail. 9:50 AM looking back down Hamlin Ridge Trail after breaking out of the trees:
(I'm looking down on the Basin Ponds)
Heading up Hamlin Ridge Trail:
Final path up to the Summit:
Hamlin Peak at 11:07:
Continuing down the backside to Caribou Spring at 11:22:
Going back down Hamlin Ridge Trail:
Off to my left (north), down into North Basin with its unnamed pond(s):
and off to my right (south) down into Great Basin and Chimney Pond:
Chimney Pond is definitely pretty cool!!
except for the sign:
It was definitely VERY NICE cooling my feet in Roaring Brook after the hike:
Yesterday, it was music from my purple nano:
The Who - Who Are You, 1978
U2 - Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, 1992 cd "single" (4 songs)
The Who - Who's Next, 1971
Nelly Furtado - Whoa, Nelly!, 2000
U2 - Wide Awake in America, 1985 4-song EP
Paul McCartney - Wingspan: Hits and History, 2001 double album
Today, it was more music from my purple nano:
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here, 1975
listened to twice on the long drive into (and out of) the Park.
Kimberly Caldwell - Without Regret, 2011
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