It looks like only 37 miles, but over an hour and a half of driving.
7:16 AM
I hit the road after a GREAT Breakfast at "The Looney Moose"! 7.3 miles north and that was my last glimpse of pavement until 6 PM tonight. 9 AM on "Tim Pond Road", heading west:
It was 28℉, at 9:49 AM - I thought it was supposed to "warm up" today.
I kind-of overshot my turn onto "Wiggle Brook Road", but was able to get back to it:
At 10:30, I ran out of road up on "Wiggle Brook Road":
So I headed back down, west on "Tim Pond Rd"/"Lincoln Pond Rd", and then north on yesterday's logging roads:
I'm starting to have a gut-sense that I might not get in all 3 mountains today. We'll see.
It was 25℉, at Noon, as I got to "Porter Brook Rd":
I parked at 12:30
My "plan":
was to park (red X), hike northeast-east (following a road/path), to the "top of the col", then turn south and hike south up the ridge to "Kennebago Divide". From there, hike directly North (downhill-then-uphill) up to "White Cap" peak, then West (down-and-up) to the US-Canada Boundary Swath, then north along the Boundary Swath to "Boundary Peak". Then backtrack, and go down west into the valley, and return to the car via roads. Nice Plan.
Although there was a clearing behind where I parked, it looked to be going kind-of south, so I started up the "trail" in front of me.
20 minutes later I was in the Snow and in the Woods:
20 minutes after that, I came out onto a clearing area, going up hill:
Wait Wait - I had read about a "mini Washington Monument" on the boundary-swath of the US-Canada Border!!! I had gotten distracted hiking, and wound up going NORTH (not EAST), and wound up here:
Well, I'm glad I brought my Passport:
Ok - since I am here, I could go North and bag Boundary Peak - but I didn't bring my "Boundary Peak" sign. I was planning to do the Kennebago Divide - White Cap loop, so now I'l just do it in reverse. So I headed East (that's White Cap in the distance, 1.5 miles away):
It was kind-of fun traipsing through the woods:
and making my way up one of those clear-cut areas on the west side of White Cap
Because of my mess-up earlier, I had the compass out every other minute, keeping EAST. At 2:30 (2 hours, 2.5 miles hiking), I was AT THE CANNISTER-AND-SIGN:
I kept following the path east, then down toward Kennebago Divide:
I was feeling pretty good, and intersected the "path" (with one set of footprints on it), and headed left/east. It was supposed to turn south and go up the mountain, but it just sort of disappeared. I continued through the woods, but there was no way I could tell where I was or where I was going:
I backed up, then went down another path southwest, but didn't get anywhere. I suddenly realized that it was 3:30, I was hiking in deep snow in the woods, and I wasn't having fun anymore. Time to head home!
40 minutes later I was back at the car:
It was a good trail to hike out on:
But it was COLD when I got back in the car:
On my way out, I turned north - I wanted to see what the "Border Crossing" was like. Well, just a little farther north, the bridge/road is washed out. Instead of repairing it, they (whoever "they" are) just put down some rocks so you couldn't drive into the river by accident:
It is going to be GREAT when I come back up here next year, in warm weather and sunshine (maybe stay with Mark and Betsy???)
I headed down the Logging Road, expecting twists and turns. I don't know what happened, but I came out on "Tim Pond Road" (with a sign for "Lincoln Pond Road") at "Kennebago River Kamps". WOW, and Weird. East on "Tim Pond Road" for 17.1 miles, back to pavement, then south to Stratton. Another nice hot bath and then dinner again at "The Stratton Inn". WOW - Thank you GOD for these wonderful adventures (I got one mountain under my belt)!
Today's music:
The Eagles - Long Road Out of Eden, 2007
Stills-Young Band - Long May You Run, 1976
John Fogerty - The Long Road Home, 2005
John Mellencamp - The Lonesome Jubilee, 1987
lyrics: "Hotdogs And Hamburgers "
Every one of us has got to choose
Between right and wrong
And givin' up or holdin' on
..........
So I drove down the highway
Till I came to Los Angeles
The town of the angels
The best this country can do
I got down on my knees
And I asked for forgiveness
I said, Lord, forgive us for we know not what we do
Tame Impala - Lonerism, 2012
The Clash - London Calling, 1979
Neil Young - Living With War, 2006
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