Maine's 'Lakes and Mountains Region' is incredibly beautiful dressed in her Autumn colors! How blessed we have been to visit this part of Maine during this time of the year.
Mark's first goal today (October 6th) was to climb the Mt Blue Trail to the top of Mt Blue. We got lost on some country dirt roads while looking for Mt Blue Rd which was supposed to bring us to the trailhead. When we finally found the road, we were a little hesitant to proceed because it seemed undeveloped and narrow. Since it is promoted as a popular trail in the state park and this was the only way to get to it, we continued on. However, the road quickly deteriorated and Mark kept muttering, "This was a HUGE mistake." The road was so narrow there was no way to turn around or pull over if we met another car. After about a mile we happened upon some bear hunters with their dogs who told us we were headed in the right direction; but when we found a slightly wider spot in the road, we seized the opportunity to maneuver the truck around and headed back in the other direction, crossing Mt Blue off the itinerary!
 |
| Lost ~ Looking for Mt Blue Road |
 |
| Mt Blue "Road" ~ This was a HUGE mistake! |
 |
| Let's get out of here. |
On our way out of the park on Center Hill Rd, we discovered a scenic overlook with lovely views of mountains and water with some low hanging clouds just dissipating. We were also entertained by a small group of jolly bikers who roared up on their motorcycles and were boisterously making a huddle to take a group picture with a selfie stick. It was too funny!
Outside of Madrid, we stopped at the Small Falls Rest Area and followed the trail over a small wooden bridge and along a chain link fence to view the Small Falls (which is actually a series of waterfalls and ponds) on the Sandy River. Very pretty! A resident of the area also directed us to an unmarked path that led us through the woods to another more secluded pond and waterfall.
 |
| Sandy River |
 |
| Leaves on the water |
 |
| The more secluded waterfalls and pond. |
From there we drove the Scenic Byway to the charming town of Rangeley (which would be a wonderful place to spend a summer vacation on picturesque Rangeley Lake).
Since we hadn't been able to hike up Mt Blue, we hiked nearby Mt Bald instead. We were told that the strenuous hike up the mountain is well worth it for the breathtaking 360 degree view of the surrounding forests, lakes and mountains from the firetower at the top. The first portion of the Mt Bald Hiking Trail is all rocks and tree roots that try to trip you up, but the most difficult part for me was that it is ALL uphill. I'm getting better at traversing rough trails, but going uphill drains my energy and takes my breath (definitely breath-taking!) The second part of the trail is VERY STEEP, climbing up, up, up, and over big rocks and boulders, often using our hands as well as our feet for climbing. The 1.3 mile trail took us about an hour and a half to reach the top. The view was STUNNING. Definitely worth it. It was a gorgeous, sunny day with a slight breeze. The weather was perfect and we spent quite a long time drinking in the view from the top of the firetower before heading back down the trail. It only took us about 45 minutes to descend the mountain. I do much better going down than going up! I feel like a mountain goat. As long as I don't take my eyes off my feet, I can quickly pick my way down through the rocks and roots, and slide down the boulders on my bottom!
 |
| Mushrooms or pancakes? Looks like breakfast! |
 |
| Fire Tower |
It was a very full day! We returned to Rangeley at supper time and parked outside the public library to use their wifi to post to the blog. Then as the sun was going down we made our way to Rangeley Lakes State Park to camp for the night. Mark is trying to figure out how many more adventures he can squeeze into the next two days before we head home to Michigan. He said I may have some more hiking to look forward to . . . . I think I am getting too old for this!
No comments:
Post a Comment