askus3
New member
Date of Hike: Friday, August 29, 2003
Route: Appalachian Trail from Golden Road at Abol Bridge (west of Millinocket & south of Baxter State Park) to Rainbow Stream Lean-to.
Pictures: None at this time, since I was not on this section of the trip.
Total Distance: 15.1 miles
Difficulty: Relatively easy terrain
Conditions: excellent
Weather: sunny 60s till 2 PM, then cloudy afterwards, rain 5:30-8:30 PM
Participants: Dean Gletsos, Alex Lantino & Chris Connolly
Hike Statistics:
0.0 600 8:20 Abol Bridge - Start of Hike
3.6 700 10:00 Hurd Brook Lean-to
6.1 1550 11:05 - 11:50 Rainbow Ledge
7.8 1060 12:40 PM Jct. Beaver Pond Trail to left
9.6 1120 1:25 Jct. Rainbow Mountain Trail
11.3 1130 2:15 - 2:50 PM Rainbow Stream Campsite
13.1 1060 3:30 PM Rainbow Lake - west end
15.1 1000 4:10 PM Rainbow Stream Lean-to - End of Hike
Hike Report:
Thursday, August 28, 2003: The day before, Wednesday, my wife had an angioplasty procedure performed and I was unable to attend this trip (or at least the beginning). The procedure went smoothly and I hoped maybe I would join them sometime during the middle. I met with Dean & Chris and went over the trip details. I explained to them that they can put their cars at Abol Bridge(the north end and start of the trek) and worst case scenario, Stelios & Maria will drive you back from JoMary Lake Road (first road crossing) to Abol Bridge to retrieve your cars. So on this day, Chris driving Dean & Alex drove up to Millinocket from the New York metropolitan area. They stayed at the Appalachian Lodge Motel where we had reservations. They ate dinner at the Terrace Hotel and made last preparations for the upcoming four day backpack. Independently, Stelios & Maria, also drove up to Millinocket and stayed at the Moosehead Lodge.
This was the first day of a four-day backpack as we entered the Hundred Mile Wilderness. I was not with the group when they started out from Abol Bridge as mentioned in the summary posting. Notes were passed on by Dean & Chris which I used to compile this report. In the early morning after eating breakfast out in Millinocket, they drove out to Abol Bridge, parking at the general store, which is where we left off from our southbound Appalachian Trail odyssey last year. Right at the start ten minutes were wasted finding the Appalachian Trail turnoff from Golden Road southbound (left turn). The Rainbow Ledges was the first stop where they enjoyed a cool view of Mt. Katahdin and fed on the plentiful supply of blueberries that abound. Aaron planned on making a side trip to climb Rainbow Mountain, but due to the rain forecast for this evening, they skipped this hike and planned to extend today's hike an extra 3.8 miles beyond Rainbow Spring Campsite to Rainbow Stream Lean-to, so they could sleep and eat dinner out of the elements. When we arrived at Rainbow Spring Campsite near the shore of Rainbow Lake we took note of the nice campsites (two) and agreed that this would be a very nice place to camp. The spring was water from a pipe which was flowing nicely and was very good and cold. After a nice relaxing stop we pushed on to Rainbow Stream. This next stretch was very easy walking and when we arrived there was only one other hiker at the shelter. However, before long the shelter was full. There was a group from Indiana that arrived after the shelter was full and during the rain. They were not properly prepared for the weather, but fortunately it quit precipitating by 8:30 PM. This is an old shelter with log baseball bat flooring which made sleeping difficult. if the weather was nice, it was highly recommended that camping at Rainbow Springs is more desirable.
Remember, normally you have to spot a car the day before at the Appalachian Trail crossing of JoMary Lake Road. which my group did not have to since they knew Aaron may meet us there and worst case scenario, Stelios & Maria would be having a car there.
Planning: (to minimize backpacking)
When planning a backpack thru the Hundred Mile Wilderness, there are several things i did in figuring out my mileages and stops. I believe in trying to hike many of the side trails that I might encounter if conditions are favorable. I also like to dawdle at scenic spots. Furthermore, I find 10-12 miles a comfortable mileage on easy terrain with less in more mountainous areas. So the distance from Abol Bridge to JoMary Lake Road is a bit more than 40 miles on the AT (not counting side excursions). The last night, considered a must by thru hikers is a stay at Whitehouse Landing. comes at 30 miles southbound from Abol Bridge. Since, I wanted to stay here, it now becomes a decision - do I want to hike the first 30 miles in two or three days. My thinking was that this distance crosses very easy terrain and many thru hikers do this stretch in two days, in their push to get to Katahdin, so this is conceivably possible. But, i also read where many feel in their haste to get to Katahdin, they felt this scenic and isolated stretch of trail with many lakeshore miles unique to this section of the AT was rushed. Remember, a greater majority of thru-hikers do this section northbound at the end of their 2,000+ mile trek. So in planning, I opted for a more leisurely traverse of this section trying to complete the 40 miles in four days. Since my friends pushed on for Rainbow Stream lean-to this first day (and I do not fault them for this as I would have agreed also, knowing the weather forecast), it gave them a very leisurely next two days of hiking. One other item I wanted to bring to anyone planning to traverse this section of the Hundred Mile Wilderness, is the location of another lodge (aside from Whitehouse). This is the Nahmakanta Lake Camp which is located 17.4 miles south of Abol Bridge (and .5 mile off the AT to the left SB), which makes another nice lodging facility option for the 2nd night. The reason I did not take advantage of this facility is that they required a 3 night reservation thru Labor Day, which obviously is not in my interests. Since my time frame had me here during Labor Day weekend, I opted not to stay here. But if I was to hike thru after Labor Day, I would certainly utilize this accommodation which includes meals. This would make my trip to JoMary Lake Road, four days of hiking, but only one night out backpacking, along good trail across easy terrain.
So, a proposed itinerary would be as follows:
Day 1: Abol Bridge to Rainbow Spring Campsite. 11.3 miles on AT + optional 2.2 excursion.
Day 2: Rainbow Spring to Nahmakanta Lake Camp. 6.2 miles on AT + .7 off AT to camp.
Day 3: Nahmakanta Lake Camp to Whitehouse Landing. 13.2 miles on AT + 1.9 miles for access to both camps.
Day 4: Whitehouse Landing to JoMary Lake Road. 10.3 miles on AT + 2.4 extra in excursions + .3 access from camp.
This would be sort of like doing a hut trip in the Whites with one night out (and better, since both facilities have hot showers). Another item to mention for someone who is trying to hike this without a backpack, the terrain is easy, so you could after Labor Day get away without backpacking but a long first day (17+ miles). Now, remember, since I did not get to do this section (and I want to), I hope to hook up with those of you considering to do this trek as a minimal backpack and i would field either the 3 or 4 day option. Lastly, if you look at the map, you might say why not do a car shuttle for this section as the road from JoMary Lake goes this far up to Nahmakanta. I chose not to, because the logistics of driving this far up make it undesirable. So please e-mail me at askus3@optonline.net if there is any interest in doing a 3/4 day trip to this section of the AT in the Hundred Mile Wilderness (with at most one night out). By the way, I would highly recommend doing this in the fall, as late spring into summer brings out the worst in mosquitoes and black flies and I have heard from too many southbounders in June & July about how unpleasant this section of trail is due to these nasty bugs.
Route: Appalachian Trail from Golden Road at Abol Bridge (west of Millinocket & south of Baxter State Park) to Rainbow Stream Lean-to.
Pictures: None at this time, since I was not on this section of the trip.
Total Distance: 15.1 miles
Difficulty: Relatively easy terrain
Conditions: excellent
Weather: sunny 60s till 2 PM, then cloudy afterwards, rain 5:30-8:30 PM
Participants: Dean Gletsos, Alex Lantino & Chris Connolly
Hike Statistics:
0.0 600 8:20 Abol Bridge - Start of Hike
3.6 700 10:00 Hurd Brook Lean-to
6.1 1550 11:05 - 11:50 Rainbow Ledge
7.8 1060 12:40 PM Jct. Beaver Pond Trail to left
9.6 1120 1:25 Jct. Rainbow Mountain Trail
11.3 1130 2:15 - 2:50 PM Rainbow Stream Campsite
13.1 1060 3:30 PM Rainbow Lake - west end
15.1 1000 4:10 PM Rainbow Stream Lean-to - End of Hike
Hike Report:
Thursday, August 28, 2003: The day before, Wednesday, my wife had an angioplasty procedure performed and I was unable to attend this trip (or at least the beginning). The procedure went smoothly and I hoped maybe I would join them sometime during the middle. I met with Dean & Chris and went over the trip details. I explained to them that they can put their cars at Abol Bridge(the north end and start of the trek) and worst case scenario, Stelios & Maria will drive you back from JoMary Lake Road (first road crossing) to Abol Bridge to retrieve your cars. So on this day, Chris driving Dean & Alex drove up to Millinocket from the New York metropolitan area. They stayed at the Appalachian Lodge Motel where we had reservations. They ate dinner at the Terrace Hotel and made last preparations for the upcoming four day backpack. Independently, Stelios & Maria, also drove up to Millinocket and stayed at the Moosehead Lodge.
This was the first day of a four-day backpack as we entered the Hundred Mile Wilderness. I was not with the group when they started out from Abol Bridge as mentioned in the summary posting. Notes were passed on by Dean & Chris which I used to compile this report. In the early morning after eating breakfast out in Millinocket, they drove out to Abol Bridge, parking at the general store, which is where we left off from our southbound Appalachian Trail odyssey last year. Right at the start ten minutes were wasted finding the Appalachian Trail turnoff from Golden Road southbound (left turn). The Rainbow Ledges was the first stop where they enjoyed a cool view of Mt. Katahdin and fed on the plentiful supply of blueberries that abound. Aaron planned on making a side trip to climb Rainbow Mountain, but due to the rain forecast for this evening, they skipped this hike and planned to extend today's hike an extra 3.8 miles beyond Rainbow Spring Campsite to Rainbow Stream Lean-to, so they could sleep and eat dinner out of the elements. When we arrived at Rainbow Spring Campsite near the shore of Rainbow Lake we took note of the nice campsites (two) and agreed that this would be a very nice place to camp. The spring was water from a pipe which was flowing nicely and was very good and cold. After a nice relaxing stop we pushed on to Rainbow Stream. This next stretch was very easy walking and when we arrived there was only one other hiker at the shelter. However, before long the shelter was full. There was a group from Indiana that arrived after the shelter was full and during the rain. They were not properly prepared for the weather, but fortunately it quit precipitating by 8:30 PM. This is an old shelter with log baseball bat flooring which made sleeping difficult. if the weather was nice, it was highly recommended that camping at Rainbow Springs is more desirable.
Remember, normally you have to spot a car the day before at the Appalachian Trail crossing of JoMary Lake Road. which my group did not have to since they knew Aaron may meet us there and worst case scenario, Stelios & Maria would be having a car there.
Planning: (to minimize backpacking)
When planning a backpack thru the Hundred Mile Wilderness, there are several things i did in figuring out my mileages and stops. I believe in trying to hike many of the side trails that I might encounter if conditions are favorable. I also like to dawdle at scenic spots. Furthermore, I find 10-12 miles a comfortable mileage on easy terrain with less in more mountainous areas. So the distance from Abol Bridge to JoMary Lake Road is a bit more than 40 miles on the AT (not counting side excursions). The last night, considered a must by thru hikers is a stay at Whitehouse Landing. comes at 30 miles southbound from Abol Bridge. Since, I wanted to stay here, it now becomes a decision - do I want to hike the first 30 miles in two or three days. My thinking was that this distance crosses very easy terrain and many thru hikers do this stretch in two days, in their push to get to Katahdin, so this is conceivably possible. But, i also read where many feel in their haste to get to Katahdin, they felt this scenic and isolated stretch of trail with many lakeshore miles unique to this section of the AT was rushed. Remember, a greater majority of thru-hikers do this section northbound at the end of their 2,000+ mile trek. So in planning, I opted for a more leisurely traverse of this section trying to complete the 40 miles in four days. Since my friends pushed on for Rainbow Stream lean-to this first day (and I do not fault them for this as I would have agreed also, knowing the weather forecast), it gave them a very leisurely next two days of hiking. One other item I wanted to bring to anyone planning to traverse this section of the Hundred Mile Wilderness, is the location of another lodge (aside from Whitehouse). This is the Nahmakanta Lake Camp which is located 17.4 miles south of Abol Bridge (and .5 mile off the AT to the left SB), which makes another nice lodging facility option for the 2nd night. The reason I did not take advantage of this facility is that they required a 3 night reservation thru Labor Day, which obviously is not in my interests. Since my time frame had me here during Labor Day weekend, I opted not to stay here. But if I was to hike thru after Labor Day, I would certainly utilize this accommodation which includes meals. This would make my trip to JoMary Lake Road, four days of hiking, but only one night out backpacking, along good trail across easy terrain.
So, a proposed itinerary would be as follows:
Day 1: Abol Bridge to Rainbow Spring Campsite. 11.3 miles on AT + optional 2.2 excursion.
Day 2: Rainbow Spring to Nahmakanta Lake Camp. 6.2 miles on AT + .7 off AT to camp.
Day 3: Nahmakanta Lake Camp to Whitehouse Landing. 13.2 miles on AT + 1.9 miles for access to both camps.
Day 4: Whitehouse Landing to JoMary Lake Road. 10.3 miles on AT + 2.4 extra in excursions + .3 access from camp.
This would be sort of like doing a hut trip in the Whites with one night out (and better, since both facilities have hot showers). Another item to mention for someone who is trying to hike this without a backpack, the terrain is easy, so you could after Labor Day get away without backpacking but a long first day (17+ miles). Now, remember, since I did not get to do this section (and I want to), I hope to hook up with those of you considering to do this trek as a minimal backpack and i would field either the 3 or 4 day option. Lastly, if you look at the map, you might say why not do a car shuttle for this section as the road from JoMary Lake goes this far up to Nahmakanta. I chose not to, because the logistics of driving this far up make it undesirable. So please e-mail me at askus3@optonline.net if there is any interest in doing a 3/4 day trip to this section of the AT in the Hundred Mile Wilderness (with at most one night out). By the way, I would highly recommend doing this in the fall, as late spring into summer brings out the worst in mosquitoes and black flies and I have heard from too many southbounders in June & July about how unpleasant this section of trail is due to these nasty bugs.
