Trip ideas

Howdy,
I'm in search of a new place to hike in Northeast. Experienced ADK hiker looking for a destination, possibly with a remote lake that has opportunities for trout fishing. A loop would be nice to gain access to other views or lakes. 7 day trip up to 40 miles.

Any ideas would be great. Thanks!

Katahdin / Baxter?

hiking &/or fishing

Hi Boots,
Post up what type of vehicle you have..ie where can it go. There are lots of logging roads(Private logging roads are prevalent and ~99% are open to public...with just a few chained up) that can get you pretty close to ponds/bogs/streams... Need to see Regs on campfires but you can always find places to pitch a tent and make camp at(imho). One hassle, within the last few decades, is that the North Maine Woods org somehow got control to post up roadway "checkpoints" leading up into certain areas...but areas E, NE, and N of Moosehead(south of BSP) are largely free...check out on the http://www.northmainewoods.org page for where they are.
Fwiw...DeLorme's state Atlas & Gazateer is a bible...and DOES list a number of "Hikes"... On the "general scaled" maps it probably looks like there will be a load of hiking trails, but imho such is not the case = lots of bushwacking.. You have vertical(Katahdin, Bigelows, Mahoosics) and then horizontal [+ individual smaller mtns] terrain...with lots of bluffs thrown in.
I think the ADKs and Maine are the two examples of brooktrout habitability(sp?)...the higher & dryer ADKs and then there is the lower-lying, wetter...ponds, bogs, streams/brooks of Maine's woodlands. Good trout action comes in all sizes...of flat and moving water trout habitats. *You'll find that a number of ponds/streams with distinct regs...some = "Flyfishing ONLY", so it'll help if you can throw a flyline....BUT having said that...with the wet late-Spring and Summer we're having...there's no "low, Summer" water conditions...so really anything will work.
You'll enjoy BSP, but given the weather...hiking under the canopy of the lower elevation's woods can be just as enjoying.. **Bring along a headnet!..will give you a much more enjoyable hike if/when you hit bugs, as they can be localized in populations = ok to Bad!...;-)..but you know that...
West Br. Penobscot runs underneath(south side) the Katahdin Range = Can be fun...for both hiking and then fishing..if vertical action is what you're looking for., but it IS a popular area = more fishing pressure...ie more wary trout and landlocks(salmon).
There are also ponds to the W, NW, E and NE of the main peaks...Newsowadnehunk Lake has pretty good fishing(FFO) at northern end = great fly hatches. Good fly hatches all over..but Hexagenia patterns(Hornberg, WhiteWulff), Brown Drakes(Hornberg, WhiteWulff), and Madam-X = good action with.
Once you get above the Greenville lattitude the woods becomes dense/deep but checking out with the Atlas can help a great deal. Just my "drive, then hike & paddle LOOP" stuff....
There are also shuttle services....check out http://www.npmb.com/cms2/e107_plugins/forum/forum.php and just search online...can turn up services. Dirt roads have been pretty good...just watch for potholes. If you at sometime head southward on the Golden Rd from Rip Dam area..down Chesuncook's eastern side...towards the East-West section Really watch the road while still paved...contains LOTS of Bad potholes..which, when paved = a danger to tires/wheels/front-axle it hit at speed...!!!

*Has probably been too much general stuff....but the Atlas will list & denote campgrounds & trails... As I mentioned, I do the drive & [paddle/hike] thing often....
$.01
Steve

Steve,

Thanks for taking the time; the information is very helpful. We will be driving a 1992 Jeep Cheerokee. Need to do some research on some of your recommendations. If you think of anything else we would appreciate the suggestion.


Jason and Dara

...hiking & fishing or separate trip into both

Jason,
I guess I jumbled data all together there... I guess what you were might've been thinking towards is to either combine a little fishing within a hike ...or...to do a hike or two, or three, or four;-)...and then think solely about finding some trout.
You can take either route....and wind up satisfied, although as I might have mentioned...Maine's better trout waters (watersheds) are located on the "ground floor"....as opposed to say either the ADKs or the Rockies....but both ADKs and Maine's woods are lookalikes.

A few_Hikes with a little Fishing:
I know a Mountain Pond that sits in a little cirque atop of Big Squaw(or the pc'd name "Moose") Mountain just outside of Greenville, up the west side of Moosehead Lake.
That's really the ONLY pond I know of that's up atop a mountain...
Down at the bottom of the backside bowl of Katahdin there is a Davis Pond and in on the Williams Pond Rd, ...~5mi north on the Telos Rd then hang a right...in another ~5mi. Williams Pond = small(never fished it)...it is in back of the western tip of the Katahdin Range....Mt. Veto and what is now pc'd the Moose's Bosom..ROTFL..
*I think I mentioned about ponds to Katahdin's East..Wrong...to the West..Kidney, Dacey Ponds...etc. = never fished but nice for combining both hiking & a little fishing also...
Billski's been up to some of the ponds/streams north of the peaks and towards the northern end of the Park...which are very nice!! Sandy Str Pond, Russell Pond, Lower & Upper South Branch Ponds... *More than several brooks/streams...which are very pretty.

$.01

Steve,

For clarification... Are these areas you suggested areas we can pack in several miles to reach. The fly fishing areas only are they remote enough to limit use or is there alot of day hikers. We are looking for something off the beaten path. Thanks again for all of your help.

Jason

hiking and some fishing...

Jason,
Very little traffic at all...per season! I mean, up here "pressure" really isn't what the rest of New England/NY would think as pressure..(put on environment). Pavement goes all the way from Millinocket/Medway/I-95 westward to the Ripogenus Dam area(beginning of last section of the W.Br., and southward on the Golden Rd. (~5-8?mi). Billski & others have more experience in heading northward on the Roaring Brook Rd...(*think I should head up this week, 1st time up there in decades;-)).
Really, it's mostly in-staters and a few NH & Mass outdoor enthusiasts that will head out to paddle and/or fish on weekends...
DeLorme's Atlas is pretty good for denoting trails/logging-roads...

Caucomgomic L. - Allagash Lake area is nice. Hike into Allagash L. is nice...a good sized lake, with longstanding firetower.

Also to the East of Moosehead's NorthBay is Lobster Lake(Lobster Mtn) and BigSpencer Mtn(firetower).(w/Blood Pond(FF-Only)<shallow, spring-fed pond, ~1mi diam..just off SE side of mtn). Lobster Lake/Mtn = "Lobster/NE_Carry" Rd off the GoldenRd(runs E-W, north of the area).

SE of this area(East of Kokadjo<stop at W-end of 1st Roach Pond>)...can take you to Yoke Pond area...nice couple of smaller ponds, with a tiny, crystal clear Fox Pond in the middle of the woods along the Appalacian Trail...just a ~1mi hike from Yoke Pond camp. Think you can pitch a tent anywhere in there too.

$.01

In my experience, nearly all ponds in New England have a road of one sort or another going to them, usually maintained by locals. There are a few high-altitude ponds without roads (i.e., Speck) but they tend to be smaller and be more frog bogs than anything (i.e., 4th Ct. Lake).