Trek Across Lincolnville To The Sea: Part 1 of 3

I’m so blasted tired that it’s only 7:30 and I’m in my sleeping bag fighting the inevitable act of falling asleep. It’s all part of day one on this third annual “Trek Across Lincolnville To The Sea” hiking challenge.   I haven’t had as intense day of backpacking in the snow for at least 15 years!  Not only was the snow wicked deep, I also walked several additional miles in order to assist my hiking comrades.
Our first test was struggling with the depths of the actual snow. My brother Roy, Tenzing Clarkie, and I set off from my house across snowy fields to the snowmobile trail running part way down the abandoned end of the Proctor Road.

Clarkie and Roy set out

Without backpacks, we initially found firm footing on the snow-packed trail. Unfortunately, the trail veered off from our direction, and we were without snowshoes. After wallowing up to our crotches for a few hundred feet, trailblazer Clarkie swam, rolled and eventually even crawled his way through the ridiculously deep powder until we reached actual pavement.

Clarkie on Norton Pond

For the next mile we wound our way along a snowmobile trail through the woods, across Norton’s Pond, and up to Drake’s Corner Store, where we found an inspiring display if brown, yellow, red, and chocolate varieties of Whoopie Pies.

Roy headed to Drake's

They also have a killer $3.89 chicken salad submarine sandwich which I polished off at the picnic table and washed down with a cup of hot coffee.
Up the Thurlow Road we went. A short climb to Dave and Kristi’s house found us reunited with our backpacks and snowshoes. The real walking was about to begin. But first, grief strikes- in the form of a verbally distressed Roy, now doubled over and clutching his back. We had just walked up to start an untrammeled section of abandoned road and started strapping snowshoes and grunting up backpacks.  Despite our best efforts at medicating, resting, and relieving him of his backpack Roy was done for, or so it seemed. We called Dave up to request a personal ambulance transport. The hope was that resting up with Dave and Kristi for a couple of hours would fix Roy’s back.
Undaunted by the apparent physical risk of just putting on, and not even walking with, a backpack Tenzing Clarkie and I trudged due south heading straight into the welcoming arms of this winter’s  edition of Camden Hills State Park.
After another half-mile we had steadily ascended 350 vertical feet, reaching the other side of Cameron Mountain and the start of the unbroken one mile final uphill section of the Cameron Mountain Trail. Despite the sub freezing temperatures, we were overheating. It was tough walking even with snow shoes, as we were pitched to, fro, and partially backwards with each lumbering step.
A phone call from the top to Roy astounded us that he was back in the action, and that he, Dave,  and Kristi were about to depart the parking area at Steven’s Corner.  Dave had volunteered to add Roy’s pack to the gear that he was hauling in a large black plastic sled.
Encouraged by the impending rendezvous with our companions Tenzing and I plummeted down the half-mile steep Zeke’s Trail, eventually reaching the Ski Lodge Trail (SLT).  Tenzing, in true mountaineering spirit, dropped his backpack and headed north on the SLT. Mission: rescue and relieve. He instructed me to proceed a half-mile south and drop my pack at our destination at the Ski Lodge then come back and ferry his pack likewise.
And then head back out again, hiking over a mile, when I finally reached Tenzing and Roy, who were making steady progress. The unselfish Tenzing was now in full rope harness, pulling uphill a top-heavy and voluminous pallet of gear supporting three people.  I shared the tow rope with him, encouraged by the much improved and ambulatory version of what had appeared to be the wincing, immobile Roy.
Dave and Kristi were holding steady behind.
Eventually we all reached the Ski Shelter, which was still warm, thanks to someone who had earlier in the day kindled and stoked a fire in the massive airtight wood stove.  Continuing to set an example that would have impressed even Hillary, Tenzing slid and skidded his way down a dangerous slope to fetch water for the group.

Waterboy

The details on this relatively new shelter can be reviewed on my previous post.
Later Pat arrived to join us for the evening. He was instrumental in locating the barbecue grill which was indistinguishable below the sea of snow outside the door.  Pat is famous for all things coffee.
We needed that grill. Roy was packing steaks. Tezing was Sherpa for a half- dozen baked potatoes ( with all the fixings), me the appetizers and salad, and Dave the apple pie that he had made especially for this well- earned feast, which leads me to this horizontal position and soon asleep.

Roy's Steak Dinner

It’s 7:30 PM.

Bushcooker LT1: Long Term Use Report

In 2009, I received a product from Four Dog Stove to test. The reader is referred to my 2009 review of the Bushcooker LT1 . That review details factual data about stove weight, size, and performance details, which will not repeated here. I consider this report the second installment about the stove- how it actually worked out for me over an extended trip.

I used the stove exclusively on my 2010 2,656 mile five and a-half month thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. Here’s the complete setup I used to cook with:
From left to right: Snow Peak 700 titanium mug/cookpot with aftermarket lid I purchased from Jason Klas, who no longer sells the lids, but they can be obtained from Four Dog Stove. Next is the windscreen, then the LT1 itself, and an alcohol fuel cup. The lighter is there for size comparison. Everything you see nests into the pot, including a MSR coffee filter that I have not placed in the shot. Total weight for the kit is 7.2 ounces. I recommend that the kit be kept in a stuff sack.

This stove accommodates three fuel sources: wood, hexamine tablets, and alcohol. On a daily basis, I generally boiled 12 ounces for my morning cup of coffee, ate a cold lunch, and then boiled 16 ounces of water for my evening meal, and sometimes another 12 ounces for a hot drink.

What I didn’t expect was just how easy it was on this hike to find dry wood. Living in Maine, we deal with constant moisture when camping in the outdoors. In California, the PCT started with a 700 mile desert section. It never rained for the first two and a half months. Wood was everywhere, and it was bone dry, even when picking it up off the ground. Even in the desert, there were small bushes with dry branches littering the ground . So I started cooking with wood.  I was initially in no rush, and enjoyed making the small fires that kindled easily. However, there were sections of the PCT this year where there was no wood available, due to deep snow cover, it was illegal to use the scarce wood if it was available (High Sierra Nevada between 8,000-13,000 feet), or it was wet, really wet.

In areas where wood was no option I used hexamine or alcohol, either denatured, or a yellow container of gas-line antifreeze branded Heet.
I carried hexamine tablets for backup. I used Coghlan hexamine tablets. The other USA manufacturer is Esbit. Two Coghlans equal one Esbit. I was generally able to get 16 ounces of water to boil with two tablets, if it was not windy. Sometimes I was also just too tired to take the extra effort it requires to burn wood, and if I had enough tabs, I used them.
I used to use the top of a shoe polish container to burn alcohol under the stove but Four Dog supplied me with a metal cup. To switch to liquid mode, you fill the cup with alcohol, light it, than place the stove over the cup and place your pot on top.

With these three options, I was covered in any situation that came up. The Jetboil was a stove I saw a lot of on the PCT, but it requires a fuel canister that was very difficult (in a few places impossible) for hikers to source in parts of Oregon and Washington. With my three options, I never was without fuel.

The design of the Snow Peak mug allowed for another option: cooking on a camp fire.  I traveled with a group named MeGaTex, which was known for frequent evening camp fires, and several of us had pots that allowed us to cook directly in the fire pit and save any fuel that we were carrying.  Don Kivelus, owner of Four Dog, recommended that I have him attach a titanium wire bail to the pot, which made it easy for me to take a stick and move around or lift the pot in and out of a fire.

How did my cooking kit hold up ?

Nothing broke, which was a welcome relief, because just about every other piece of gear that I used wore out, or became damaged in some fashion.

Did my use of the kit change ?

Yes. The change I made was in how I used the LT1. The stove worked best not only with just wood, hexamine, or alcohol, but with combining the three fuels. For example, in Washington, it rained for five days in a row, so any wood was wet. I was running out of alcohol, but there was plenty of damp wood around. I discovered that I could find some relatively drier wood on the lower dead limbs on evergreen trees, or I could use my fixed blade Mora knife and split out some dry core wood. (These techniques can’t be explained here in brief form. For reference see Mors Kochanski’s “Bushcraft“, especially the chapter on Knifecraft). This wood was still too damp to kindle, but if I placed it in the LT1 and then dribbled alcohol over the top of the pile in the burn chamber, it would fire up. Once burning strong, even damp wood, added in small amounts, can burn.

Another unexpected application was to use the Bushcooker to start larger fires. In this situation, which came into play when we encountered wet wood, you take the LT1, put it in the fire ring, ignite a hexamine tablet inside the stove, and place the best kindling we could muster in there, which would eventually catch. Then I’d pile smaller sticks on top of the LT 1 and build up a large fire. The nature of titanium is that it has a higher melt temperature than steel, so there was no worry about the stove melting in the coals. When the fire died down a bit and was well established I’d fish the stove out, let it cool off and it was done. A caution is not to throw big logs on, or the stove might get damaged, or crushed.

Drawbacks:
-You might want to learn how to kindle small fires in different outdoor situations before you head out with this unit. If your fire building skills are good, you might find this stove just what you have been looking for. If you have never built fires before, I’d say the chances are strong that you will be frustrated, or will spend a LONG time getting water to boil. In the book The Talent Code: Unlocking the Secret of Skill in Sports, Art, Music, Math, and Just About Everything Else the author states that it takes 10,000 hours to master a complex skill. While I think it’s unnecessary to spend that much time to get good at fire building, it is a skill that requires lots of practice in varying outdoor conditions.
-Hexamine is not usually found in gear supply outlets. I had mine sent to me in 10 resupply boxes. If you are out for a shorter trip, it is not problem to obtain this fuel and keep a supply at home.
-You’d better like smoke. Some users are allergic, or even find it offensive.
-Alcohol is tricky to learn to use as a fuel. Great caution should be exercised, as it is almost impossible to see the flame in bright sunlight, which could result in getting burned. You also must allow the container to cool off when adding another charge of alcohol. If you don’t you could ignite the container as you are filling the burn chamber.
-Black bottom. Burning wood or hexamine results in soot buildup on the bottom and sides of the cook pot. While the black color might aid in heat transfer, it will rub off on clothing and gear. I always place the assembled kit in a black cordura stuff sack. Once in a while I scrape the crusted soot off, either with a sharp rock , or the steel part of a knife opposite the blade.

To wrap it up, I’m keeping this setup for future trips. I like the versatility of procuring and using three fuels, either alone or in combination. The 700 ml pot is just right for one person, and I actually savor the smell of wood smoke. The act of building a fire with my hands gives me great satisfaction, and the end result warms both my body and my soul.

Snow Walker’s Rendezvous – Day 2

Here’s the schedule for the whole weekend: Snow Walker’s.

After breakfast, there were three whole-group presentations.  I especially enjoyed Laura Beebe’s ” Stories, Songlines, & Ephemeral Mapping in Traditional Inuit Communities.  The ability of Native Americans to craft mental maps of their landscapes was astounding.  Laura showed us photographs what looked like sticks with carved bumps on them that turned out to be detailed sailing maps.  She also showed a photo of an amazingly detailed ” map” that had been made with pebbles and carved lumps of wood that had been placed  in a sand tray.  The placement and detail were as accurate as a modern satellite map.

In the afternoon, I attended Mark Kutolowski’s 1 hour- “Basics of Bush Knives” workshop.

Mark Kutolowski

Mark is a Vermont guide and traditional wilderness teacher.  He developed and  teaches  Physical Education  courses in Bushcraft, Survival, Foraging, and Natural History at Dartmouth College.  He also leads New Creation Wilderness Programs, a series of retreats focusing on the intersection between contemplative spirituality and wilderness living.

I was excited to take the course, as I was the proud owner of a new H. Roselli handmade-in-Finland bush knife that had been given to me by Don Kivelus, as a celebratory gift for my completing the Pacific Crest Trail.  Here’s a shot of the knife, which

features a beautiful dyed curly birch handle with a 3.75″ razor-sharp polished carbon steel blade. This knife also has a full-tang construction with a brass bolster. Mark’s workshop covered basic aspects of sharpening, as well as carving, including some moves from the wrist, elbow, and shoulder.  Then we went outside where he taught us how to use a baton to chop and split wood with the knife.

Baton/knife action

Later he demonstrated using just the knife to cut down saplings.

I bought a couple of things from some of the vendors as well.  One was a pair of angora rabbit wool socks. Here’s a photo of the package , with a cool image of the rabbits that supply angora wool.

Check the Rabbit !

I also bought two books:  the latest edition of Garret and Alexander Conover’s Snow Walker’s Companion and a new book entitled Wildbranch: An Anthology of Nature, Environmental, and Place-Based Writing .  I plan to review those two items in the coming weeks.

By the way, I’d strongly recommend that you ” readers” out there check out the Goodreads web site.  I have used it for a few years now and enjoy the ability to organize my reading, store books ” to read” as well as share my reactions and ideas about books automatically with my friends who are also using the web site. You are welcome to view my own Goodreads “shelves”which can be accessed on this page under the Blogroll section to the right of this column.

;  the dates for Snow Walker’s Rendezvous for next year-  November 11-13, 2011.  All at the Hulbert Outdoor center, Lake Morey, Fairlee, Vermont.  I’ll be there..

 

Pile ‘o Discount Flashlights

So, right after I reviewed the $110 Surefire Defender para military device, this full page ad from Ocean State Job Lot with dozens of deals shows up in the Bangor News-   “6 Pack of 9 LED Flashlights”  for $10- “Batteries Included”. You can see it below,  on the right side under the ” Halloween Glow Items”.

Ad in Bangor Daily News

I was headed up to Belfast anyways last night, and picked up a pack. Here they are:

They appear to have the same rubber end switch as the Surefire. The packaging material reads, ” 9 LED aluminum” ( yep, not plastic),  LED bulbs never need replacing last up to 100,000 hours ( verbatim) , and 18 AAA batteries included. Made in China”.

I tested a sample of batteries, and they all appeared fresh, reading 1.57 volts.  Loaded with 3 AAA’s, and with supplied lanyard attached, one flashlight weighs only 1.5 ounces.

So?  Does it even work?

I have no idea how many lumens the 9 LED units put out, but it sure ain’t 200!

When we blackened the house last night and I switched one on, ” That’s pretty bright!”  Auntie Mame exclaimed.

These things are definitely worth $1.66 each (complete with batteries).

Want one?  I’ve got a few extras.

Gear Review – Surefire E2D LED Defender

Weight: 5.6 oz.     Price  $110

The Surefire Defender was loaded to me by my friend Chris, who is usually right on with his gear recommendations.  I didn’t know why someone would pay over $100 for a palm sized flashlight, but was immediately intrigued by the brilliance of the beam, and questioned the function of the scalloped ends of the unit.

This is a full-on, aluminum anodized model that has no filament to burn out, throwing out a staggering 200 lumens from a single LED. I used the light in the woods, and was really impressed by the illumination, which clearly out distances any flashlight that I’ve ever used, and I have used some big boys.

The down side is that when initially turned on, the unit default to the high setting, but one more push of the rubber switch give the user a low (5 lumen) beam that was fine for most work outdoors. If the light were accidentally switched on while in a backpack, the heat generated on the high setting would melt plastic. Rotating the end cap disables the push switch, a habit that you’d be advised to develop when the light is transported in a suitcase or backpack.

The printed material about the flashlight notes that it is waterproof to a depth of 33 feet, however I didn’t test that capability.

The light uses two CR123 batteries, which sets you back about $10 if purchased in a two pack in a store.  These batteries are much cheaper when purchased in bulk from internet vendors.

Make no mistake about it, this unit is primarily targeted at military, law enforcement, and aviation personnel. Note that the “ Crenellated Strike Bezel® and scalloped tail cap provide enhanced self-defense capabilities”.  Translation:  You can hold this thing in your fist, flail away,  and gouge the flesh out of any bad guy that proceeds to violate to your personal safety zone.

I wouldn’t buy this light for my personal use, which generally favors a hands-free headlamp light that allows me to use my hands to bring in firewood, backpack at night, or read a book in my tent.

Alternatively, I’m headed up to Belfast tonight , where I‘m going to detour to Ocean State Job Lot where I can check out the “6 Pack of 9 LED Flashlights” that are currently on sale for $10- “Batteries Included”!  Maybe if I cluster those half dozen lights with duct tape and keep them out of water I can blaze the landscape with 200 lumens ? I’ll let you know !

Packing Triscuits

Two more days here.
I just completed 15 miles in Camden Hills State Park with a 40 pound pack. Went in at Lincolnville’s Stevens Corner parking lot, went 2.75 to Ski Shelter , then climbed up Slope trail to Megunticook Summit, then over to Ocean Lookout and then over to Tableland trail to the Mt. Battie Road. Went up to top of Battie, all the way back down to Park entrance. Back

View out to Penobscot Bay from over the Camden Hills

toward the car up Multiuse/Ski Lodge trail, but for extra mile took the side trip up to Bald Rock Mountain. Came down off the back side toward Frohock Mtn. and looped back to the car.  I  am pretty pleased my feet didn’t get a blister or ripped up.  I have reconditioned orthotics that I am  working in.
Have one more long hike to get in, today or tomorrow.  Supposed to get down to 32 degrees tonight.  Might be good conditions for an early morning hike tomorrow.
Things are complicated by new lightweight boots ( Bushmaster)  that my brother Roy sent me.  New Balance just acquired OTB, a small military shoe company from Vermont that supplies come of the special forces, including Navy Seals.  They are reported to be tested footwear in hot conditions, dumping copious moisture from the feet. They feel good, are light and I just may take them, but need to wear them on a long hike first. I am told that soldiers wear them in the 110 degree desert with 50 pound in their packs where the boots have held up for a year or so.
I’ve really made progress on whacking down the to-do list, including prepaying bills. I installed two new garage door openers and a outside motion detector unit on the shed. In the next day and a half some things will get done and many more won’t.  I am not excited yet.  It is very difficult for me to disengage from my life for 6 months.  I’ve been putting it off, but I have to clean out the outhouse at the camp.  A fact of life in the Maine woods.

Here’s a tip from the world of packing food for a hike.

Where did all the Triscuits go? In the box!

This is a photo of an actual full box of Triscuits that has been cut down to fit all the Triscuits, in stacked form, rather than loose in the box.  Saves space in shipping boxes.

French Toast and the Outhouse

` We made it through the frigid night by taking turns stoking the Tempwood wood stove when we each got up to pee.
I got up in the half-light at 6:30 AM and had the coffee percolator working it’s magic in no time. John had volunteered to make breakfast so it was egg and milk mix thawing time and before we knew it John had whipped up a masterful lumberjack-style breakfast of sausage, and french toast ( from cinnamon raisin bread), complete with Maine maple syrup and butter.

The Real Chef

John’s fine tuning of the crispy toast would not have been possible without Gary’s willingness to haul in his trusty Coleman camp stove year after year, and the duty that this appliance has served and the meals that it has fired are legendary in our memories.

Gary's Mighty Coleman

No summary of a Tanglewood weekend is complete without mention of the facility’s own elimination evacuation station, which itself was working overtime in response to the gustatory overload that we ours this February weekend. Some know it as an outhouse.
This simple camp life has drawn us here for a winter walking and sort-of-camping break from the grind for the past fifteen years. We skidded down the hill and hauled our gear out for the last time in 2010, ready for showers, and yet reluctant to part company but….. We vowed to do it again .
Don’t try and bother us on Feb 11-13, 2011. We’re on it!

Saturday Night at the Fireworks

I freakin’ froze on the top of Mt. Battie. We planned on the fireworks being launched at 6 pm from information I downloaded from the Camden website. It only took us 17 minutes to hike out from Dogtrot to the car and got to Camden early so we went to Village Variety for a hot drink where a sign said the fireworks were at 5:30 and one of the twins working there told us that is what the local papers had as well. At that point it was 4:52 PM so we shot back up North on Rt. 1 to the parking lot and walked really fast, making it to the top by 5:29 PM. The sunset was impressive.

Sunset from Mt. Battie

No one else up there. We eventually dialed 1-800-askCathy, the standard information center for all my friends in the Midcoast area, where Cathy herself told us her and Hank decided it was too cold and they were home, warm by the fire. Ms. Information Central verified that was 5:30.
It was 6 PM when they launched the show, so we had to endure another 1/2 hour of bitter cold wind and single digit temps.

John and Pat Livin' It Up

While we were waiting, my friend Eric, his daughter Kayla, and his wife and dog showed up. The fireworks looked tiny from up at 800 feet above the harbor. The show was extremely impressive. More drama ensued after Eric told us that a woman wearing a long down coat passed them near the top, said hello as she passed, and she never passed them going down as they reached the top and joined us. John had invited his wife Anne to join us, but we had to leave before our intended 5:15 departure from the lot to the top. John couldn’t roust Anne at home and didn’t have her cell number with him. John never saw the fireworks, because he left to look for her. After watching the fireworks, Eric shared a thermos of hot chocolate with us and Pat and I jogged down, me desperately trying to get warm. We found John at the bottom but no Anne. While we were driving back to walk into camp again Anne called John and said she was not able to easily find us and headed back down. The warm camp felt great and we almost ate all of the pot roast.
Sent from my iPod Touch

Snow Walkers’ Rendezvous, 2009 Part 1 of 3

Nov. 13-15  in Fairlee, Vermont on the grounds of the Hulbert Outdoor Center, a decades old historic camp on the shore of Lake Morey.  It sold out, as usual,  with 100 winter campers and a few snow walker wanna bees in attendance.
Last year at this time I made an entry about the Snow Walker’s Rendezvous,  where the big event was Alan Brown “torching some tents” , generating over a thousand of hits on my YouTube channel.  The Snow Walkers’ Rendezvous (SWR) is a November weekend focused on old-school human winter travel, be it assisted by snowshoes, cross country skis, dogsleds, or rubber boots.

We had a never ending ride over there from Lincolnville, ME taking a full 7 hours due to a wrong turn that put us in Portland, where we made the best of it by decimating the lunchtime Italian extravaganza at Ricetta’s which has a huge pizza/ salad/ smorgasboard of delights.

We got to Vermont in time to indulge in libations and snacks and then settled into supper and the evening program.

The folks who are regulars at this event continue to amaze me.  Marcia and I ate our dinners next to Joel and Bev Hollis from MA, a normal looking couple who have no problem taking off for a couple of months each summer and canoeing some arduous boreal rivers that have killed a number of lesser folk.

“Hey, Joel,  where did you go this summer, ”  I asked, not even considering the possibility that they do normal things, like remodel their kitchen?

“Northwest Territories,” he replied.

“And kayaked some river? ”

“Yep, the Yukon” , he replied.

“How much of it”,  I asked ?

“All of it.”  So that would be about 2,000 miles, which took them some 70 days.  Unsupported.  Yep. The Hollis’s are the real deal.

Then I turned to my friend Dick Hampton, and asked him what he was up to.  He talked about heading up to do a 35 mile loop off the St. John River this winter. We’ve done a couple of winter trips together, and when I asked him to give me a call if he wanted company,  he sheepishly replied, “Every once in a while I do crazy things, like walk over frozen rivers alone.  I am thinking I will do the trip solo.”

So a small sample of what this crowd is up to.

The program ran from 7:30- 9 PM.
The talks were started up by three readings from Willem Lange, who also opened up last year.  He even asked one of my friends what he had read last year, and then proceeded to read the same three stories.   Didn’t matter, I have one of his books, with those stories, and still enjoyed the surprise endings.
Next was Sayward Chartrand’s commuter assisted presentation about the past three years she had spent teaching in a tiny high school Kangiqsujuaq, Quebec.
Zabe McEachern wrapped up the evening with a photo presentation and stories of a recent winter skiing trip she made to Norway, with close commentary of the snowshoeing and skiing cultures.
The Saturday program looked to be one of the best I’ve experienced there. Insert a bunch of sleep relted-images here and then catch Saturday’s entry.

Walking Map 6 of the AT in Maine, Day 3/4

I hiked alone all day today, trudging 11 more miles North on the AT.
I thought I’d pick up Bear Bait on the way, as I was up and walking by 7:15 am, but when I passed the railbed campsite just above Oberton Stream, there was just one tent there, and I couldn’t find BB’s hammock, so I assumed he was up and out, and pressed on. I highly recommend that hikers check out this site as a campsite. It is one of the most beautiful places to camp up in Maine.
It is another day of uphills for sure.  The thirty two miles From Route 4 to Rt. 27 that include the three mountain ranges in this section are considered the toughest along the AT in Maine.  From Oberton Stream you grind out a 1700 foot vertical climb until you reach the summit of 3280 foot Lone Mountain. At times, it is really slow going, picking your way over streams, mini-cliff faces and ledges.   Slow and steady did it, along with the background  iPod tunes and judicious altimeter checks.
I eventually ate lunch at the Spaulding Mountain Lean-to, 8 miles from the Poplar Ridge Lean-to where I spent last night. From here, the Trail is a mini roller coaster, up and down on 500 foot lumps until you reach the Sugarloaf Mountain side trail, which happens to be the old AT.
At 4,237 feet, Sugarloaf is second in elevation to Mount Katahdin, Maine’s highest mountain. I decided I was going to stay on top, and believed that several of last night’s Simpsons gang would be up there already, after having passed me earlier in the day.  I had told them they should consider spending the night on top of Sugarloaf, inside the shelter of the Warming Hut, which until this year , had welcomed AT hikers.

Sugarloaf Warming Hut

The Maine ATC has been posting fliers saying this Warming Hut is now closed due to vandalism and the presence of toxic mold, but comments in shelter registers indicated that the mold thing might be a rumor that served the purpose of keeping hikers out of the building. I had to check it out.   So, I trudged off the AT, adding 600 feet in additional elevation, and in .5 miles had the Warming Hut in sight, after I had tanked up on a liter and a half of water from the boxed spring on the side of the trail.
One of the doors was open, but no one was inside the cavernous shell.  The place is still a dump, but a dry, sheltered dump, and and the chance to spend a night atop Maine’s second highest mountain sealed the deal for me.
There is now a newly built, insulated Ski Patrol room that they have sectioned off from the increasingly worn Warming Hut.  To me, that means it was used  last winter for the staff, and that would be good enough endorsement for me.
I felt like a bum  when I was pushing the dirt aside with a windshield scraper before I laid down my mat and sleeping bag.  I was just settling in for a nap when a voice called out of the wilderness. Soon, I was guiding Bear Bait into the building. I had passed him at Oberton campsite and he had slept until 11 AM.   I took him for a tour of the upper level.    The newly sectioned-off room had brand new doors that were not locked.

Safe and Warm On Top

We commandeered the insulated portion of the building, and then did what we had to in order stay comfortable, which was basically nothing.
We were essentially two exceedingly satisfied homeless guys fleshing out a couple dinners and some bed space.  Inside we found a mouse prevention hanger made of discarded soda bottle, tin can, string and a stick to hang out food bags on. The electricity was turned off and we didn’t want to risk detection by trying out the phone.   It was clear from a bit of wax on the floor that we were not the first to risk the wrath of toxic mold up here.  We definitely left the place in better shape than we found it.
The sunset was beyond spectacular.  Later, there I never saw so many stars on a night as when we ventured outside to take in the night world.  We each read for a bit by the glow of our headlamps.

Bear Bait in the Dark

In the end, our stay on top of the Sugarloaf was one of the top highlights of my Map 6 traverse.