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Saturday 3 August 2024

Trails Hiked: Abol Pond, Kettle Pond, Abol Stream Trails

7 Miles

8:35am (9:00) - 12:30am

Partly Cloudy, Hot, Humid

     Our days fly by with an assortment of commitments filling our calendar from work to book events, but we are determined to get a hike in. So, we squeezed a morning hike in on another trail we were told was easy. And that it was.

     We shot out of bed early on Saturday, ate breakfast and packed a few small snacks. Even thought it was a relatively short hike, one of the great things about venturing off into the woods is to kick back, relax by a stream or view, and eat. With our yummies in our food bags, we threw our packs and poles in the truck and headed north.

     We do not live conveniently to any trail head in Maine, but many are only a two-hour drive or less. That may sound like a road trip to most, for us – it’s a walk in the park. The drive is broken into sections, making it seem not so long or boring. We head north on I-95 out of Lincoln, then get off the Medway exit. It is a straight stretch from Medway to Millinocket. Then just a handful more miles out of Millinocket will bring hikers to the southern entrance of Baxter State Park’s Togue Pond Gate House. The trails we chose for this day did not require us to enter the park by vehicle. A few miles before the entrance there is a dirt rough side road that cuts across to The Golden Road which is a major logging road. It would be from there we would start.

     Tucking our truck out of the way at the trail head parking we gathered our things, layered on the bug spray and followed the Appalachian Trail for about a tenth of a mile to the BSP boundary and sign-in kiosk. It was there we met Ranger Donald Duck. He was stationed under the kiosk’s awning and makeshift tarp to protect him from wind, sun, and rain. It was 8:30 when we left the vehicle, but by the time we were done chatting with this happy and inspiring ranger, we consumed 30 minutes of hiking time. Every second was worth the time conversing with Ranger Donald Duck. That’s another one of the great things about hiking, all the fantastic folks we meet with similar interests from all walks of life.

     Our last hike was the easiest 6 miles I had ever competed. Well, our seven-miler this time was the easiest 7 miles we have ever done. But like I said before, BSP never disappoints. The trail wove us through her beauty as we followed the A.T. a tiny bit longer before veering to the right following the Blueberry Ledges train briefly, then another right put us on Abol Pond Trail. That trail was 1.7 miles to Abol Beach, then a quick .3 miles on a soft pine-needle path with gentle knolls brought us to the park Tote Road. On the other side of the Tote Road was the west entrance for the Kettle Pond trail head.

     On our last hike we came to the junction of Kettle Pond but took the other trails mentioned in my last story. It would be there we would hike to, then retrace the 1.4 miles back to Abol Beach to return by way of Abol Stream. After our turnaround destination, we hiked another .4 miles to a stream crossing with a bridge. We saw this spot on the way out and claimed it as our snack and rest area. I couldn’t wait to get back.

     I was so hungry. I have been on a weight loss program for several weeks. I do eat more the days we I hike, but I don’t eat as much as I would like since I need to be in a calorie deficit to drop the unwanted pounds I carry. And it was hot out, so a rinse in the cool mountain waters was refreshing. On the bridge we undressed our feet to let them air and dry, ate from our food bag then laid back on the sun-warmed wooden deck for a quick snooze. Another benefit of hiking in the woods – being able to let nature seep into our souls.

     The hike back couldn’t have gotten any easier. We followed an old grassed-over road that had multi-purpose uses as hiking and ski trails and as a winter snowmobile access route for emergency and park personnel only. We ended with a clouded-over view of Katahdin right before exiting the trail near the park boundary we started at. Ranger Donald Duck was not there, but we signed out as several other hikers were signing in. We headed back out to our truck and there on the way in we met Donald. He was returning from his lunch break. We exchanged a few more stories and said good-bye to him one last time. He needed to do his Appalachian Trail duties and Bruce and I were ready to rinse off the bug spray with baby wipes, drink our end-of-hike Moxie, and ride in the AC for our journey home. I wonder what trail will be next. Stay tuned.

Happy Hiking,

Emily