Grafton Loop Backpacking in Maine Day1, Day2 a.m

In the U.S. the first Monday of September is a holiday. It is Labor Day. That means there is a three-day weekend. 

We went hardcore backpacking in Maine: Grafton Loop. 2 and a half day. 2 nights/3 days, but the last day we finished before noon, so it was 2.5 days. 

How hard? 33.5 miles, 11,500 feet elevation gain and loss total. 54 km, +/- 3500 meters. Considering very rocky terrain here, +/-11,500 feet was A LOT. 

<Day1>

First climb is for Puzzle mountain. On the way we met two cute dogs on the trail. A black and a yellow labrador retrievers! The black one is younger and running back and forth. The yellow one is calm and just following the owner. The hiker said by pointing the black then yellow and said "Young one and old one. hahahaha" 

It is nice to see many hiking doggies on a trail in New England. All hiking dogs are happy and cute. 

On the way to Puzzle Mountains

On the way to the Puzzle mountain, there was a good view point (the left picture). The perfect weather on this day. Up high and shadow from clouds could be seen on the mountains. 

This Grafton loop is not popular at all, so it was very quiet. One exception was near here a female trail runner passed us. Running up and down on this tough trail! Very hardcore. 

After Puzzle mountain was about 2000 feet climb. From the top we started descending. Now 1600 feet elevation loss. Grrr. Sometimes I think, "Why going down? I just climbed so hard." After the descend, again 1200 feet climb to the Long mountain with no view. Here we saw a solo female backpacker going on opposite site. It was really rare to see backpackers here, which was nice. Then again 1200 feet elevation loss. Our first plan was stop here at Lane campsite, but we pushed ourselves to the next campsite. Here at Grafton Loop trail, there are some official established campsites. All of them are near the river (water source) with plenty of flat dirt space. Usually 3-4 parties can camp. Good thing is free. A little sad thing is fire is not permitted because most of the Grafton Loop trail is in the private land (some portion is in the state park). After 300 feet elevation gain, we decided to camp at East Baldpate campsite. It was nice to camp in the forest. The creek was nearby, so the sound of stream was relaxing.  In the forest, there was no wind. It was not cold or hot. It was rare for a person like me whose optimal temperature range is very narrow. 

Ten or twenty minutes after we arrived at the campsite, two male backpackers came and they camped at East Baldpate, too.   

<Day2>

Day2 started by climbing 1500 feet. On the way we saw many interesting kinds of mushrooms, which were clearly poisonous, and lichen on the ground.

 

This it the trail

There was nobody on the trail. The trail is not popular, and also because it was only 7:30 a.m. It is far from a trailhead with car access, so no dayhikers were there, and also it is probably too tough for normal hikers to come here. It was very quiet and peaceful. Nice...but trail was hard to walk smoothly. Not only rocky as typical in New England, but also there were many roots.

The left picture is an example. It is pretty to look at. It is nice to take pictures. However, I admit I am not a fan of walking on roots. Anyway, it is a good training for sure!

The top of the first climb was East Baldpate. On the top is the junction with Appalachian trail. From the top I could see mountains popped up from rolling clouds. It was something like islands on the sea of clouds. It also looked like waves of ocean. 

This view reminded me of the 4th grade summer. 

One of my 4th grade's summer homework was to write "sea of clouds", in Japanese "雲海" in calligraphy. At that time, I didn't know or had never seen sea of clouds, so I was bored to write it. In calligraphy, it is required to write at least 30 papers the same letter(s), and hand in the perfect one. I wrote and wrote and I didn't know what it was. After I saw these kinds of scenery, I know what it was. I wish I had know the meaning at 4th grade. 

To be continued...