Bigelow Range Loop Backpacking, Maine

In the late September, we went backpacking in Bigelow range in Maine. 

The previous backpacking on the labor day weekend was extremely hard (2.5 days with +/- 12,000 feet), so this time we decided to do an easy one. The distance was 12 miles, and the elevation change was only 3,500 feet. Another factor we chose this one in Maine was that the internet said that fall colors was happening in the region. 

Hiking in New England. One of  the most famous things in the area is fall colors. New England has clear four seasons. Then, there are many trees in the mountain. So, New England is the great place to see fall colors. 

This fall is my second autumn since I moved to Boston. With taking advantage that I can go hiking in New England every weekend, I plan to see fall colors from beginning to the end. This backpacking is the start of fall colors. 

Saturday early morning we headed for the trailhead of Bigelow. It was 4 hours from Boston. Maine is not very close to Boston, but I like Maine. Compared to New Hampshire where mountains with trees are dominant, Maine has more variety: mountains, meadows, lakes, coast line, peninsula on the Atlantic ocean. 

In fact, the hike started in the lake along the meadow, then went into the forest. 

Lake

Near the lake, there were several campsites. I am not sure these are called backpacking campsites or just campsites, because it was only 0.5 mile from the parking lot. It is free and fire rings were already there. A lot of logs are all over the place. That means an endless campfire can be had! My favorite thing during backpacking is fire in the mountains with logs by foraging (read: free).

Forest

After passing the lake, the trail went into the forest. The left picture is the first portion of forest. It's nice green. Humm? The internet fall color site said it is fall color peak in this area. OK. Green. Well, it is still nice to be in the pretty place. 

Then uphill started. Some portions were really steep. There were a lot of steps made by rocks. The hikers on downhill said to us, "This is the fun part." Me in mind, "On downhill."

After a while, we reached the junction. From the junction we hiked on Appalachian trail. We saw a couple of AT hikers hiking with sandals. After seeing more than 10 AT hikers wearing sandals, I am considering to try hiking with sandals. I am curious. 

Actually I got blisters during the trips in the Grand Teton. Because my feet's shapes are quite unique, it is difficult for me to find shoes that fit well. This problem leads to blisters. Maybe sandals prevent me from getting blisters. 

From West Peak

0.3 mile after joining AT, we saw a nice view, AND some fall colors. It is pretty.

There was a dog on the peak. He tried to catch a bee. The owner laughed and said, "Aw, stop catching a bee!" The dog still tried to catch it. He was adorable! 

After only a couple of miles, we reached our destination, a pond. The pond has no name. There are designated backpacker's campsite. It is interesting system. There are many flat dirt spots for tent campers. Probably I saw 12-15 sites. Then, there are 2 lean-to. For those who don't know lean-to, it is a flat space made by woods with roof. One side is completely open (no wall). If it rains, it is great to avoid getting wet, but with winds, you will get wet. The two lean-to are very large, probably 10 people can sleep in one lean-to. However, everyone was on the dirt site with their own tent, and nobody was in the lean-to. Surprisingly there was only 2 tent site open and others were all occupied. We arrived there around 5 p.m., not too late. It seems that people like to do relaxed backpacking there. We usually arrive at campsite after 6, so it was nice to have long chilling evening at the campsite even though fire was prohibited. 

There was a chatty AT hiker in the campground. She and her partner had been hiking AT for 6 months. She is from GA, and she said, "Hiking in New England is amazing, love it." It sounded like hiking in GA is not great. Also I wondered if she had ever hiked in the West. Mr.N told me that a lot of people on the East coast have never been to West. Whoa. I am sometimes surprised by the fact Americans don't travel much. I heard that many people don't have passports, and even don't go to other side of their own country. Although I know many people travel a lot here in the U.S., it seems people's activity patterns are really divided. 

Pretty red

Sunday was a short hike with only downhill. We saw more fall colors here and there. The left picture is some red leaves. It was nice with sun. 

I am looking forward to seeing upcoming fall colors in this season.