Friday, October 3, 2014

Boundary Peak & East Kennebago Maine NEHH Oct 3 2014








 
Oct 3 2014 Boundary Peak:

omelet, oatmeal, & coffee for breakfast .My wife sees these and wonders why I never make breakfast at home.
slept at the same rest area a few miles before the border on RT 27
rest area is along a stream, has tables, an outhouse, and some interesting pictures of early logging gangs
Turns out the way to the trail is through Gosford Park past mt Gosford trailhead and taking a right on this side road short rd
I parked in the wrong spot and thought the trail started here but it just goes to a deer blind.



I should have drove further up and parked in this area. A trail starts just to the left of the trailers but shortly joins an ATV trail to the right of the trailers.
ATV trail (steep) goes up to the Boundary Swath.
The ATV trail meets the Boundary swath Boundary peak is left(east) along the swath.
ATV tracks run along the swath, used by boundary patrol and hunters.

Boundary peak is up to the right. you have to go up several smaller peaks and cols before getting there.
Deer/moose blinds with salt licks and water troths on the Canada side of the swath.  I passed 3-4 of these all on the Canadian side.


This blind even had a method to collect rain water into the troth -how thoughtful
little huts for the hunters to keep warm and drink beer while waiting for a moose to come along. Not very sporting. Only time I ever hunted was in Vietnam and the hunted shot back.
US/CN marker
Geographic marker at Boundary Peak
My attempt at a timed self picture on the cairn on the US side of the Peak
you can see the 20-30ft swath cutting through the forest over hills like a inverted great wall of china
looking west toward VT and Canada
another border marker this one commemorates somesort of treaty


Bear Skat. I wasn't sure if it was until I googled it later. I've run across tons of moose skat but never bear. Funny thing I didn't recall seeing this on the way in, so at first I thought it may have been real fresh. Turns out though that I had just missed the turn back down the ATV trail and continued to far west along the swath.
 

Coming down the ATV trail almost a dozen ATVs loaded with hunters, guns, coolers of beer and food came bombing up the trail some hauling empty trailers to haul off their kills




When I got back to the opening with the trailers it was loaded with trucks and ATV trailers.
Back at my truck at 1130 An easy 3 hour hike.


when I drove past this area in the morning, a huge bull moose sundered across the road just fast enough so that I didn't have time to get a picture. He is probably dead by now. when I got back to the park  gatehouse I was informed my a irate park ranger that moose season had just started and that I did not belong in the park. Didn't I read the big signs that said that the trails and  park was closed to hikers during moose season.  Luckily I don't read French so when I got to the gatehouse at 7am with gate  open but no one round, I simply left a note with my information and said i'd pay any fee on the way out.


Viewing area along rt 27 for the Chain Of Ponds


Back at the rest area for a quick stop to the outhouse before heading to my next peak East Kennebago


 
 
 
 


 





Oct 3 2014 East Kennebago:

the road up to the start of the trail on E. Kennebago was the toughest one yet. near  the end there eere deep drainage ditches (usualy with logs in them for the ATVrs
For he worst ones i'd have to get out and make sure I was crossing at the best spot
End of the road. Low clearance vehicles without 4 wheel drive would probably have to park 1 mile back or so.
tr