Mt. Bigelow

What a fantastic hike! We planned (and trained) for this all year and it exceeded all expectations. Joining us on this hike were Kara and, of course, Clover (near foreground) and Jigsaw (Kara's lap) (two 8 pound Maltipoos), Larry and Cheryl with Juniper (a 10-yr-old Bichon Frisse - on right of photo) and of course our own Puga (16 pound mutt) and Cindy (19 pound Cairn Terrier) -- both too busy to be in photo.

Avery peak of Mt. Bigelow (in Maine) is officially 4088' but my GPS consistently put it at 4104'. The total length of our hike was 10.6 miles, which took us about 10h 30m (including about 75-90 minutes on the top of the mountain). The elevation gain was 2835'. At one point, the trail goes up very steeply indeed -- 995' in 0.72 miles -- but it was very well laid out with many easy rock steps in places. Nevertheless, it took a fair bit of puff to get up there!

The peak (one of two separate peaks at the top of Mt. Bigelow) was named after Myron Avery, a lawyer and advocate (and first completer) of the 2000-mile Appalachian Trail (since then it has been extended to 2175 miles). Appropriately, Mt. Bigelow is the first point on the AT whence hikers can (on a good day) clearly see their destination, Mt. Katahdin (a further 180 miles). Three "thru-hikers" came through while we ate our lunch: "Blackstone" from Northern VA, and two brothers from Florida. The former had started in April and was planning to finish in ten days time. We wish them well.

The weather (and visibility) were perfect. Mt. Katahdin was indeed visible (though a bit hazy) and the views of Flagstaff lake (the result of damming the Dead River -- see photo below) were spectacular. We never saw a black fly and only saw one or two mosquitoes when we were well down and almost back to the car. The temperature was around 43F when we set out and was probably in the high 60s or low 70s while on the summit. There was only a light breeze and the sun more than made up for any heat lost thereby.


While I'm on the subject, let me do what I can for the reputation of Benedict Arnold. Most school text books pretty much concentrate on the fact of his treason without giving much of the background, and indeed without honoring his earlier successes. One of the major actions he commanded was the (eastern) expeditionary force to capture Quebec in 1775. He led his small contingent of 1100 men up the Kennebec river, thence up the Dead river (passing at the foot of Mt. Bigelow, therefore) into Quebec. He reached Quebec before the western force arrived (using the supposedly easier route up Lake Champlain) and they joined forces. Despite their audaciousness and their excellent wilderness skills, their quest was ultimately unsuccessful. Major Bigelow was one of Arnold's four division commanders in this action and was the first known to ascend the mountain (for reconnaissance purposes).