Young Members Backpack in Bigelow Preserve

By Steven Profaizer

It was warm and calm at the trailhead, but we knew our first taste of this winter’s winds lie ahead.

As my co-leader Denise Fredette and I reviewed our backpacking plan with the group, we made sure everyone had the gear they needed for a cold October night and a windy morning on top of Mount Bigelow.

We began the gradual ascent on the Fire Warden’s Trail from Stratton Brook. After two miles, we reached the junction with the Horns Pond Trail, which we took to begin our overnight loop. The trail steadily climbed, and the temperature steadily dropped. By the time we reached the junction with the Appalachian Trail, we’d ascended about 2,000 feet and were ready to put on additional layers.

It was only a short walk from there to the Horns Pond campsite where we planned to spend the night. We pitched our tents and then took a walk to admire the nearby pond and warm up. A few of us decided to climb up the very long half mile to South Peak where we enjoyed a brief, beautiful view before clouds rolled in.

As predicted, the wind arrived overnight, and it did not do so quietly. Fortunately, while it sounded like we were about to get blown off the mountain all night, our campsite was almost completely shielded from the wind. All tents – and campers – were still accounted for in the morning.

We hiked over South Peak and arrived at the treeline just short of West Peak about two miles later. There it was time to batten down the hatches and go see what all the noise was about. After layering up, we headed into the open and suddenly found it hard to walk in a straight line. The wind was blowing about 40 miles per hour, and we hurriedly zigzagged our way toward the summit, regrouping briefly to laugh and take photos in the shelter of some rocks.

We reached the other side of West Peak a few minutes later and headed back down into the trees toward the Avery Col campsite. It was almost time for lunch when we arrived, but we dropped our packs and made the short trip up to Avery Peak for our second 4,000-foot summit of the day. The wind had calmed significantly by the time we arrived, and we paused to enjoy the 360-degree view overlooking the Carrabassett Valley on one side and Flagstaff Lake on the other.

It was all downhill from there. Thankfully, some blessed volunteers had built a stone staircase on the upper part of the Fire Warden’s Trail. After a steep mile, we reached the end of the stairs, and the descent mellowed – making for a quick walk back passed the Horns Pond Trail junction to our cars.