There are several short hikes around Greenville, so Friday we decided to go into "town" and pick up Joel's mail and check out several of the hikes . Going into town is a major ordeal as it is 9 miles of dirt road, dodging logging trucks and pot holes, so you don't go into Greenville for just a quart of milk. However, before going into Greenville, we took a little side trip to check out one of the roads that provides a more direct route over to Baxter State Park, which may be our next destination. On the way, we found:
Then we saw this heron. I'm not sure if he was staring down the piece of wood or us, but he stood still for a very long time. You may be wondering about the Moose. Apparently, August is the worst month for moose sightings, unless you want to hire a guide and go on a "moose safari".
Greenville has a nice public launch with some nice tables and views so we enjoyed our picnic lunch watching the kayaks and boats in the little cove there, trying to decide which little hike to do.
We had read about the B-52 hike being a short hike and great for small children with no elevation gain to speak of...err walk. So, we found the turn off and explored the area. In January of 1963 a B-52 on training maneuvers crashed on Elephant Mountain killing 6 of the 8 crew members. The site has been established as a memorial and the Scott Paper Company which owns the land has set aside the crash site as a "non-harvest and non salvage area. It's pretty sobering to see all of the debris strewn around from the plane.
At there trail head there is a marker and this plaque.
Some of the debris is still stuck in trees. It's hard to believe this piece has been the tree for over 40 years.
On Saturday the lake was socked in with fog, but that didn't detour us from returning to Mt. Kineo to hike to the top. By the time we arrived at the end of the road the fog had burned off. There are several trails up and over the mountain but Nancy and I took the Indian Trail up. It was pretty steep, rocky, and full of roots...and a little wet which didn't help matters. The guys didn't come with us, which was probably a good thing.
Our hike took us to the top of the granite cliffs about 700 feet above the lake.
Below you can see part of the trail that goes almost all the way around.
There is a fire tower on top which we climbed (not for those afraid of heights) and the views were spectacular.
Moosehead Lake goes on forever. It is 40 miles long with many bays and coves. It would be a great place to explore with a motor boat and do some boat or kayak camping.
Looking towards Rockwood, on the west side. A ferry shuttles across every hour on the hour during the summer for a small fee of $10.00.
We took the Hardscrabble trail down the mountain (does the name tell you anything?) which was steep, full of rocks and roots, and slippery. The trail ends up at Hardscrabble Point where there is a lovely picnic site...great for kayakers paddling from Rockwood.
We took the Carriage Trail back which follows the shore in the trees. It's called a carriage trail but I'm not sure how a carriage could have traveled over the narrow path. We had made a big loop and our mileage totaled almost 8.5. So much for a short day.
We've enjoyed our time at Moosehead lake but it's time to move on down the road, so stay tuned.
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