BIGROCK Ski Area, Mars Hill #15

We drove up from Lee to Mars Hill stopping in Houlton for dinner at a Subway. I gave Bailey a walk in downtown Houlton, a clean, well organized town. People tend to take pride in their homes up in Houlton and in the County in general. Well-manicured lawns tell the story of people who care about their homes and their town.

BIGROCK is a big mountain smack dab in the middle of the International Appalachian Trail. On our way from the summit we met a 71-year-old former thru-hiker (NoBo 1997) and retired educator from Massachusetts along with this 13 and 15 year old grandsons.  We had a fun chat and Bailey enjoyed their company.

Wind mills near summit of BIGROCK

Mt Kahtadin, I think

Lodged

Parked in Houlton

Summit marker

Mt Jefferson ski area, Lee, Maine #14

On Tuesday, we loaded up The Rig and headed north toward a small-town ski area. Mt. Jefferson is in the Village of Lee not too far away from the town of Lincoln that's about 90+- minutes north of Bangor.    

Hiking Pleasant (a.k.a., Shawnee Peak #13)

View from the Summit of Pleasant Mountain
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Over the weekend one of my former athletes posted pictures on Facebook of his hike on Shawnee Peak, a southern-Maine ski area we'd raced at a lot over the years. On Sunday morning, I packed up The Rig and took off. After a squirrely ride on back roads––through Bethel, Stoneham, Lovell, North Lovell, Bridgton, Fryeburg––we pulled into the parking lot. The Fire Warden's Trail is a steady climb that took us 56 minutes of nonstop hiking––it reminds me of the Bald Mountain climb in the Rangeley area. Bailey hiked well and greeted people appropriately at the top and on the way down.

On the way back, we stopped at the famous Maine foreign countries' sign and traded pictures with a family. I also noticed the sign for Evergreen Valley, an abandoned ski area in Stoneham. I'm going back there to check out the old lodge. I remember racing at Evergreen Valley during my first year as a high school coach in 1979. I'm pretty sure we skied against Oxford Hills HS. I'm interested in returning because I saw a news clip of the abandoned ski area and a long-time friend says there's an access road to the mountaintop.  It's kind of eerie but kind of fun, too. I'm also interested in an abandoned ski area in Michigan called Sugar Loaf, a place I'd visited in 1978 at Christmas with a family from Indiana.

Hiking Puzzle

Rich and Bailey on the Puzzle My Ledges
Remember to click on photos to Enlarge

We'd planned to connect with my former student, Lindy Briggette, and her partner Mike as they completed a 35-mile loop in Grafton State Park. But,  I fell behind in work and met up with them as they finished. Nevertheless, Bailey and I trucked up Puzzle Mountain on a sweltering summer's day at 84 degrees.

Lindy's Mike captured several photos of Bailey and me heading up the trail at Puzzle. I'm so grateful to have these photographs.

Rich and Bailey at the trail head on Puzzle Mountain, July 29, 2019

AllTrails map of hike with statistics

In the shade sucking in water... 

Lindy and Mike after their Grafton Notch Loop of 38.6 miles!  

Old Speck from Puzzle Mountain

Wooded trail on Puzzle Mt. 

Lindy and Rich at Puzzle Trailhead

Lake Francis State Park (NH) & Climbing Lollapalooza on Sunday River (ski area #12)

We trekked far north in New Hampshire to Lake Francis State Park for an overnight at $25. Our first camp ground parking. From there, we headed to a water falls for an early-morning breakfast and then to Sunday River for a hike. We drove 200 miles on this trip.

Bailey on Lollapalooza 

Beaver Brook Falls (NH)

Lake Francis State Park

View from Lollapalooza 

Trail K that traverses Sunday River mountaintops

The Rig in the Mahoosucs

Trails.com of Sunday River's Lollapalooza 

Victoria & Josh

Josh Samuels surprised Victoria Kent on the shores of Lake Webb after 6 years together. 

Good work, Joshua! 

Burt's Point Proposal
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Forty in 60! Plus, Ski Area # 11

I should go to a special school to learn how to take selfies.
Remember: Click on photos to enlarge.  

With today’s hike of Saddleback Mountain, Bailey and I broke our hiking record: 40 mountains in 60 days across 3 states. Now, before any of you start sending us flowers, gift cards (ha), or wine (oh, wait...) some of those mountains were wicked small. Nevertheless, we got out there!

Also with today's hike I'm celebrating Katherine Lawler's 98th birthday! A long-time hiker with her kids... Kay, a dedicated Facebook friend, always comments on my hikes and is a role model here in the River Valley for living an involved life. Here's to one of the most savvy nonagenarians I know!