[at-l] New blue-blazed trail

[ellen at clinic.net (Bob C.)]

NEWRY-- Maine's newest trail officially opened on June 7, Trails Day.

 The 17.1 mile loop leaves Route 26, a few miles south of Grafton Notch State
Park and intersects with the Appalachian Trail on the 3,812-foot summit of East
Baldpate Mountain.

Maine Conservation Commissioner Pat McGowan spoke and read a message from
Governor Baldacci before cutting the ribbon. Members of the Grafton Loop Trail
Coalition, hikers and friends applauded and then hiked to the summit of Puzzle
Mountain, an hitherto trailless mountain with spectacular views of the Mahoosuc
Range and the Western Maine mountains.

The new trail is mostly the work of
volunteers from the Maine Appalachian Trail Club with assistance from AMC trail
crews.

 Milt Wright, who oversees the maintenance of around 60 miles of the
Appalachian Trail in the region, said that at last count 102 MATC volunteers,
and numerous other groups worked to make the trail a reality. Among those
helping were Hurricane Island Outward Bound, Gould Academy, and volunteers from
AMC's Camp Dodge.

In addition the Maine Conservation Corps worked three summers
installing rock steps, waterbars and other trail hardening measures between the
summit of East Baldpate and the first peak of Puzzle Mountain. Last summer the
AMC professional trail crew put in seven weeks doing rock work on Puzzle
Mountain.

Milt had special words of praise for Paul Johnson, who preceded him as MATC
overseer of the 60-mile AT section. "One person more than any other has
spearheaded MATC's efforts to build this new trail," Milt declared. "Paul
Johnson deserves a huge amount of credit for the successful completion of the
Grafton Loop Trail on the east side of Route 26."

The trail eventually will be even longer. AMC is building a second
leg of the trail to run west from Route 26 and into the Mahoosuc Range, making
the total length 42 miles. That portion is scheduled to open in 2005. The new
trail realizes the vision of Bob Stewart, who owns land on Puzzle Mountain and
dreamed of a trail that would bypass the crowded Appalachian Trail, providing an
alternative route.

His idea first surfaced at the biennial meeting of the Appalachian Trail
Conference held at the Sunday River Ski area in 1997. (the 2003 conference will
be held in Waterville Valley, NH). The new loop is intended mostly for
backpacking, but the 3.2 mile walk to the first Puzzle Mountain summit makes for
a fairly strenuous day hike. The elevation gain is around 2,500 feet.

The route has five campsites: East Baldpate, Lane, Knoll, Town Corner, and
Stewart, each with raised earthen tent platforms and a water source. Privies
will be built this summer. The trail is all on private property and the owners
have asked that there be no open fires.

Those who want to explore the new trail
can find the trailhead by driving 4.7 miles up Route 26 towards Grafton Notch
State Park from the roads intersection with Route 2.  Turn left onto Eddy Road
and park in the field along Bear River. The trail head is 100 yards or so
further up Route 26.

Milt Wright, by the way, thru-hiked the AT a couple of years ago, and in
addition to being an MATC overseer of 60 miles of the trail, serves as secretary
of the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust, PO Box 325, Yarmouth, Maine 04096.

Note: This is excerpted from the Maine Chapter, AMC newsletter that I completed
a couple of minutes ago. A new record. It's finished almost 24 hours ahead of
press time.

Weary