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Sunday, August 31, 2003
Maine's Grand Canyon
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||||||||||||||
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BOWDOIN COLLEGE GRANT EAST — Just as the name of this unorganized township is long and drawn out, so too is the hidden hike into this famous North Maine Woods destination. Whether you are talking about the trip to get to Gulf Hagas or its remarkable natural sites - its pleasing pools, exotic natural showers or cliff-hanging views - experiencing this unusual canyon is a day's work. Since Gulf Hagas became a well-known destination, it has become like Mount Katahdin, a popular hiking destination wardens need to watch, said Roger Merchant with the Maine Appalachian Trail Club. The Gulf Hagas loop trail that is a side trail of the Appalachian Trail is truly unique in Maine. But its remote 30-foot-high waterfalls, jigsaw-puzzle rockface, and 400-foot-high cliffs that flank a narrow canyon created by the Pleasant River are also a caution. The 400-foot gorge cut between sharp rock and overhanging, moss-covered cliffs and trees is threatening to any hiker who would lose their footing and slip. The tempting pools around the many falls have claimed swimmers, particularly when the spring runoff creates wild, thundering, rushing water through the canyon. In June two brothers drowned after becoming trapped in treacherous currents at Billings Falls, according to the Maine Warden Service. After Kevin Russell of Waco, Texas, jumped from a 15-foot ledge into the water, he became trapped in a circular current. When his brother Kenneth Russell of Melrose Park, Pa., jumped in to help, he also became trapped in the current, according to the service. Both men were lost in the river. The rugged, mountainous woodland gulf is famous among avid hikers, not because of the danger there, but because of the panoramic views of the long, narrow canyon that transports you to a more mountainous region. From a safe distance, the chasm created by the winding, wild Pleasant River will swallow up your imagination. There's a feeling in Gulf Hagas of West Virginia, northern Pennsylvania, in some minds even northern Arizona. "They said this was the Grand Canyon of Maine," said Deanna Reczek of Pennsylvania, who hiked Gulf Hagas with her family for the first time in August. It might as well be in another state. Gulf Hagas is not easy to get to. The only reason you would drive more than two hours from either Bangor or Greenville to the township where it's located would be to hike this loop trail in the North Maine Woods. Once there, it takes as much as six to eight hours to hike around the Gulf Hagas loop. There are wooden signs at every turn, even a metal tablet stating that Gulf Hagas is a registered national landmark. But, like much of the North Maine Woods, in Gulf Hagas there is the feeling of being hundreds of miles from any major road. Many out-of-state day hikers find it's worth it. They crowd the Appalachian Trail parking lot near Gulf Hagas with their vehicles from Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Vermont and New York. Merchant, overseer of trail maintenance on the Appalachian Trail in the area, said Gulf Hagas became more popular in recent years after it was featured in a number of national hiking magazines. Merchant oversees a trail crew of about 30 volunteers in a district that cuts across Gulf Hagas and the Katahdin Iron Works Township. In recent years, he said, the Appalachian Trail Conference and the Maine Appalachian Trail Club hired ridge runners to meet hikers and provide information on safety at the most dangerous areas along the Appalachian Trail in Maine, such as the Bigelow Range Mountain area. Recently, Merchant said, Gulf Hagas was added to the list of high-risk areas to be patrolled by ridge runners because of the high volume of traffic there. The Gulf Hagas loop takes you along a rim trail. Or, you can take a trail that cuts through the woods, making for a shorter and safer trip to the last of these falls. The Pleasant River Tote Road is an easy, well-cushioned walk through the woods. The rim trail, however, offers a rocky ledge path that is slow going. The trail sneaks through boulders and up wooden paths and eventually leads you to plateaus overlooking various parts of a four-mile-long slate canyon filled with five major waterfalls. On a hot August day, the element of danger here was evident to one Pennsylvania family. The two young Reczek sisters enjoyed the woods paths and gushed about the falls. But safety was foremost on their parents' minds. "We were going to head back to swim in Screw Auger Falls. But we ran out of water," Deanna Reczek said five hours after the group started their hike. Reczek said they learned of Gulf Hagas from a Kentucky couple at Moosehead Lake. Two Massachusetts couples were visiting the Moosehead Lake region at the same time when they were told to hike Gulf Hagas. Kahlan Dessert of Massachusetts said she and her brother and two friends had visited the Greenville area for six years before considering the hike through the gulf. In the end, the group spent most of their time frolicking in Screw Auger Falls, the first stop on the Gulf Hagas loop trail. Tibor Vanko of Hungary was in the United States for two months visiting major cities such as Boston, Providence, R.I., and New York. He also worked Gulf Hagas and Baxter State Park into his schedule. Vanko came to Gulf Hagas after climbing Katahdin, more than two hours away. The mountain distinguished itself by its height. Vanko said the Gulf Hagas waterfalls were just as impressive. "We climbed the highest point in Maine, what is it called? Kat-HA-din," Vanko said. "And now we are here. This is a good place. The hiking is good. We're moving fast. We want to make it around in two and a half hours." Wearing a pair of Nike running shoes, Vanko looked like a racewalker more than a hiker. But covering the roughly eight-mile loop in less than three hours would be tough. Merchant said because of the time needed to traverse the gulf trail, most of the Appalachian Trail thru-hikers do not even explore this side trail, not with Katahdin calling. "Time is always ticking for those types of minds on the trail. One day or a half-day loop up through Gulf Hagas, they wouldn't do," Merchant said. So it is mostly adventurous day-trippers who come to investigate the storied waterfalls at Gulf Hagas. And most of them leave with stories. "Interesting, swimmers," Vanko of Hungary called as he skipped down a series of natural rock steps. "Very nice."
Staff Writer Deirdre Fleming can be contacted at 791-6452 or at:
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