West Peak, Bigelow Preserve, Stratton

By ANDREW RUSSELL

Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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Trail name: Bigelow Preserve, Fire Warden's Trail Nearest town: Stratton Region: Western Lakes and Mountains Length: 5 miles Difficulty: Advanced Elevation gain: 4,145-foot West Peak, 4,088-foot Avery Peak Other: These hikes can involve overnight stays at the tent sites at Avery Peak. There are several places to start a hike on the Bigelow range. The Fire Warden's Trail can be accessed from Stratton Brook Pond. Directions: From Carrabassett Valley, take Route 16/27 north towards Stratton. Look for the Appalachian Trail marker. Just past the AT crossing, there are two dirt roads on the right that lead to the Stratton Brook Pond access road. Drive about a mile in on the dirt road to the parking area at the trail head. Maps: Get driving directions from MapQuest. View a topo map from Maptech MapServer.

The Bigelow range runs west to east for about 12 miles, directly across from Sugarloaf Mountain ski area. With two peaks above 4,000 feet, it offers some of the finest alpine ridgeline hiking in New England, outside of the White Mountains and Mount Katahdin.

There are several options here for day trips or overnights. My wife, Carla, and I opted for an overnight, climbing the very steep 5-mile Fire Warden's Trail to a saddle between 4,145-foot West Peak and 4,088 Avery Peak. There, we camped at the Avery tent site and hunkered down during a hail storm.

The next day we backpacked west over West Peak and one of the Horns, at 3,805 feet, before descending to Horns Pond campsite, a popular stop for Appalachian Trail through-hikers. We then followed the AT back down to our car. Total hiking for day two was 8 miles.

This hike I intend to do again since most of the time we were on the Bigelows, we were shrouded in fog and rain. It wasn't until we dropped to the Horns Pond campsite that the clouds burned off and we got a view of the summits. Unfortunately, we were well on our way to the bottom of the mountain.

But, hey, that's what hiking's all about. Not every day is a beautiful view.

Andrew Russell is an editor for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. He can be reached at (207) 791-6380 or at: arussell@pressherald.com.