Hidden gem's rewards: Rocky summit, spectacular views

By ANDREW RUSSELL

Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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Trail name: Borestone Mountain Nearest town: Monson Region: Katahdin/Moosehead Length: 2.8 miles Difficulty: Intermediate Elevation gain: 1,200 feet Other: Parking located near the trailhead. Directions: Take Routes 6/15 through Monson. At the outskirts of town turn right on the Elliotsville Road. The trailhead is located about 10 miles down, just above the railroad tracks. Maps: Get driving directions from MapQuest. View a topo map from Maptech MapServer.

It was here that my great-great grandfather, Harrison Davis, hunted and raised a family after serving as an infantryman in the Civil War; where his son, Harry Davis, collected and sold spruce gum; where my grandmother went from a turn-of-the-century cabin to Colby College; and where my mother, aunts and uncles spent their summers.

It is here that my family gathers every year to collect sap and boil maple syrup. Not for sale to the general public, but to give as gifts to family and friends.

So it is with a profound sense of reverence and respect for history that I use this column to talk about the first mountain I ever climbed, and one I still try to climb every year — Borestone Mountain.

Located about 10 miles southeast of Monson in Elliotsville Plantation (and just a few miles from my family's land), Borestone is a hidden gem rising from a mature northern hardwood forest. As far as peaks go, it's not that big — just under 2,000 feet — or particularly long, just a five-mile round-trip hike. This makes it the perfect family hike.

But Borestone's exposed rock summit — rare for this region — offers spectacular, 360-degree views of Maine's lakes, the Barren-Chairback range (part of the Appalachian Trail's 100-mile wilderness), and the hidden, old-money community on Lake Onawa, at the mountain's base.

The mountain was run as a fox farm in the early 1900s and was bequeathed to the National Audubon Society in 1958 by its owner, ornithologist Robert T. Moore. In the years since the sanctuary has grown to 1,639 acres.

Today, the mountain belongs to the Maine Audubon Society, which charges a nominal fee to climb. The trail to the summit is opened year-round, but the quaint visitor center, which contains environmental displays, doesn't open until next weekend, Memorial Day.

Compared with the volume of hikers in the White Mountains, Borestone practically doesn't even register. In the last eight years, says Joseph Spaulding, the mountain's caretaker, hiker traffic has risen from about 3,500 annually to 4,500. But that's hardly crowded. The reason, Spaulding says, is because the mountain isn't near a population center. Greenville is 25 miles away. It's a minimum hour's drive from Bangor or Augusta.

So what makes Borestone so special? Well, first it's the view and the fun hike that requires you to scramble over rocks to reach a White Mountains-style summit at relatively low elevation. From a naturalist's point of view, such as Spaulding's, it's the forest.

"Borestone's best features are its mature northern coniferous forest, which is surrounded by paper company land," Spaulding said. "As far as an area that's unique, it hasn't been cut since before the turn of the century, around 1890. So there's mature and old-growth forest there.

"The other feature of it is it's one of the few mountains around that's bald on top," Spaulding added. "Unfortunately, we can't see Mount Katahdin, but you can see Saddleback, Baker, Elephant, Rum Ridge and what's now called Big Moose and Little Moose mountains."

To get there, take Routes 6/15 through Monson. At the outskirts of town turn right on the Elliotsville Road. The trai lhead is located about 10 miles down, just above the railroad tracks. Park in the lot on the left; the trail is on the right.

The trail begins at about 800 feet and follows a dirt road. After about 1 1/3 miles, you'll reach the visitors center on the shore of Sunrise Pond (the third in a chain of ponds that includes Sunset and Midday ponds). From there the foot path climbs steeply for about a mile to Borestone's West Peak. A blazed trail continues 1/2-mile to the summit at East Peak.

For a small mountain, the climb is surprisingly steep and strenuous in places. My mother — who, like me, grew up climbing this mountain — has trouble with the heights. This year, the Maine Conservation Corps is building stone steps and water diversions, which might make the trail a little easier for folks like my mom. But it's still plenty of fun for us kids.

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.