Hiking Cranberry Peak
On Monday, Jason and I hiked Cranberry Peak, part of the Bigelow Mountain Range near Stratton, Maine. We got a very late start, because Jason had a flat tire and spent three hours at WalMart trying to get it fixed. Ask him sometime for that tale of woe.Click here for my review of the Cranberry Peak hike posted at Amateur-Hikers.com
We decided to hike from the Stratton end of the trail, and come down the Appalachian Trail on the other side of the mountain. So we started by parking one vehicle on the Stratton Brook Road, which is about 2.7 miles past the Sugarloaf entrance on route 27. Just a word of warning, for anyone trying to do this hike, the Stratton Brook Road is not clearly marked. If you are coming up from the South you'll probably drive right by it. If you see the "Hobbs Road", you've gone too far; just turn around and watch for the sign.
Before we had even parked the first car, Jason had his first opportunity to snap a picture of some wildlife. The deer just stood there and posed while he got several good pics.
After we parked one car, we drove up to Stratton to park the other car. The information we had said to park down the road betweeen a restaurant and a lumber hard, but when we got there, there was a notice that the new parking area for hiking Cranberry was on Currie Road, which is just a little ways back on route 27.
It took us a little over 3 hours to hike up. There were only a few places on the way where you could see many views; most of the mountain trail is below the treeline. Here was one nice view of Flagstaff Lake:
At one point we were thinking "We must be almost there..." and then we came to an open space and saw the peak off in the distance...
But it wasn't as far away as it looked...from there it only took us fifteen minutes to get to the peak.
Here's Jason, looking off to the horizon for another mountain to climb...
And then there was me...
It was a clear day, and the views were wonderful. We could see Sugarloaf, the rest of the Bigelow range, Flagstaff Lake, and mountains all around. We killed about half an hour at the peak, eating lunch and just hanging out, then we started down the south trail.
On the south trail you go by the Cranberry Peak Pond, which is a quiet, peaceful little pond. However, do not plan on going swimming, or refilling your water; this pond has a rather nasty bacteria in it, so stay away from the water...just admire it from a distance!
Jason got some nice pictures of a chipmunk who was watching us as intently as we were watching him...
This was kind of fun; Jason and I walked by a boulder and thought "Wow, that thing is big!" So, Jason stood at the bottom, and I climbed up on top of it. Here's the picture Jason took, standing pretty much directly underneath me. Can you see me? My head is right at the center of the picture, inside the red circle.
And finally, when all was said and done, here's me, glad to get back to my car...
And then there's me being a little too glad to be back to my car...
Over all, it was a nice hike, and it took a total of about six and a half hours, including the time we spent at the peak. Be warned, though, that you never really get above the treeline, until you get to the very top, so for all the time you spend hiking, most of your views don't come until you reach the peak.
Click here for my review of the Cranberry Peak hike posted at Amateur-Hikers.com
Posted On Jun 22, 2005 at 6:45 PM
On Jun 22, 2005 Beth wrote: Wow I'm jealous just from looking at the pics!
Doug Replied: they say that you get better views from Avery Peak (a couple peaks over in the Bigelow Range) but I thought this was pretty good anyway.
On Jun 23, 2005 Doug wrote: Just a little bit of extra information about Giardia, the parasite that is found in the water at Cranberry Peak Pond. These quotes come from the CDC website:
Giardiasis (GEE-are-DYE-uh-sis) is a diarrheal illness caused by a one-celled, microscopic parasite, Giardia intestinalis (also known as Giardia lamblia). Once an animal or person has been infected with Giardia intestinalis, the parasite lives in the intestine and is passed in the stool. Because the parasite is protected by an outer shell, it can survive outside the body and in the environment for long periods of time.
Giardia infection can cause a variety of intestinal symptoms, which include
Diarrhea
Gas or flatulence
Greasy stools that tend to float
Stomach cramps
Upset stomach or nausea.
These symptoms may lead to weight loss and dehydration. Some people with giardiasis have no symptoms at all.
On Jun 23, 2005 Laura wrote: You're such a ham ;-) But those are awesome pics, especially the deer one! I'm really jealous now, since the only time I've encountered a deer with a camera in my hand, I saw nothing but the white flash of its tail and didn't even have time to react. But I imagine it all depends on where you hike - because in some places animals just get so used to people being there that they don't run away as quickly.
Doug Replied: when we hike Cranberry again in July we probably won't see ANY wildlife, because we'll have a group of teens making so much noise they'll scare everything--not just off Cranberry Peak, but off the entire Bigelow Range.
On Jun 23, 2005 Mr. T. wrote: ". . .because we'll have a group of teens making so much noise they'll scare everything--not just off Cranberry Peak, but off the entire Bigelow Range."
Not to mention scaring off the other hikers!
Doug Replied: well, when Jason and I hiked, we didn't see even ONE other hiker all day. Of course, it was on Monday, which is probably a bit different than it'll be on a Saturday.
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