Kate and I bought hiking boots back in March, we spent a good penny on them to, and today was the perfect day to really test them out. Kate, Wesley, and I packed a nice picnic lunch and headed out towards Northern Franklin County.
Our first stop was an impromptu one Winterberry Farm in Belgrade. Located on Route 27 it is an organic farm that has been in operation for 21 years. We paid a nominal fee to tour the farm and Wesley loved it, his favorite part were the chickens and Eastern Mountain Quail. They also had horses, sheep, and cows, in fact it was sheep shearing day.
Our next stop was at the Cascade Stream Gorge trail in the Rangeley area. The short road to the trail head parking area is very steep, but Vanna made it up. There was only two other vehicles there. From what we read about the trail it was 1 mile loop, but we discovered that it is also part of the Fly Rod Crosby Trail and that it's marked, but not as clear as it could be. It says the loop is a mile and once we got home and I looked at the trail map online I can see it, but out there we couldn't.
Our hike ended up being over two miles, we loved it and Wesley was a real trooper! The trail varied from clear to rocky ledge, it was difficult at times but not dangerous at all. It was really a lot of fun and one we will do again.
The gorge was beautiful with several waterfalls of varying sizes. On the hike out we stopped and had a picnic lunch, the weather was gorgeous and there was nice breeze. The bugs were not an issue at all which is another plus.
We headed out towards Rangeley and stopped at a scenic overlook we had never seen before. The plan was to go to Quill Hill but it was not open for the season. A road we took we had a sign that said "This Road Property of the US Navy", which we found odd. Turns out it's the Navy's only cold weather Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) training school is located here in Maine, just outside Rangeley.
We went to the New Portland Wire bridge where Wesley got his feet, and more, wet in the Carrabassett River.
We headed home finishing the day with a 220 mile drive. Can't wait to continue going on these hiking adventures all summer.
Until Next Time!
