Home States  Connecticut  Maine  Massachusetts  New Hampshire  New York  Rhode Island  Vermont  View All Lists  NE 4,000 Footers  NE 100 Highest  NH 4,000 Footers  NH 52 With A View  NH Belknap Range  NH Ossipee 10 Explanation of Ratings Links Ossipee Mountains Notice Search Trail Conditions Trip Log About	Sugarloaf Mountain, Spaulding Mountain Carrabassett Valley, ME, Mt. Abraham, ME Trailheads, measurements, times, distances, and maps are all approximate and relative to the hike(s) as shown below. Looking up the Lower Timberline Trail Route: Ski trails, herd path, (Sugarloaf Mountain), Sugarloaf Side Trail, Appalachian Trail, Spaulding Mountain Spur, (Spaulding Mountain), Spaulding Mountain Spur, Appalachian Trail, Sugarloaf Side Trail, ski trails With Sunday forecasted to be the colder of the two weekend days, we decided to plan Sugarloaf and Spaulding, due to the lesser exposure (as compared to Saddleback and the Horn). Overnight temperatures didn't dive quite as much as forecasted, resulting in a lower single digit start. Upon hopping onto the West Mountain lift line, we snowshoed up the side of the trail to the top of that peak, then continued past Bullwinkle's and zigzagged our way up to the top of Sugarloaf, where we initially had no views. The start of the Sugarloaf Side Trail was vague, to say the last, but memory allowed me to find it on our first attempt and soon we were back into the woods. The side trails and Appalachian Trail were both unbroken, with about a foot of powder covering up a frozen granular base. Overall, there was enough snow in the woods to put the trail blazes at knee level. From the summit area of Spaulding, we had decent, though flurry-obscured views of the Saddlebacks and Crockers, thanks to the snow base elevating us a bit over some nearby trees. Shortly into our return trip, an increase in winds and decrease in temperature became obvious. By the time we reached treeline on Sugarloaf again, the winds were starting to get bitter cold. With the summit still engulfed in snow clouds from snowmaking, we opted to skirt around it and get decent views just below it. The descent was rather cold and somewhat windy - Bullwinkle's Lodge ended up being a greatly appreciated stop. After grabbing a hot chocolate and warming up, we headed back into the elements and descended back to where we had parked. At this point, it was -1, not including the windchill, at this lower elevation. Hike Ratings Getting To Trailhead: Easy Destination: Sugarloaf Mountain Length: Moderate Steepness: Difficult Navigation: Moderate Views: Excellent Crowds: Heavy Destination: Spaulding Mountain Length: Difficult Steepness: Difficult Navigation: Difficult Views: Excellent Crowds: Minimal Hike Stats Date Hiked: Sunday, January 23, 2011 Hike Commenced: 8:15 AM Parking Elevation: 2,190' Destination: Sugarloaf Mountain Ascent Commenced: 8:21 AM Summit Reached: 9:41 AM Time Elapsed: 01:20 Trailhead Elevation: 2,180' Summit Elevation: 4,250' Vertical Gain: 2,080' Destination: Spaulding Mountain Ascent Commenced: 9:41 AM Summit Reached: 11:59 AM Time Elapsed: 02:18 Trailhead Elevation: 4,250' Summit Elevation: 4,010' Distance: 2.8 miles Vertical Gain: 825' Hike Ended: 3:15 PM Hike Time Elapsed: 07:00 Hike Vertical Gain: 3,930' Looking at Mt. Abraham and Spaulding Mountain from near the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain The Appalachian Trail between Sugarloaf and Spaulding Spaulding in the distance on the Appalachian Trail Looking at the Crockers from near the Spaulding Mountain summit Directions to trailhead: Take Route 16 North and East to Stratton. The Sugarloaf USA resort access will be on the right side of the road soon thereafter. A few minutes up this road, take a right onto the access road for the golf course. After driving under a chairlift, one can take a right, head downhill, and park at the bottom of the West Mountain chairlift in a parking lot adjacent to the golf course clubhouse. Back to Sugarloaf Mountain Profile Back to Spaulding Mountain Profile
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