YESC Maine Expedition 2013 - Day 4

Scholars will maintain that today, July 9th, 2013, was 100% Earth Service HARD Corps!

Day 4 of the 2013 Maine Expedition began with a wonderful morning bird walk. We ventured to a row of fields on Eagle Point Road and were treated to spectacular views of Bobolink and Savannah Sparrow.

The main objective of the day was to complete a hike known as "The Four Peaks," a 4.5 mile hike which offers breathtaking mountaintop views including a view from the second largest peak in the park, Sargent Mountain.

 Our ambitious route is outlined in red

The hike began around 10am, and as we ventured past the trail head, we were greeted to the sounds of Swainson's Thrush and Red-Breasted Nuthatch. After some great sightings, we encountered serious elevation change for a very long time. We stopped for frequent breaks as we climbed, but the trip up to our first stop, Bald Peak, proved to be a difficult one. As we ascended up the mountain, the low-hanging clouds quickly enveloped the mountain top. Although we were not treated to a spectacular view, we enjoyed the cooling sensation of the fast-moving clouds furiously blowing over the mountain top.

Austin with the disappearing Bald Peak

We paused atop Bald Peak for a considerable amount of time to rest up. Much of the group was very exhausted from the steep and treacherous trip up the mountain. While we were letting our legs rest, a pair of Common Ravens sounded off and flew past the group before disappearing into the cloudy abyss below.

Mountain top after mountain top proved to be even more grueling as we powered over rocks and fallen trees to each destination. Even though each mountain was higher than the next, there was still a considerable amount of descending that had to be done after each peak before the next. As Zach said, "These wouldn't be labeled as separate mountains if they just kept going up!"

We flew the YESC Flag on all four mountain peaks. Here, the flag is flown at Gilmore Peak at 1036 feet. Not pictured: The massive gorge behind the flag, unfortunately covered by clouds.

Our final stop was on Sargent Mountain at 1373 feet above sea level. This climb proved to be the most difficult as it was not only the steepest, but it came after three challenging climbs to the other peaks. The arrival was magnificent! The highest winds and heaviest cloud coverage made for a dramatic arrival.

The heavy cloud cover seriously reduced visibility at the Sargent Mountain summit. My camera had difficulty focusing on us! At least the flag is flying proudly in the background.

As we descended down the Maple Spring Trail, we all reminisced on how we strangely began to miss the uphill climb instead of the tedious downward scaling over rocks. The rest of our journey from Sargent Mountain's summit was downhill, but criss-crossing over streams and fallen trees was very difficult when going down. After an hour and a half of downhill movement, we finally arrived back at the van!

Well, four mountain tops over 4.5 miles with approximately 1,000 feet of elevation change? I'd say that is what Earth Service HARD Corps is all about! I think it's safe to say that this adventure is surpassed in difficulty only by the Pool of Jade hike on the 2004 and 2008 Colorado Expedition. Needless to say, today was an absolutely unforgettable day in YESC history.

Well, time for bed. We are waking up at 3:15am to watch the sunrise on Cadillac Mountain, the first sunrise in the United States.

More updates tomorrow!

- BQ