Peekamoose Blue Hole: Paradise Lost?

I first heard Peekamoose Blue Hole was in trouble last year.  I’d recommended the spot to a buddy of mine, and upon his return he told me with a tragic tale.

Peekamoose swimming hole

Things were grim: hundreds of people with grills were playing loud music surrounded by broken glass and garbage. He told me there were so many cars parked along the road that it was difficult to drive past it.

Peekamoose Blue Hole, as I knew it, was not supposed to be that way. While it hasn’t exactly been a secret since the dawn of the internet age, it’s location, lack of services, and the 10-foot deep pool’s ice cold water temperature had always limited crowds.

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Weekend Getaway in the High Peaks

My wife, our pooch Crosby and I were in the great Adirondack North Country for a weekend. With lakes surrounded by mountains practically wherever you look, it was the perfect venue for a nice, relaxing weekend filled with some great hiking.

high-peaks-dog

We bagged Cascade and Porter on Saturday afternoon once the light mist subsided. The day turned out quite nice. The weather improved dramatically from the morning and while it stayed cool, the clouds broke and the views from the top were outstanding.

They say Cascade is the easiest of the 46ers. But it’s not an easy hike compared to most mountains I have hiked in the Catskills or the Greens. The terrain is more rugged, and at times, the trail is little more than a path of boulders through the forest.

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Saddleback Mountain Hike

Last month we visited beautiful Rangeley, Maine, home to Saddleback Mountain. The area is also known as the High Peaks region and has eight of Maine’s fourteen 4000-foot peaks. We rented a cabin at Hunters Cove on Rangeley Lake.

Saddleback-view

The Saddleback Mountain base lodge is eight miles from Rangeley’s main street and sits at 2400 feet. There are two ways up the mountain, 5.1 miles on the Appalachian Trail or two miles up the main face of the ski area.

We chose the ski trail. The hike starts at the beautiful base lodge and follows the green-rated Wheeler and the blue-rated Gray Ghost to the top of the Rangeley Double. We continued up the Tri Color to the top of the Kennebago Quad. There is a short, narrow trail to the summit from just above the quad.

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