Dan Hikes Borestone Mountain, Audubon Society Jewel near Monson, Maine

Dan Hikes Borestone Mountain, Audubon Society Jewel near Monson, Maine

Monson, Maine is one of the great Appalachian Trail towns.  With boarding houses such as Shaw’s and the Lakehouse, Monson is the final destination before northbound thru-hikers tackle the 100-mile Wilderness (a stretch of hiking with almost no services for 100 miles prior to getting to Mount Katahdin and the end of the AT).     

On the way to Monson, we see the first potato fields and people living a hardscrabble existence.  We pass Lews Guns in Corinna.  We are not in Kansas anymore.  Used auto parts stores seem to be the business of choice, catering to a world of snowmobilers, four wheelers, and beaten-down cars.   We stop at Aunt DD’s in Guilford for the pancakes (3 monster blueberry ones for $4.50 or the biscuits, gravy, and sausage for $4.95.)  You can have a real Maine breakfast side dish of baked beans if you like.  Baked beans at 8A!  It’s the kind of place where I love to over tip the waitress, who tells us her sixth grade class hiked Borestone Mountain, our hike of choice today.

After three hours of driving, my hiking buddy Paul and I take the Elliotsville Road to the right just north of Monson, traveling eight miles on a winding road through the Maine forest.  The trailhead has space for 8-10 cars; then we are placed in the very capable hands of the Audubon Society.  For this hike of two miles up and two miles down, the Maine Guidebook says it’s a three hour hike because the rise in elevation is 1900+ feet.  In the first mile we climb 1000 feet over a trail of roots and rocks.  It’s a serious climb and we appreciate any small level stretch.  The trail is incredibly well-marked with bright fluorescent green blazes (triangles).  There are stairways of stone placed by people akin to Italian stone masons.   They are exquisite.  We pass a Clivus Multrum (http://www.clivus.com/) biodegradable outhouse that uses no water or chemicals and composts the waste.  Nearby are bass wood leaves, nature’s toilet paper, which we don’t need.

Arriving at eleven acre Sunrise Pond (which is connected to Midday and Sunset Ponds), we rest at the dock near the Audubon Society Visitor Center, which displays indigenous animals and birds.  

After we pay $4 each (the honor system), we start the .7 mile trail to the West Peak of Borestone.  Heading right around the lake over puncheons (wood planks over boggy areas) to the far side of the lake, very quickly we climb steeply, though not daunting or overwhelming.  On occasion we grab onto rebars in the mountain, but it’s never perilous.   I’m still impressed those sixth graders made it.  We grab onto rocks to scale the mountain.  Once at the top we’ve done more climbing than hiking.  Dragonflies and turkey vultures that look like hawks greet us.  We have a full 360 degree view to Sebec Lake, Dover-Foxcroft, and Onawa Lake.

On the hike down I am reminded how hiking with another teaches me to slow down in a good way.  And how can you tell if someone is a friend.  They look out for you and what you want to do.   It’s about you and them.  We do have to crawl down parts of the mountain backwards.  We are not spring chickens.   Once back at the Visitor Center, rather than take the steep trail down, we take the gravel road suitable for vehicles down to the trailhead.  We still drop 1000 feet over 1.3 miles.  The entire leisurely three miles takes 3.5 hours. 

Once through with our hike, we park in Monson to feel the AT trail town experience.  We head to Shaw’s Boarding House which can handle up to 25 hikers.  Dawn, the friendly proprietor, welcomes us in and we learn the all-you-can-eat $8 breakfast is served at 7A.  She hopes will come for it the next time we visit.  The upstairs bunk room has seven twin beds while four to five other rooms have double beds, some with television.  Dawn says 99% of the hikers are wonderful and 1% just need to get back on their meds.

Borestone Mountain Trail – Challenging and oh so satisfying.  As always when hiking, know thyself, thy limits, and the conditions.  Be prepared.