Moxie Mountain 9/8/2026

Yesterday, we hiked one of the most unique mountains in the state, Moxie Mountain in Caratunk. I had previously hiked both trails up the mountain, but our goal yesterday was to connect the two trailheads to make a loop. The road in to the West Trailhead was in good shape, except for a bridge about 100 yards before the trailhead. Instead of taking the longer ATV trail which connects the two trailheads, we opted for a bushwhack route along the east side of Deer Bog which was about 2 miles shorter. The bushwhack was quite easy, except for the last 100 yards or so through thick brush to get to the logging road that we were aiming for.

A view of Deer Bog from our bushwhack

View of the South Cliffs from the logging road walk

After reaching the road, we followed it east along the base of the mountain. It was easy road walking, and there were some great views up towards the South Cliffs on the mountain. We reached the South Trailhead, and began ascending. The first part of the trail passes through a red pine plantation which had been recently harvested. The trail becomes quite steep and has some fun sections with optional scrambling. After a short detour on the viewpoint spur, we continued to the summit, where we saw the only other group of people that we ran into during the day.

Sampson at a viewpoint on the way up

Summit marker

We enjoyed the views near the summit for a bit, before returning to the junction with the trail from the west trailhead. We took this trail to the South Cliffs, where we had lunch and spent well over an hour relaxing. The views from the South Cliffs are spectacular, and the gravelly composition of the lunar-like surface is unlike anywhere else that I've seen in the state.

View from near the summit

Lunar-like landscape on the South Cliffs

After our break at the South Cliffs, we continued descending back to the West Trailhead. It was great to revisit Moxie Mountain, and it was great to be able to make a loop using both trails on the same hike!

View from the South Cliffs

On the South Cliffs

AllTrails Activity

Enchanted Caves 7/9/2026

Today, we set off to find one of the holy grails of Maine backwoods exploration! Located northwest of The Forks, Enchanted Cave is the longest limestone solution cave in Maine with 140 meters of explored passageways. Its location is purposely kept obscure to protect the fragile environment from over-visitation and vandalism.

Trail to the caves

Cave entrances

Inside a cave

Armed only with a few vague and conflicting sets of coordinates and descriptions, we set off on a long drive over some of the roughest roads I've ever been on. We had no idea what to expect, and, just when we thought we might have gone too far, we found a faint trail leading into the forest. After a short hike on this rough trail, we descended into a ravine and saw the first entrances to the caves!

Passageway with a low ceiling

Squeezing through a tight spot

A larger passageway

We spent the next few hours exploring the network of caves. There were three caves that we were able to go relatively deep into, one of which had multiple entrances that we could get into. The caves contained a wide variety of passageways, from tight squeezes and winding s-turns to large chambers that we could walk upright through. There were also underground streams in some of the caves, as well as stalactites and other calcium carbonate deposits. A variety of erosional features were also present, such as pillars, bridges, and rounded walls. 

One of the smaller entrances

Erosional features

More erosional features

We were all amazed by the experience, and I've never been anywhere else like it in Maine. Most caves in Maine are talus caves, and most of the limestone solution caves that do exist are very small. It was an adventure that we won't soon forget!

A bridge feature

Calcium deposits on the cave floor

Magic Falls Trail 7/5/2026

We spent the night of July 4th camped at MacDougall Pond Camp Sites in Caratunk. This first-come-first-served campground is rather basic, but it is affordable, the sites are large, and it has waterfronts on both MacDougall Pond and Wyman Lake. We got the last site available in the campground (Site 3), and spent the afternoon relaxing and swimming in MacDougall Pond.

Our campsite at MacDougall Pond Camp Sites

MacDougall Pond

Wyman Lake

On the morning of the 5th, we headed up to the Magic Falls Trail in Moxie Gore. This mostly easy trail runs from Take Out Road to the rapid called Magic Falls, which is one of the largest rapids on the Kennebec River. The unmarked and lightly used trail alternates between logged areas and more mature forests as it follows the rim of the Kennebec River Gorge upstream. At the rapids, the trail makes a steep descent into the gorge.

Magic Falls Trail

Magic Falls Trail

Magic Falls

We ended up timing our hike perfectly, and, when we arrived at the rapids, we watched numerous groups of rafters and kayakers run it. It was fun to watch, and we enjoyed the entertainment as we ate lunch beside the river. After lunch, we returned the way that we came along the trail. This trail definitely seems to get overlooked, and it is a nice hike with a unique destination!

Rafters running the rapid

Kayakers running the rapid

Rafters running the rapid

AllTrails Activity

Moxie Bald Mountain (2,629') & Moxie Bald North Peak (2,350'), Bald Mountain Twp. 10/5/2023

Moxie Bald's North Peak

 

Today I made my way up to the Moxie Pond area to return to Moxie Bald Mountain, this time starting at the Troutdale Road, instead of the AT Road. The bridge across Austin Stream on the Troutdale Road is still closed, and looks like it will be for some time, but the trailhead is easily approached from the south via the Stream Road from Moscow.

Signage at the trailhead

I chose to do this hike today because we haven't had much rain in a while, and the crossing of Baker Stream just after the trailhead is rather notorious for being a difficult one. It turned out this was a good choice, as the wide crossing of the stream was rock-hoppable without much issue today.

The crossing of Baker Stream

The first few miles on the AT were quite easy, and it wasn't too long before I reached the Bald Mountain Brook Lean-To.

Bald Mountain Brook Lean-To

 

 

A waterfall near the lean-to

After the lean-to, the trail crosses AT Road, and soon starts to climb steeper. I first visited the main summit, where the view south was blocked by a fog bank, but there were some views north and west.

The summit with footings from the former fire tower

View across the undercast to the west from the summit

I then continued on to my favorite part of the mountain, North Peak. The exposed alpine ridge and windswept summit are spectacular and rare for a mountain with this elevation.

The northern ridge of Moxie Bald

As expected, it was extremely windy on the ridge, but there were excellent views all around, including some undercast views to the south.

At North Peak

Looking back towards the main peak

The view west from North Peak

The view north from North Peak

After spending a while on North Peak, I descended via the AT and the Summit Bypass Trail.

Remains from the fire watchman's camp at the junction of the AT and the Summit Bypass Trail

Moxie Bald never fails to impress, and I only saw 2 other people during the entire 12+ mile hike.

Coburn Mountain, Upper Enchanted Township (3,720') 9/20/2023

The snowmobile trail up Coburn Mountain is included in the new edition of the Maine Mountain Guide, and I had not hiked that route up yet, so it gave me a good excuse to go back to Coburn. The road to the trailhead is in excellent condition, and I arrived around 8:45.

The trailhead

I had heard that a storm earlier in the year caused significant damage to the lower portion of the trail, so I was interested to see how bad it was. It turns out it was pretty bad! Water had carved a canyon up to 6 feet deep in the trail. 

 

An extremely eroded section of trail

This portion was somewhat tricky to navigate, due to the loose rocks and dirt, but luckily it didn't last for too long. 

 

The first radio repeater

Just past the first radio repeater, I turned right off of the snowmobile trail onto the footpath to the summit.

 

The start of the footpath to the summit

The footpath seems to have seen some significant maintenance since I was there last. It now follows a well cleared trail corridor and both end points on the snowmobile trail are clear and obvious. It is still just about as steep as a trail can possibly be without being a scramble, and it luckily hasn't seen much of any erosion. The steepness of the trail is impossible to capture in photos, but I've given my best attempt.

 

A steep section of the footpath

I took this picture looking across the hillside to try and give a sense of how steep the trail is

The summit was in a cloud when I reached it, and it unfortunately didn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. 

 

The summit observation tower

The summit area and second radio repeater from the tower

I spent a bit of time exploring around the summit, and walked a short distance down the old fire watchman's trail heading north of the summit.

 

This was the former fire tower which collapsed in an ice storm in 1938

Telephone cable and an insulator for the fire tower just north of the summit

Remains of the fire tower cab

On the descent, I followed the snowmobile trail.

 

The upper part of the snowmobile trail

The upper part wasn't bad, but the section below the switchback was very grassy and wet.

 

A very wet section of the snowmobile trail

I would definitely recommend avoiding the snowmobile trail in most circumstances and instead just doing an out and back on the footpath. After reaching the lower radio repeater again, I headed back to my car along the lower portion of the snowmobile trail/old road.

 

Heading down the last section of trail

On the drive out, I stopped briefly at Markham Pond, near the start of the Enchanted Mountain Road.

 

Markham Pond

Although I didn't get any of the outstanding views from the top today, it just gives me another reason to head back to Coburn again in the future!

 

 

 

Coburn Mountain - Maine By Foot