Androscoggin River Paddling 9/9/2026

Today, we continued our exploration of the Androscoggin River Trail on the section of river in Jay between Riley Dam and Pine Island. We put-in our canoe at the Snoopy Site launch, so named after the Snoopy cartoon which used to be painted on a water tank at the launch. From the launch, we started by paddling downstream a short distance to Pine Island, before turning around and making our way upstream.

Snoopy Site Launch

On the river

We paddled upstream which wasn't difficult on this part of the river, due to the downstream dam. The current only became noticeable as we approached Riley Dam. We paddled to the south bank of the river next to the dam and then ferried across the river under the dam to the opposite bank. The strong currents coming off of the dam made this especially challenging and fun!

At Riley Dam

Riley Dam

As we made our way back downstream, we stopped at a small sandy island to eat lunch. We also paddled down narrower channels to river left of a couple of larger islands. This was a great section of river to paddle in both directions, and we only saw one other boat out on the river today.

This inscription was apparently made by workers as a joke about their boss when the dam's concrete was rehabilitated.

We ate lunch on this small sandy island.

Black Mountain 9/4/2026

Although I've hiked over Black Mountain multiple times on my way to Rumford Whitecap, today was the first time that I hiked Black Mountain by itself, and the first time I had been to its western (highest) peak. We started from the ski area parking lot, and the trail was in excellent condition as we ascended.

Heading up a ski slope on the lower part of the trail

The trail is well marked!

One of the viewpoints on the way up

Black Mountain may not have one large expansive viewpoint, but the numerous viewpoints looking in different directions spread out through the ascent make for a very interesting and enjoyable hike. My favorite two viewpoints are the one from a large rock down a short side trail, and the one from a small rock ledge, just after crossing the last ski trail of the ascent. The views today were excellent, and the fall colors are starting to show more and more! After reaching the spot where the trail crosses the cell tower access road, we turned right onto the road and descended into the col between the east and west peaks of the mountain. From the col, it was an easy climb up on another cell tower access road to the highest point on the mountain.

The viewpoint where we ate lunch

Wind farm construction on South Twin Mountain

Signage pointing back to the ski area base

At the summit, there is a very substantial cell tower, along with a large rock ledge offering somewhat restricted views to the north and west. The most interesting part of the view from the summit was a framed up-close view of the extensive open ledges on Rumford Whitecap. From the summit, we descended back to one of the lower viewpoints for lunch, and then headed back the way that we came to the ski area base. Black Mountain is a great, easily accessible hike, that seems to be underrated as a mountain worth climbing by itself.

Cell tower at the west peak

Sampson at the summit

View towards Rumford Whitecap and the other ski area in Maine on a peak called Black Mountain

AllTrails Activity

Mosher Hill Falls & Walrath Woods 8/12/2026

Our short outing today brought us to two pieces of land which were recently conserved by the High Peaks Alliance, Mosher Hill Falls in Farmington and Walrath Woods in Strong.

Mosher Hill Falls has long been a popular destination for Farmington locals with a small informal network of trails. Since their acquisition of the property, the High Peaks Alliance has formalized the trail network, creating a short blue-blazed lollipop loop around the falls and gorge. They have also constructed two sturdy aluminum bridges across the stream. Although there wasn't much water going over the waterfall today, it was still a nice little walk to check out the newly improved trails!

New signage at Mosher Hill Falls

One of the new bridges

In the gorge

Mosher Hill Falls

Located on Route 149 in Strong, Walrath Woods protects over a mile of the Sandy River's eastern bank, and it is now home to the only official non-motorized recreational trail in Strong. We started from the northern trailhead, and followed the trail south. It first passed through a red pine forest on an old woods road, before narrowing as it approached the riverbank. The southern half of the trail closely followed the river, below a steep slope. Just before its end at the southern trailhead, we took a small spur leading to a rock ledge beside the river. At just 0.8 mile long each way and with no steep slopes, a walk on this trail to the ledge is a great outing for hikers of any ability!

The northern trailhead at Walrath Woods

Passing through the red pine forest

Sandy River

Sandy River

Glass Face Mountain 8/2/2026

While the short trail up to the 1,337' Glassface Ledges from Rumford Center is a popular hike, far less people visit (or even know about) the main peaks of Glass Face Mountain to the northeast. The cluster of four small bumps that make up the main peaks of Glass Face range from 1,880 to 1,920 feet in elevation. At least one of the peaks used to have a communications tower on it. After doing some scouting of potential access route on the way back from other trips, today we headed to Rumford Center to attempt to make our way up to the top of Glass Face.

The start of Blackberry Lane

Hawk Lane near the top of the mountain

We parked near the start of Blackberry Lane on Andover Road. Blackberry Lane is one of the roads within the sprawling network of roads maintained by the Red Hill Road Association above Rumford. The road is gated and can only be driven by property owners. We started our hike up the road, eventually connecting to Bobcat Lane and Hawk Lane. Although not particularly interesting, the roads made for fast and easy hiking.

The old communications tower building

Summit viewpoint

Hawk Lane eventually narrowed and became a grassy two track road as it approached the top of the mountain. I was hoping to find a trail or way to bushwhack east off the top part of the road to the highest peak on the mountain, but the property in that direction was posted "no trespassing." The road gained the 1,882' peak where there are remains of the former communications tower. Most of the tower structure itself has been removed, but the adjacent buildings which housed the generator and equipment remain. I was surprised to find a cleared viewpoint northeast. There were pretty good views across Rumford and towards the Weld area, but they were unfortunately limited by the wildfire smoke today.

Bald Mountain and Saddleback Wind

View towards the Tumbledown-Jackson Range

AllTrails Activity

The Horn & Saddleback Junior 7/17/2026

Today's hike brought us up two of the most spectacular peaks in the state, The Horn and Saddleback Junior! After the drive in to one of the side roads off of Potato Hill Road, we started on our hike on an abandoned section of the Fly Rod Crosby Trail. Although there was lots of tall grass, this section of trail was pretty clear. We then followed the ATV trail to the start of the Berry Picker's Trail.

Start of the Berry Picker's Trail

View south from Berry Picker's Trail

View towards The Horn from the AT

Berry Picker's was in good shape, and we enjoyed the beautiful views from the ridgeline on this clear, windy, and somewhat chilly day up high. After reaching the Appalachian Trail, we ascended to The Horn, where we saw our first other hikers of the day. It was windy and a bit cold on the summit, so we didn't linger too long, but we did take a bit of time to take in the amazing 360 degree view.

Summit of The Horn

View north from The Horn

View west from The Horn

From the summit of The Horn, we descended to Redington Stream Campsite, where we had lunch. Backpackers should note that the water source at this camping area is almost completely dry right now. From the camping area, we started the steep and rough climb to Saddleback Junior. With its summit poking just above treeline and its location in the center of the High Peaks, the 360 view from Saddleback Junior is one of my favorites anywhere. The fact that very few day hikers visit it makes it even better! By then, it was a bit warmer, so we lingered a bit on the top.

The AT between The Horn & Saddleback Junior

Summit of Saddleback Junior

View southwest from Saddleback Junior towards Saddleback & The Horn

We then descended a short distance down the east side of Saddleback Junior, before turning onto the east side of the unofficial Saddleback Junior Loop. While descending the loop, we took a detour on the trail to Wildcat Ridge to get one more great view. We finished our hike by descending the ATV trail back to our vehicle.

Saddleback Junior from Wildcat Ridge

View northeast into the High Peaks from Wildcat Ridge

A small man-made pond near where we parked

AllTrails Activity

Lookout Rock 7/10/2026

Today's hike was a pretty straightforward one up to Lookout Rock in Township C. It had been a few years since I had hiked it, and the trail seems much the same, with the notable absence of the former trailhead sign (only the post remains). The trail itself is a moderately steep 0.6 mile long trail, marked with both blue blazes and flagging tape. It climbs to a ledge-top viewpoint on the side of an unnamed peak.

Start of the trail up to Lookout Rock

The lower part of the trail passes through hardwood forest.

The upper part of the trail is mostly in softwood forest

On our hike today, we found that the trail was pretty well maintained and easy to follow. We were treated to excellent views through Black Brook and Sawyer Notches, as well as of the South Arm of Lower Richardson Lake.

View towards Old Blue Mountain

View towards Black Brook & Sawyer Notches

View towards C Bluff Mountain and the South Arm of Lower Richardson Lake

After descending, we stopped by Silver Ripple Cascade for a swim. We had the cascade mostly to ourselves, and we also visited the adjacent Devil's Den.

Silver Ripple Cascade

Silver Ripple Cascade

Devil's Den

AllTrail Activity