In addition to capturing spur trails in the Rangeley-Stratton area, I need to resolve the conundrum that is the Fly Rod Crosby Trail. The Maine Mountain Guide (MMG) describes a 12.3 mile (underestimated) section between Saddleback and Reeds Mill Rd. It also mentions 19 miles of open trail (the strictest rules expect guidebook hikers to cover mentioned distances). The MMG excludes the Cascade Stream Gorge trailhead, featured on the map, and leaves out Reeds Loop.
Vagueness of the description aside, I have to decide how much of it to tackle and decide soon. It is a lower-elevation trail, so I would like to have it done by the end of April.
My gut instinct is blowing through it and hitting every blaze, including the Cascade Gorge and Phillips sections. The MMG description is sloppy, but I do not want to be. I hiked the section from Saddleback to Berrypickers in 2022. In the windiness of today, I decided to revisit the Rock Pond trail and explore its side trails.
Bareboots on the well-packed trail until south of Rock Pond, then snowshoes the rest of the day. Snowshoeing to the Overlook could be a fun casual Easter outing. I did leave some red herrings as I fumbled up the trail (only yellow blazes on the upper half, mapping app recommended for the lower half). Mission accomplished and heck of a view. I crossed one bridged and one unbridged stream, both tricky. I think water crossings could be the most challenging part of tackling it early in the season.
Yet I love adventuring in the 4 to 27 corridor. I never want to run out of new escapades in this corner of the state. The Fly Rod Crosby trail, rumored to be hard-to-follow in places, will be a chunk of the 2024 chapter.
Maine: The Way Life Turned Out 