About Northeast Hikes
“So, what are you going to hike next?”
At the time it seemed a funny question. We were basking in the morning sun atop Katahdin, my brother Brad and I having just completed a three-week section hike of the Maine Appalachian Trail. We’d persevered throughout Maine’s notoriously rugged terrain, kept our wits (barely) during a severe thunderstorm on Saddleback Mountain, and somehow managed to decline the romantic advances of a particularly randy moose, to accomplish what to us was the hike of a lifetime.
Even so, we were acutely aware that our hike paled in comparison to that of the AT thru hikers with whom we were sharing their celebratory champagne. Which is why I was a little taken aback when Floweasy, the mild-mannered leader of the pack who’d just completed the Appalachian Trail for a second time, also had the Pacific Crest Trail under his belt, and, quite frankly, was nothing short of a trail ninja in our eyes, asked what was next.
Not that the question should have been such a surprise. A week prior an AT section hiker named Philly Mike had asked if we planned on completing the entire trail. As a Maine native that grew up on a healthy diet of hiking, hunting and fishing, I’d long dreamed of completing the state’s section of the AT. After two years of planning, and three weeks on the trail, Maine was it. Mike smiled at my tunnel vision. “You’ll get the bug,” he said, “and you won’t be able to stop. Just wait and see.”
Prior to embarking on our Maine trek I’d begun blogging. As a Web development professional, it was something I’d started to keep up with best practices so as to better educate my customers. The initial post topics were a mishmash of whatever caught my fancy, from Web communication tips to a day-by-day account of our Maine section hike. The copywriter in me, however, wanted to be more focused, and for the site to be of interest to people other than those I call ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad.’
Long story short: Philly Mike was right. I’d caught the hiking bug and Northeast Hikes has been along for the ride ever since. These days I always have the next hike in mind, along with the one after that. I don’t proclaim to know everything there is to know about New England hiking, nor can I pretend to be a badass ultra-lighter. On the contrary, I trust you’ll find the posts on this site are written with wide-eyed enthusiasm.
The ongoing goal of Northeast Hikes is to play a role in the greater hiking community, to provide information and encouragement to help you plan your next northeast adventure, and above all else, to have fun doing it. I hope you enjoy the site, and I encourage you to contribute by adding comments on posts, or to share your photos and experiences—known as trail dirt here—on Facebook, Twitter or Google. Let’s build this site together.
Thanks for visiting.
Happy trails,
Daren
Re: Hike Bigelow Via the Fire Warden’s Trail
Great article and pictures!
After camping at Avery Peak, did you and your son take the Fire Wardens Trail back down from Bigelow Col, or did you take the AT Horns Pond Trail Loup down?
Did you come down the same way you went up?
I was wondering, if you did in fact descend directly down from Bigelow Col on Fire Warden’s Trail, was the 0.7 mile steep rock staircase hard to descend?
My question is: Is it possible to just go straight up Fire Wardens Trail to Avery Peak, and then at Bigelow Col, return straight down Fire Warden’s trail?
Do day hikers do that? Is the trail marked clearly for the trip down that way?
I’d like to just go up and down the Fire Warden’s Trail, and not take the Loup, but was concerned about going back down the 0.7 mile of steep spiral rock staircase.
Is that what you and your son did?
Thanks for your help!
Hi Laura,
Yes, you can go up and down on the Firewarden’s Trail. It’s steep on the upper part, but mostly all rock steps and no ledges or anything like that. No worse than any of the other descents.
Good luck,
Daren
Thank you so much Daren!
Hi Daren,
Awesome website with very detailed reviews of hikes and camping experiences. I am just starting out at the tender age of 54. I have done some hiking with my son’s Boy Scout troop but nothing compared to the Pemi loop which is the article on Reddit that brought me here.
I am trying to get my wife to join me in this activity as one child is college bound and the other is soon behind. I was particulary interested in the hikes flagged as family hikes as I think they would be a good starting point and not get ourselves overwhelmed with the physical aspects of hiking which I think would take away from the wonders of being outdoors and enjoying the spectacular views.
Do you have any recommendations for some newbies in terms of resources? I have of course already liked Northeast Hikes on Facebook.
Regards,
Brian
Hi Daren,
I was looking for some information to create an infographic on Hiking with dogs and came across your site.
Very informative and thanks for taking the effort. After completing the infographics., I would like to share it.