Potholes attempt #2!!!
Start at the beginning: the BM on Cadillac summit. We checked on the station (MOUNT DESERT RESET), K 24, and RMs. All present and accounted for. We took the Cadillac South Ridge trail directly to the Featherbed, where we rested for a few minutes before hiking up a short slope toward the start of the Potholes Trail, using the coordinates we had recorded last time (2 years ago). We found it very easily and for the most part followed it easily, relying on the previous (many!) waypoints we had recorded as well as locating cairns by eye as we went along. In a few sections we found more direct routes than we had previously, so we tried to edit our waypoint as we went to make the tracklog represent a more direct path. In most cases any route is probably fine as long as you’re following the cairns and making your way through the small wooded sections on the vague paths that exist there. On one of these little “detours” we came across a large boulder somewhat by accident, that we assume to be the elusive Leopard that we had seen on the old maps. It’s covered with white and light gray lichens that have mostly grown together to form a patchwork of spots. We continued to retrace our steps all the way down the path, stopping here and there to view the potholes again (some still filled with water after last night’s storm) and once to watch a red squirrel (a normal red squirrel, not like the gray-squirrel-sized red squirrel we saw yesterday when hiking Great Head) nibble clean a pine branch, break off the cone and sneak away with his snack. We reached the Old Man and Woman and then found the steps (again through a more direct route than last time)—and now the real adventure began! It was time to put on our Indian tracker hats. Soon after the steps there was a tricky steep section full of large rocks and roots, but right afterward we picked up a trail that appeared easy to follow, guiding us along the way with more cairns. [Can insert waypoints here] This trail soon turned left, to the north (and this was the spot where we should have looked thoroughly for the three signs, but we didn’t quite realize it at the time). This was in fact the turn onto the Dorr Mtn South Ridge extension, although we weren’t yet sure of that. It wasn’t until we had gone a longer distance and I was able to see the distinct northward track on the GPS that we were sure we had found our second abandoned trail for today. This relatively level trail through mostly open woods was vague at times and pretty easy to follow other times. Cairns guided us much of the way, as did our pathfinding skills. There were periods of uncertainty followed by reassurance (a cairn) followed by more uncertainty, and then more reassurance. We were also reassured by the fact that our tracklog was tracing the general path of the map we had with us. Eventually, after traversing a swampy area where there were unexplainable faded red blazes on some of the trees and we found an old faded orange piece of flagging tape tied to a tree branch (and an odd pin with a metal cap on top that we still can’t identify). This was near the section where the map indicated “Tape blazes” so it’s possible that the orange tape we found may have been one of these. It was, however, the only blaze we found. It was around this time that Rich said “I hear water,” and we knew we were nearing Otter Creek. We lost the trail for a few moments at this point, found it again, followed it down to the creek and then we were stuck. A few false trails, or perhaps little trails formed by villagers from Otter Creek using the nearby swimming hole led us astray. We returned to our last-recorded waypoint and then spotted a faint trail that this time took us toward the small brook feeding into Otter Creek that’s mentioned in the Perrin book. At this point we were sure we were on the right track to complete the loop. Right near the confluence (such as it is in late summer), a series of boulders formed a shaky, but unmistakable bridge across Otter Creek. Even before crossing I could see a clear trail on the other side. And as soon as we completed the crossing, it was confirmed. We were on the home stretch, ready to follow the Dorr Mtn South Ridge extension straight up to its intersection with the Canon Brook Trail, at the junction with the current terminus of the Dorr Mtn South Ridge Trail. Met a British couple who had a map from an old (1998) Walk in the Park book and who seemed interested in at least the concept of finding abandoned trails. Next to come along was a family from Seattle, who were even more interested in the idea (at least the mom was) and to whom we gave a few trail recommendations. And finally, a young couple who were just about to take the Canon Brook Trail west (to the top of Cadillac) rather than east to where their car as parked. I’m glad they check with me, or they might have had a really nasty hike that they weren’t expecting.
And that nasty hike was ours to behold! Canon Brook is a truly beautiful trail, but its nearly vertical slabs were a bear after the way we wore ourselves out hiking and mapping the Potholes and extension trails.
we went to McKays and had spinach and artichoke dip, lamb burger with feta and olive tapenade, and mushroom sachetti pasta in cream sauce with peas and dried cherries. And plenty of beer after our hike along 2 abandoned trails! Everything was delicious but we were actually too tired to eat, which has never before happened to us in all of recorded m00se-history.