Bigelow Range Traverse (ME)

[mking]

Hijacking mking's initial post to add some general info and to list the FKT...

Tony Dalisio has the FKT at 4h9m58s, July 19, 2016.
Adam Wilcox had the previous FKT at 4h34m11s, September 27, 2014.
Colin Gulley did the Traverse in 4h44m14s on September 15, 2014.

Backpacker Magazine called Maine's Bigelow Traverse one of "America's Hardest Dayhikes", saying "You’ll be tempted to run this northbound traverse of the AT from ME 27/16-not because you’re feeling jaunty, but to escape the Maine woods’ infamous black flies. But the relentlessly steep and rocky trail along long, forested ridges discourages any such fantasies. The trail gets ruthless on the fierce half-mile climb to 3,331-foot South Horn, the ridges are waterless, and the summits windy and exposed. But the wild-north panoramas stretch all the way to Mt. Washington." The traverse is nominally 17 miles, with about 10,000' of elevation gain, and summits two peaks over 4000' (West Bigelow and Avery) and some shorter peaks as well.

Here's mking's original post:
"Yesterday I took a crack at the Bigelow range across from Sugarloaf. I started at the trailhead off of East Flagstaff Rd and followed the AT across all of the major peaks until I got to the junction to go over Cranberry Peak. I took a right at the junction on the blue blaze trail and headed past the pond and up over Cranberry to finish the range at the other trail head off of Rt 27 in Stratton. The trail is rough and has a lot of wet rock and roots I think only 50% is really runnable. I haven't seen any other times or reports that have listed a FKT for the route. If anyone has done it faster or knows a link to someone that has Please share! I have looked a lot on the net and can't seem to find to much other than hiking trip times for the range and not full range hikes. Another thing I found interesting was the distances listed by different books, maps, and reports. Some said that the traverse was 19miles, 17miles, my gps track said it was 16.27 and is usually pretty accurate. Anyways here is the link to my run-www.movescount.com/moves/move33293173  my run was done in 5:14, unsupported.  - Michael"



The Bigelows at sunrise from Pleasant Pond Mountain
Beth McLaughlin photo

[colingulley]

On Monday, September 15th 2014, I will attempt the Bigelow Range Traverse unsupported. I will start at the Stratton trailhead off Rt 27, follow the Cranberry Range Trail, intersect the AT, and follow the range, and trail, east over all the major peaks, finishing at the trailhead on East Flagstaff Rd. I will also include the spur trail out-and-back to North Horn. I will be using a Garmin GPS to track my route.

[colingulley]

On Monday, September 15th, 2014, I completed the Bigelow Range Traverse in 4:44:14, unsupported. The weather was clear, cool, and dry. I started at the Stratton trailhead off Rt 27 around 10:36am, followed the Cranberry Range Trail, intersected the AT, and followed the range, and trail, east over all the major peaks, include the spur trail out-and-back to North Horn, stopping my watch when I touched East Flagstaff Road. I lost the trail twice, including going out to the Old Mans Head Scenic View Point, and back. My mistakes added about 1/4 mile to the route. The GPS data can be seen here: www.strava.com/activities/195074150 I also wrote a short blog post with pictures that can be viewed here: colingulley.blogspot.com/2014_09_01_archive.html

[trekforpeace]

Awesome work tackling some seriously gnarly terrain!

[adamiata]

Looks like an awesome route!

For some history, Tim Seaver traversed the range in 2009 in 8:05, then kayaked Flagstaff Lake back to his truck. www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?30341-Bigelow-Range-Flagstaff-Lake-Loop

[adamiata]

I ran a 4:34:11 on Saturday, September 27th going Eastbound, same as Colin. I also included side trips to North Horn and the Old Man's Head viewpoint. www.strava.com/activities/200253375

The foliage was spectacular. Pictures here: adamiata.blogspot.com/2014/09/bigelow-range-traverse-9272014.html

[colingulley]

Great job Adam! I knew my time would go down, but thought it would take longer for someone to go up there and do it!

Question about the route. I included North Horn because it seems like a significant peak that should be a part of the traverse. I went out to Old Man's Head accidentally when I lost the trail. But it is a beautiful view. In the future, for others attempting this route, do you think Old Man's Head is important to include for the FKT? Are there any other details about the start,finish, or along the way, that you think would further clarify things? Thanks.

[adamiata]

Thanks, Colin. There's still plenty of potential left on the route.

North Horn definitely makes sense to include, the OMH is a little less clear but I'm personally for it because of the quality of the view. Starting on the Bigelow Range Trail head in Stratton near the power plant (rather than the AT) and finishing on Long Falls Dam Road are both solid and make for the most aesthetic route. The rest of it is clear enough, I think. There's not a whole lot of meaningful variation possible.

[Tony Dalisio]

I lowered the Bigelow Range traverse today (July 19, 2016) to 4:09.58. I traveled eastbound from the Bigelow Range trailhead on Curry Rd in Stratton (e.g. as the previous runners did); including trips out to the North Horn and Old Man's Scenic Lookout; finishing on East Flagstaff Rd on the AT. The garmin connect data link is below, as well as a link to my Instagram for pictures. My data / map looks a little funky, it seems the GPS wasn't recording distance / mapping such the first .75 miles, but the clock was running the whole time. This was a great challenge, and something I had been planning for a year. I made about five trips up there running different sections in preparation for such. I have been planning this attempt most of the summer, but I had to delay such after I hurt my knee falling while descending Cadillac Mtn in Acadia Nat. Park while I set the double traverse FKT there. I took about 4 weeks off, but I was able to work back with a solid 8 week block leading up to today. I got an amazing weather window with a notable reprieve from the heat; partly sunny and 55-70 degrees during the run. The clouds really gave great depth to the views of Flagstaff Lake. I got up at 5 am this morning and drove up from Waterville with my partner, she dropped me at the at the trailhead on Curry, and I took off about 7 am. A lot went well today on the run, but I think I could have moved quicker on my ascents up to the Horns, and West Peak / Avery Peaks. Some of such, at least for the latter could be attributed to getting caught up in the views. Thus, I think it is possible to go sub-4 hours here. Ultimately, I just love this range / area, and any chance or type of adventure up here is one I am so grateful for. I really compel those who haven't made the trip to explore it. My day trip suggestion would be to hit the Long Falls Dam rd, ascend Little Bigelow for shorter hike with great views, and then come back down to swim in Flagstaff from the Long Falls Dam trailhead parking area. The lake has a sandy bottom there, and amazing views of the Range's north side. And before you go, drive to the end of the road and play in the fast moving, cold ripples of the Big Eddy portion of the Dead River stream.

Photos that I took on the run

Garmin Conect Data

[waynechan]

Thanks all for sharing your wisdom. This weekend, I will be attempting an out and back traverse. I will post an update if I survive.