Taking a hike to see the colorful fall foliage
was our plan for this month's hike. But the days open in our schedule
turned out to have less than cooperative weather.
So we found ourselves watching the weather reports last weekend and
with another rainy weekend approaching, decided to take a short Friday
afternoon hike before the bad weather moved in.
It was a brisk but mostly clear afternoon as we set out for Jockey Cap
in Fryeburg. Several friends had recommended this hike and all had said
the trailhead was easy to find. So we left the house without any
specific directions except that the trailhead was right next to a
country store on Route 302.
Now, of course, anywhere is "easy to find" when you've been there or
are familiar with a particular area. I think understanding directions is
an art. I have always found Maine a friendly, helpful place and the
locals have pointed me in the right direction whenever I've needed help.
But I've had to learn how to translate the information into something I
can actually use to navigate.
When someone says, "Oh, the trail is just a mile down the road," I have
to think about whether that's enough information to get me there. And to
wonder if my odometer's mile is the same as my direction-giver's mile.
One of the most important things I've found in asking for directions is
to ask for landmarks. For instance, which side of the road is the
landmark on? If I've gone past it, what will I see? About how far from
this landmark is the trailhead?
Landmarks can be highway intersections, a country store — as was the case with Jockey Cap, or a sign by the road.
We have found in our hiking experiences in Maine that not all
trailheads are marked with signs, some simply have tree line markers (as
was the case on our Brownfield hike last month) and it takes some
eagle-eye lookouts, namely our kids, to find the stop.
And I have to take a moment to say that kids can be helpful lookouts
and at the same time blood-pressure raisers. There's nothing like a
peanut gallery in the back seat asking you if we're lost and if we're
ever going to get there. Or even better, "Mommy (or Daddy), you should
have gone the other way instead." Ah, the joys of those early-blooming
backseat drivers . . .
So in addition to vague directions, I don't remember our friends
telling us how unusual the Jockey Cap trailhead was. Now those of you
who have been to Jockey Cap will say how could you think it's hard to
find? Well, we didn't expect that the trailhead (which is set back from
the road) would look like it was on private property. It just didn't
feel right somehow.
So we passed the country store and went a little further down Route 302
before stopping and asking at a local business where the trail was.
A very friendly man explained where the trailhead was and I realized we
had already been there. It turned out that it was clearly marked by a
large sign that says "Jockey Cap Trail," once we knew to look between
the Jockey Cap Country Store and the Jockey Cap Motel.
So after feeling really stupid, we parked our car in front of the motel and set out on the trail.
Early on the trail, there were some rocks that formed a small cave and
the kids loved crawling in and around this area. They thought it was a
"cool playground" and spent a long time exploring the cave and rocks
before they would agree to continue on the trail. At that point we could
see the face of Jockey Cap (and we saw mountain climbers scaling it on
our way back down the trail).
There were lots of fallen leaves covering the trail, but the path to
the top of the mountain was pretty clear. The ascent is steady, but with
only a 200-foot elevation gain and only 0.25 miles of trail, it's easy
to navigate.
Once we arrived at the top, which offers a beautiful 360-degree view,
we found a round stand with a mold of the surrounding mountains and
lake. The kids were fascinated with the map and had fun matching up the
mountains with the molded peaks. We had to pick up our 5-year-old so she
could see at the correct angle to match them up. The mold is a nice
height for adults but a little tall for younger kids.
The fall colors were in full bloom the afternoon we spent there. It was
a breathtaking view. The kids found a spot to sit on the rocks and
watched a middle school soccer game on one of the fields below us. They
also saw what looked like a Fryeburg Academy football scrimmage a little
further in the distance.
The kids thought it was really cool to view the games from the
mountain's height and that made the weekday hike even more enjoyable.
If you're taking young children, be sure to stay close to them at the
top — there are a few places where there are steep drops. There are,
however, lots of places to explore along the wooded trail at the lower
elevation, so that children can run ahead and climb over the smaller
rocks by the cave without much worry.
We spent about 1.5 hours on the trail with quite a bit of time spent
watching the sporting events. If you're looking for a hike but don't
have a lot of time, or don't want to spend too much time outside as the
weather grows colder, this is the trail for you.
Trail name: Jockey Cap
Nearest town: Fryeburg
Region: Western Mountains
Length: 0.25 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation gain: 200 feet
Other: There is a small parking area in front of the motel.
Hazards:The top isn't huge and there are some steep drops so
parents should stay close to young children to be sure they don't go too
close to the edge.
Directions: From the intersection of Routes 113 and 302 the
trailhead is exactly 1.0 miles. The trailhead is between the Jockey Cap
Country Store and the Jockey Cap Motel.
Listen to the 7-year old describe her
experience on this trail...
(53 seconds, 524k mp3 format)
Listen to the 5-year old describe her
experience on this trail...
(25 seconds, 440k mp3 format)
Originally published in the Maine Sunday Telegram November 2, 2003
Sunday, November 2, 2003
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)