Participants: TC Ron Chase, John Brower, Brent Elwell
We had a cool sunny day for the planned hike on Little Jackson Mountain near Weld. John, Brent and I met in front of an ancient cemetery on Byron Road and then rambled down the rough, poorly maintained Morgan Road to the trailhead. The initial 2.5 mile ascent was unremarkable. After scaling a boulder-strewn pitch and arriving on exposed ledges, we were greeted with a surprise. The forecast for light breezes was badly flawed. Instead, we had gusty winds out of the northwest that required parkas, mitts and stocking caps. Thankfully, Brent carried an extra stocking cap. Given the size of his pack, he probably had extra everything.
After a respite in a stone windbreak at the summit, we decided to descend an unofficial trail that drops off the southwest slope of Little Jackson to Tumbledown Pond. The views of the pond and the three peaks of Tumbledown below were phenomenal. Just before reaching the pond, we took another unofficial trail over infrequently climbed North Peak, at 3,090 feet the high point on Tumbledown. From there, we continued over West and East Peaks and descended to the pond, where scores of hikers had gathered. We finished the day by traversing over Parker Ridge and trekking down Parker Ridge Trail completing one of the most exceptional mountain hikes in Maine. For the rest of the story, see my column in the Brunswick Times Record: https://www.pressherald.com/2019/11/08/ron-chase-the-second-best-hike-in-maine/
