Grafton Notch Loop Trail~ A Striking Mountain Name and Trail Marking Color

The small sign at the beginning of the Grafton Notch Loop Trail

March 25, 2012

Mia and I headed out for our first official hike of the season on this cool and sunny morning! We were set with our brand new hiking shoes, and our pack full of water, snacks, and various other necessities when walking through the woods, and ample energy and excitement to get back onto some trails without snow! While we enjoy winter snowshoeing and ice fishing, spring is our favorite season here, with all of the mud, new life sprouting from the ground, and the cool walking temperatures, spring offered us a lot of adventure!

Originally I had planned on us going to Bradbury Mountain, but we ended up heading towards Bethel instead. We drove to one of the trails that we ventured on last year, Mt. Will Trail, but the parking area was full, so I decided that we should go further into the town of Newry. There are several trail systems in that area.

The trail head

We ended up stopping at the Grafton Notch Loop Trail located on Rout 26 in Newry. Neither Mia nor I have ever been on this trail. Ordinarily we pass by this trail on our way to the Step Falls Preserve. Having been told that the Grafton Notch trail was relatively steep and required a lot of effort, I stayed away from this path with a very small Mia so as to not wear her out and turn her off from hiking. Today though, we both were in high spirits and were feeling adventurous, so we decided to give it a go. If ended up being too much for Mia, we could just continue up the road to the Step Falls Preserve if we wanted.

We pulled into the designated parking area, and we were the only vehicle there. I was surprised to see that the trail wasn't being used as heavily as the Mt. Will trail. In warmer months, this parking area is so full that people start parking on the sides of Route 26. And the same can be said for the Step Falls trails, as it is a favorite trail of families because it offers a relatively easy hike, with abundant pools of water for kids and adults to cool off in on a stifling summer day.

I got out of the Jeep and let Mia out, and she pranced around the parking area within eye sight of me while she waited for me to get our gear out. We sprayed ourselves with bug spray to ward off the early arrival of deer ticks, tightened up our shoe laces a bit more, and then like a rocket Mia was headed for the trail.

The 'balance beam' at the beginning of the trail.

We first had to cross a wood planking that resembled a balance beam over a small wet area, which Mia willingly undertook as she likes to walk on anything that requires any level of balance. Once we were over that, the initial part of the trail wasn't at all what I would call steep. Mia ran up over it with ease, eager to get this hike fully underway!

The first sign we came to on the trail.  

The first sign we came to told us that we were on private land for the next ten miles, and gave distances to some nearby mountains. Here, I have to pay a lot of homage to the gracious landowners in the state. In Maine, we are lucky enough to have some great land owners who are willing to open their land for use to the general public. If it weren't for this, most of Maine's lands would be closed off, and there would be no hunting, hiking, or fishing in the state. So, please be sure to follow the rules that the landowner has laid down, and be sure to treat all areas of nature with respect!

Mia always stops when she sees one of these information boards.
 She must know that mom needs to look at them!

A close up of the trail map. 

After the sign, Mia led me to the information board for the trail. She's become my trail guide of sorts, and she often leads me along the paths now. A lot of trails in the area either have a general map on their information board like this, or they have a detailed map and sometimes offer maps to take with you. I often take a picture of these with my phone or my camera to have with me, just in case. It's always nice to have a general idea of where you are on the trail. Also, these maps usually give an indication on what color markers to look for in order to follow a specific trail. In this case, the color was blue, marked quite visibly on the trees next to the trail.

Clearly marked trees to follow the path by. 

After the information board, the trail continued on somewhat flat for a while. Mia enjoyed stopping and listening to the sounds around her. I think she enjoyed the change of scenery as there was no longer any snow on the ground. This gave her the ability to run along the trail with ease, and to pick up her most favorite part of the forest, pine needles!

Mia found another 'balancing beam' made of rocks, and some mud too!

After a little bit though, the trail did start to gain a bit of steepness. Mia didn't seem to mind at all though. She powered up the first few rises, and climbed over the set of rock stairs that we found with great ease. Mia has always loved to climb, and hiking has given her a good outlet to do so.

The rock stair case. This was where the trail started to get very steep.

We hiked for quite a while longer. I'm not sure of the distance as I didn't have much for cell service in the area, so my mile tracker didn't do us any good. But we continued on for a good hour or so anyways. Mia enjoyed climbing up, up, and away from the world below us. She stopped at times to take a look around her, to see what was different from the last few moments of hiking we had taken, and to listen to the running water in the brook that ran down the land.

Steep climbing for the little one and I, and she loved every minute of it!

The brook that run through the trail. 

After a while, Mia decided that she'd had enough for a day, and turned me around on the trail to head back down. I held her hand on the decline so she wouldn't slip while walking down the hill. And on the less steep spots, she let go of my hand so she could run. She did so well on this hike, and I am glad that we decided to take this trail. Maybe next time we can make it to the end so we can get some pictures of the scenic view that is promised from the information board.

We reached near the end of the trail, and Mia decided to stop and take in her surroundings one more time. She listened to the birds chirping, the brook running, and took in the sight of the trees, ferns, and rocks. And when I told her we had to go in just a few minutes, she smiled at me and put her fingers to her lips, almost as if to tell me to be quiet, she was listening.

Quite please, mom. I'm listening to the woods!

We got into the Jeep, and I flipped through the pictures on the camera before we left. And, staring blankly at me from the screen were two striking things that I did not pick up on when we first headed into the woods. Remember the first trail sign we came to, that told us we were on private land? Did you happen to notice one of the mountain names written on it?

Puzzle Mountain.

Do you remember the color that indicated where the trail was?

Blue.

Did you know that blue is the awareness color for Autism and Tuberous Sclerosis? And the a puzzle piece is the awareness symbol for Autism?

How ironic that Mia and I followed this path today. It was like another sign to me that her and I are on the right path in our life, and that where we are is exactly where we are meant to be. Together, doing the things that matter. Making memories spending valuable time together, learning together, and making choices that better both of us. Yes, this small reminder filled my heart with warmth, and made me smile at the thought of how far we've come together. What a great day of hiking this was, with the best hiking partner I could ever ask for!