Sabattus Mountain: Mia Climbs to New Heights

It was the last day before Mia was to start her new school, and I was still in celebration mode of her new adventure. I wanted to take advantage of the continued good weather, so I searched for a new hiking spot. I had looked in one of my many books for new hiking spots appropriate for kids, and had settled on Sabattus Mountain in Lovell.

When Mia and I arrived at the parking area, we traded our sandals for our hiking sneakers and I grabbed our pack full of goodies. I had packed us a lunch along with many snacks because it was nearing 10:00 in the morning, and I expected us to be hungry by the time we reached the top. I had read that the hike would take about 45 minutes to reach the top, and that it was about 3/4 of a mile to the summit.

Mia led the way from the start, a continuing trend that likely won’t ever stop. The path seemed like it was going to be a good one. Relatively wide, with lots of tree roots crossing it’s surface. I another nice way to get Mia to pay attention to not only her surroundings, but also to where she is in relation to the world.

By the time we reached the sign announcing that the trail to the summit was a loop trail, the ground had taken a slight incline. The trail to the right still looked wide, just a bit steeper than before. The trail to the left was narrow, but still didn’t look like it would be a hard climb for Mia. And, she found an interest in this narrow trail, so up it we went!



It wasn’t long before I realized that this trail was quite a bit more challenging than any other that Mia had been on. With the narrowness of the path, I had to stay directly behind her at all times. And when we got to a few tricky spots, I put myself into the brush off of the trail to offer her my hand.

As we continued up, the trail got steeper, and I kept wondering when it would level off again. The book hadn’t mentioned that this trail would be this steep. Just that it would be a good climb for active kids, which describes Mia to a “T”. And that the summit would offer great views of the surrounding land. Mia is pretty good at telling me when she’s had enough, and she showed no signs of slowing down. So I figured when she was ready to turn back, if she wanted to, we would.

We happened upon an older couple climbing down the mountain when we were 3/4 of the way up. They looked very surprised to see little Mia at this point on the trail, when they said “aren’t you a cute little mountain climber?!” to her with excitement in their voices. This excitement, and attention, gave Mia an extra burst of energy, and she climbed to the summit nearly effortlessly.



When we arrived to the top, I was surprised by the view we had from up here. It was gorgeous, and the day was nearly crystal clear, offering great views in the distance. We explored the summit and found that there were a couple of benches perched at the top. This offered us a great spot to sit, rest, and eat our lunch while taking in the stunning surroundings.

While we were at the top, a party of four crossed our path, also seemingly surprised to see little Mia at the summit. And they too, greeted Mia and told her how adorable of a mountain climber she is. I couldn’t understand why it was so shocking to anyone that a little girl would be out here, up here.



When we finished with our lunch, Mia and I started heading down the other side of the loop trail. This side was much less steep than the way we came up. And for this, I was grateful, because Mia was exhausted and needed some help on the way down. Because I had a pack on, I couldn’t piggy back her, so I carried her for a great length down the trail on my hip. This was a challenge to say the least, as Mia is now well over half my height, and weighs nearly 45 lbs. But she rewarded my efforts with smiles, snuggles, and eye contact when I stopped here and there for a breather! 

I am guessing we were about half way down when Mia felt that she could finish the rest of the trail on her own again. The spring in her step was back, and she ran down the trail effortlessly. I thought back to the last time I really had to carry her for any length while we were out adventuring in the woods, and I think that last time was when she was about three. But again, this trail was a lot more than she had experienced to date, and for a six year old, she did really well.

We made it back to the parking area, and traded our footwear again. While Mia drank her water, I pulled out my book to see if I had missed something in the trail description. I read exactly what I had read before, still no mention of a steep climb. I looked at her and reiterated my findings, to which she just smiled, giggled, and handed me her empty water cup. She had a good time, and that was all that mattered!

I wouldn’t find out until later, that this is the tallest point in Lovell, with the summit at 1,253 feet. The trail itself has an elevation gain of 600 feet! No wonder the other hikers were surprised to see Miss Mia at the top of the mountain! It was quite the adventure for Mia the Mountain Climber!!