When I ducked into the forest with my dog, Juno, on Saturday, I didn’t plan to hike eight miles. But I couldn’t bring myself to turn around on the trail. The wilderness beckoned us onward, to walk among mossy hills, glacial boulders and towering evergreens.
We hiked up and down two mountains — then up and down the first mountain again. It sounds silly, but let me explain.
My original plan was to hike Caribou Mountain, a lesser-known peak in eastern Maine’s Donnell Pond Public Land. Rising 954 feet above sea level, it features a few nice overlooks near its forested summit. It’s a quiet mountain, home to large cairns (rock piles that mark the trail) and an abundance of reindeer lichen.
Starting at the trailhead on Dynamite Brook Road, which is a short walk down the road from the small parking area, just before the bridge, we began our adventure on the 1-mile Caribou Mountain Trail. Along the way, a trail leading to the neighboring Catherine Mountain veered off to the left. That trail is on private property, but open for the public to enjoy (another great hike).
The Caribou Mountain Trail ended at the Caribou Loop, which totals 6.1 miles, according to an online trail map of Donnell Pond Public Reserved Land that’s provided by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands. If you were to do the whole thing — out, around and back — it would be about 8 miles. That’s what we did.
Left to right, A sign on the East Peak of Black Mountain directs hikers onto the Caribou Loop toward Caribou Mountain in Donnell Pond Public Reserved Land in eastern Maine. A red mushroom peeks through a layer of brown, dead leaves on Sept. 17, on Caribou Mountain in Donnell Pond Public Reserved Land in Hancock County. The Caribou Loop Trail travels through an especially mossy forest on Black Mountain in Donnell Pond Public Reserved Land in eastern Maine. Credit: Courtesy of Aislinn Sarnacki
Turning right on the loop, we continued up Caribou Mountain, crossing open areas on the south side of the ridge that provided views of nearby Black Mountain and Tunk Lake. There we found beds of pale, puffy reindeer lichen and berry bushes with leaves in the process of turning from green to fiery red.
At the forested top of Caribou, I’d planned to turn around for an out-and-back hike of less than 3 miles. But I wanted to stay in the forest a little while longer. So we continued, following the trail along the mountain’s long ridge.
Somewhere along the way, I decided we’d hike the whole loop. The day was young. Juno was full of energy. I couldn’t think of anything better to do, and I was interested to see the forestland nestled in the valley between Caribou and Black mountains.
While it was a long and challenging hike, I’m glad I made the decision to keep going. Descending the southwest side of Caribou Mountain, we walked along the base of a vertical granite wall with a slight overhang, like a roof.
The forest was filled with mushrooms. Red-capped mushrooms with white stalks had burst forth from the leaf-strewn forest floor. Clusters of orange mushrooms had sprouted from the rotting wood of fallen trees. And tall bronze mushrooms displayed ragged white polka-dots. I’d never seen that kind before.
Between the mountains, a 1.4-mile trail leading to Redmans Beach on Donnell Pond shot off to my right. I was tempted to visit the beach, but we had a long trek ahead of us already. So I stayed the course.
As Caribou Loop climbed the north slope of Black Mountain, the moss became thick, coating the forest floor and creeping up tree trunks. I let Juno lay down on a particularly spongy bed of it, then encouraged her to keep going before she did any damage. She loves to dig.
The trail led to an intersection on Black Mountain, where I consulted my trail map and turned left toward the mountain’s East Peak. We hiked down, then back up — something we did a lot of that day.
East Peak is truly spectacular, with a 360-degree view of the region. From its bare granite bedrock, I could see straight to the ocean and the mountains of Acadia National Park. From a distance, they appeared as a cluster of blue hills sandwiched by water and sky. Blue on blue on blue.
Left to right, Juno pauses while hiking the Caribou Loop Trail on Sept. 17, in Donnell Pond Public Reserved Land in Hancock County. A snake rests beside the Caribou Loop Trail on Sept. 17, in Donnell Pond Public Reserved Land. The bulge in its body suggests that it’s busy digesting a big meal. The mountains of Acadia National Park can be seen on Sept. 17 from the Caribou Loop Trail on Black Mountain, which is located in Donnell Pond Public Reserved Land in Hancock County. Credit: Courtesy of Aislinn Sarnacki
Continuing on the loop, we headed down the mountain and through the woods to skirt around a wetland area and pond. For that portion of the hike, the narrow trail was hemmed in by thick underbrush. At one point, I heard a rustle in the bushes and looked closer to find a garter snake resting beside the trail. The middle of its body was swollen with what I assumed to be a large meal. I wonder what it was digesting. A frog? A vole?
When the trail started to climb uphill again, I may have grumbled and cursed. To close the loop, we had to hike up and over Caribou Mountain once more (not quite to the summit, but close enough). As we scrambled up a steep slope, I paused a few times to catch my breath and remind myself that we were almost done.
Even though it was a sunny, warm Saturday — perfect for hiking — we didn’t see anyone on the trail until the very end of our adventure. As Juno and I hiked back to the trailhead along the Caribou Mountain Trail, we came across a solo hiker who’d been traveling ahead of us all day, following the same route. We stopped to chat about our experiences while Juno sniffed at his hiking poles. Then Juno and I zipped ahead, eager to get home in time for dinner.