Gulf Hagas – The Grand Canyon of Maine

I remember hearing someone talk about Gulf Hagas in the past and thought nothing of it, and then my company’s health department hosted a hike through Gulf Hagas two weeks ago and again thought nothing of it. Last week a co-worker talked about it so I decided to look into it further. They call it “The Grand Canyon of Maine” which like anyone else that has not hiked the Gulf Hagas trail, I pictured the Grand Canyon in my mind and thought, “Yea right”. I checked MaineFoliage.com and saw that the leaf colors were moderate in the area so I talked to Robin about it and we made a date to hike all 8 miles of it (4 miles up and then 4 miles back). We both did not know what to expect other than that there are waterfalls and high ledge walls.

The weather was in the mid-sixties with clear blue skies with no breeze. Upon arriving at 10AM we paid and registered to get in; there were a lot more people hiking that day than I would have expected- I would say in total we saw about 40 people. Once we parked in Pleasant River Parking, I put my boots (not real hiking boots) on, got the Lowepro camera bags out, helped Robin put her backpack on and we headed towards the Pleasant River crossing which was about a mile out. When we arrived at the River there were a group of high school kids there crossing the ice cold, ankle deep, water. While watching them cross we changed out of our boots and into our sandals- another reason why I love my new Keen sandals, as they are so versatile for things like this. For me, the water was not very cold until the half way point of the river which by estimate was roughly 50′ wide; once we reached the middle of the river it felt like small tacks poking at my skin.

After crossing the river we put out boots back on and made our 1 mile hike to Screw Auger Falls (Map Point 3) which requires a slight deviation off trail to fully view the falls. We climbed down about 10′ overt ledge and roots until we reached the plateau of ledge that stands 8′ feet above the basin of the waterfalls. In the summer it is probably the safest area to swim if you desire. We made our way to the lower Screw Auger falls which is much larger than the upper. The viewpoint requires you to climb down 40 or so feet of steep terrain that consists of mangled roots and dirt until you reach the bottom or top of the canyon’s ledge. From there it felt like I was viewing a scene from Lord of the Rings (Rivendell); the waterfall dips down – I’d estimate around 20′- into a pool of water surrounded by trees that hung over portions of the water. Several areas from where we stood, led to an abrupt and deep canyon 80′ down. Any attempt by me at photographing the depth of this was difficult; I’m not sure if it’s the lenses that I have or if it’s my technique, but it is definitely something you should witness for yourself. After looking around and taking photos for 30 minutes or so we left and continued onwards making our way over the at-the-time smooth, root and ledge free trails. We reached the Hancock lookout, which is basically ledge that provides a narrow view of the gorge; this is where the ledge (I believe it’s ledge as I have not been able to verify if it is another mineral/strata) walls rise to their 2-300′ heights. We continued on up an incline and then all of the sudden the path stopped; we continued on as the map said a trail was there until we came to a very steep stairway of roots. Being adventurous I climbed down to an area that leveled off for about 3 feet and then a sheer drop to the bottom of the canyon. We decided to head back to the main trail, as there clearly was no discernible path for us to take.

Second half of the entry:

We reach what I believe is The Jaws; it’s a view point of the gorge at its highest point, roughly 300 or so feet high. There were a bunch of people there cautiously taking in the vista when I heard someone say, “I’m not climbing out any further”. I believe he was referring to the “knife edge” ledge that jets out over the drop off. I told Robin to take a photo of me while on the ledge. I shimmied my way out onto the ledge- one slip of the foot and I would have died instantly. I looked out over the edge, and it was breathtaking. I just did not expect to see this in Maine.

Eventually, we made it to Buttermilk Falls (Robin’s Photo) which had a fall that appeared to be in the form of a waterslide (Robin’s Photo); we did not stay too long here as the sun was behind the trees. After about a mile or less we made it to Billings Falls; a place Robin really wanted to see as that is her maiden name. The path takes you up to an area that overlooks the falls, its basin of water and then the river; this area is my favorite- what an amazing view. You have the Stairs falls in the background where the water is semi calm with colorful deciduous trees on each side, then the waterfall pouring into a calm basin of water with 20 or so feet of ledge on each side. We stayed here and took in God’s magnificent Creation for some time. After about 30 minutes we headed towards Stairs Falls which I think fits its name very well. We climbed down to river bank to get a closer look at the area. The water had lowered revealing a portion of the river’s bed- a water smoothed boulder had slowly shaped by the rapids. A portion of the rock looked as if it were an egg carton, so smooth as if a potter had shaped it. I joked with Robin that this would be an excellent area for an American Indian family to settle down as it provides a good area for fishing, cleaning, shelter and hunting (I am partial American Indian). In reality, I am sure a few hundred years ago many Indians had lived along this River. Before leaving, I took a photo of our Siggs enjoying the view and a video of the Falls as well.

We continued on to the last stop, Head of the Gulf. The view provides a calmer aspect of the hike, a small pond, fed by the Pleasant River, empties down over a small fall. This area to me, wasn’t as exciting as the rest of the trip- it may have been my sore feet from my poor non-hiking boots or that I was getting anxious to get home and view our photos. The sun was just barely above the trees; we had 4 miles of smooth hiking ahead of us so we set off pretty quickly. Robin kept worrying about being stuck on the trails in the dark and I kept reassuring her we would make it out before then and if we didn’t, it would not be a problem. We moved pretty quickly, jogged off and on; as we neared the end, my feet were very sore and hot. The sun was just barely providing enough light to read the sign that stated we had about 3/4 of a mile left. We finally reached the river crossing, with excitement- well at least I was excited to cool my feet. We put on our sandals and crossed as quickly as we could without slipping. The moon was gleaming above us providing us with enough light to see the dark rounded stones in the water. After making it across safely we did not bother to change into our boots and opted to run as best we could for the 1/2 mile we had left. We reached the parking lot just in time, the sun had completely disappeared. We made it, my longest hike ever.

I would highly recommend this to anyone that enjoys hiking, waterfalls and beautiful views. There are many different routes you can take, short cuts, etc to get to the specific waterfalls. We saw all ages out that day, so I encourage anyone reading this to take the opportunity to experience Gulf Hagas. Earlier in the week, I had purchased The North Face convertible pants, they are breathable and the legs zip off into shorts. Robin said that I needed to get something other than jeans or regular cotton shorts for things like this. I am glad I listened to her, as they kept me cool when I was hot and warm when I was cool. I have since ordered a pair of The North Face hiking boots. I have worn them once so far and they feel like night and day over my non-hiking boots that I have used so many times in the past. Robin also said that I should get a pair of synthetic wool hiking socks to go with the boots; we went to L.L. Bean and purchased a nice pair that felt very comfortable and am looking forward to trying them out. Over the next year I am planning on upgrading my gear (and Robin’s) to The North Face and L.L. Bean as from our experience they have some of the best rugged products out there.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 26th, 2009 at 11:20 pm.