On our third day in Maine, we were really hoping to find a broken trail. The wind forecast for the summits was not inviting - 65MPH winds for the Bigelows. However, the wind was from the north and the Fire Warden's trail climbs the ridge from the south, so we figured that we would be sheltered from the wind until we were near the summits. We parked at the AT parking area on RT 27. This probably added some distance, but from trip reports there was limited parking just a short distance in on Stratton Brook Road. We crossed RT 27, and found a broken trail - things were looking promising. We followed the AT to Stratton Brook Road, and then followed the road to the Fire Warden's trail. We were happy to see that the broken trail continued on the Fire Warden's trail.
Looking at Sugarloaf across Stratton Brook Pond
About halfway to the ridge, we hiked through a section where the winds were hitting us and the trail was drifted in. Soon we were out of the wind and making the steep approach to the ridge. The sun had softened this portion of the trail, which along with the effects of our efforts the previous days made for slow climbing. When we reached the junction between the summits, we decided to go to West Peak first.
Looking south at Sugarloaf from West Peak
We continued to be blocked from the wind as we made our way to the summit. When we topped out from the climb, the wind wasn't bad at all. We took some pictures at the summit and made our way back to the junction.
Looking north at Flagstaff Lake from West Peak
rbalbs checking out the view of Flagstaff Lake and Avery Peak
Next we headed for Avery Peak. The trail stays in the trees for a good distance, but when we got above treeline, we found the strong winds. Fortunately, the summit isn't steep, and snow conditions were grippy enough for snowshoes. We made it to the top through the wind, occasionally having to wait out gusts. After a brief pause, we all retreated back into the trees. Once back at the junction we agreed that those were some of the strongest winds any of had experienced.
West Peak from the side of Avery Peak
The hike out was pretty uneventful, except for some great butt sliding down the steep section toward the top. We were all kind of dreading the last mile on the AT, since it included about 200 feet of climbing back to RT 27. We were surprised to find some new blowdowns on the AT which hadn't been there in the morning. Choosing the Bigelows for this day paid off with the views and overall limited exposure to the wind.