44

HIKE THE CANYON

The “Grand Canyon of Maine,” properly known as Gulf Hagas, is in the mountains of Central Maine.

Take a day trip if you’re within a reasonable driving distance. Or plan to camp out to enjoy the scenic delights—the gorge, waterfalls, swimming holes, cliffs, and old-growth forest. Or, if you’re hiking the toughest stretch of the Appalachian Trail—Maine’s 100 Mile Wilderness—you’ll already be going right past.

Getting to the rim of Gulf Hagas involves a nearly 8-mile hike, starting with a 4.1-mile hike from the parking area on the K-I Road to Stair Falls, and a 3.3=mile return hike along the Pleasant River Tote Road. The Gulf Hagas Rim Trail involves crossing both the Pleasant River (bring waterproof shoes) and the Gulf Hagas Brook. Both crossings can be risky in high water. The first scenic splendor, a half-mile in, is the Hermitage, a stand of beautiful old-growth pines. About a mile after that comes Screw Auger Falls.

Located within the Appalachian Trail corridor in northern Piscataquis County, in a place with the unlikely name of Bowdoin College Grant, East Township (T7 R10 NWP), Gulf Hagas is 15 miles northwest of Brown-ville Junction. One of fourteen National Natural Scenic Landmarks in Maine, it is owned by the National Park Service.

There are campsites available near the Gulf. While you’re in the area, you might want to hike more of the hundred miles of trails through the Ki-Jo Mary Forest, a consortium of privately and publicly owned land managed for recreation by the North Maine Woods, Inc. company.

HELPFUL SITES

northmainewoods.org/ki-jo-mary/gulfhagas.html

mainerec.com/katahdin.asp

mainewoodstourism.org/waterfalls/

gulf-hagas-area/gulf-hagas/