THIS LAND 



Over the Hills and 

 Through the Woods 



The Maine way into the Wliite Mountains 



By Robert H. Mohlenbrock 



Although most of White 

 Mountain National Forest is 

 in New Hampshire, its east- 

 ernmost arm, comprising more than 

 sixty-five square miles, lies in western 

 Maine. More than a third of the 



White Mountain National Forest 



Maine portion is designated the Cari- 

 bou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness, 

 named for its two highest peaks. Ris- 

 ing to 2,840 feet, Caribou Mountain 

 bears the name of a species whose 

 range extended into the state until 

 the early twentieth century. 

 Slightly taller, at 2,906 feet, 

 Speckled Mountain is so called 

 because in autumn the evergreen 

 foliage of the conifer forest is 

 dotted with the golden brown of 

 American beech, the red and yel- 

 low of red maple, and the orange 

 of sugar maple. 



The wilderness can be reached 

 from Maine State Route 1 13. 

 From Fryeburg, a town about 

 fifty miles northwest of Portland, 

 the narrow, scenic highway runs 

 north, paralleling the picturesque 

 Cold River. Veering for a little 

 part of the way into New 

 Hampshire, it passes the forest's 

 Cold River Campground before 



re-entering Maine. 

 About three-tenths of 

 a mile farther on it 

 reaches the trailhead 

 for Royce Trail, which 

 heads northward to 

 Mad River Falls (a 

 pretty spot about a 

 mile and a half away) 

 and beyond. From the 

 same trail crossing, 

 Bickford Brook Trail 

 heads eastward into the 

 Caribou-Speckled 

 Mountain Wilderness and connects 

 with the Red Rock Trail, which 

 climbs over Speckled Mountain. 

 Before heading out on those and 

 other trails, hikers should be sure to 

 get suitable maps and equipment [see 

 visitor information on opposite page]. 



Route 1 13 itself tops out at Evans 

 Notch, where a small parking spot to 

 the side of the road offers a panoramic 

 view west across the upper reaches of 

 the Cold River to East Royce and 

 West Royce mountains. The road 

 then descends to a junction with U.S. 

 Highway 2. Several other trailheads 



Common variety of mountain sandwort 



CO Coniferous forest In the cool, 

 | — moist upper elevations, the 

 <^ dominant trees are balsam fir, 



| eastern hemlock, white pine, 



and white spruce, which tower 



CD over a low shrub layer of Amer- 

 <^ ican yew, common mountain 

 ■ holly, spiny swamp-currant, 

 I squashberry, and swamp red 

 currant. Although often carpet- 

 ed with mosses, the forest floor 

 also supports a rich array of 



wildflowers. Spring bloomers 

 include bead-lily, bunchberry, 

 Canada mayflower, goldthread, 

 painted trillium, pink lady's-slip- 

 per, and star-flower. Wildflow- 

 ers that bloom from iate July 

 until frost include large-leaved 

 goldenrod, lesser rattlesnake- 

 plantain, mountain woodsorrel, 

 pointed-leaved aster, twin- 

 flower, and white rattlesnake 

 root. Among the native ferns 



are mountain wood fern and 

 toothed wood fern. 



Deciduous forest Where con- 

 ditions are relatively dry, and 

 usually at the lower elevations, 

 deciduous trees predominate, 

 although red pine and white 

 pine do occur. Principal 

 species are American beech, 

 basswood, northern red oak, 

 paper birch, red maple, sugar 



maple, white ash, wild black 

 cherry, and yellow birch. Com- 

 mon shrubs include beaked 

 hazelnut, bush honeysuckle, 

 pagoda dogwood, and red- 

 berried elder. 



In the spring, foamflower, 

 purple trillium, small-flowered 

 crowfoot, and both purple- 

 and yellow-flowered violets 

 add color to the forest floor. 

 Among the summer and au- 



52 



natural HISTORY September 2006 



