Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

View From the Col Photo by Amie

On Sunday, Dec. 29th, the Bangor Outdoor Club met to hike Saddleback and the Horn. Frosty and I woke up at a rude hour to make it to the Rangley area by 7:00.

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

On the Ski Trail Heading up the Mountain

Even though the Saddleback ski resort isn’t currently operational, the parking was plowed. We met up with five other hikers: Brett, Mike, Christine, Amie, and Allie. We all put on microspikes and started our hike.

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

It’s a Steep Hike Up Photo by Allie

Although, it had been hard to wake up so early, it was nice to hike as the sun was rising. We hit the trail at about 7:15.

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Heading up the Ski Trail Photo by Amie

We hiked the ski trails up Saddleback. Most of the trail was covered by a thin layer of crusty wind packed snow or ice. This is a steep hike. I was feeling how out of shape I was.

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

There Was More Frost and Snow on the Plants the Further up the Mountain We Went

 

We had some beautiful distance views heading up, lakes and mountains. The colors were beautiful in the light of the dawn.

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

The Views Were Great As We Hiked up the Ski Trails

The wind picked up as we got higher on the mountain. Frosty and I layered up before heading up on the ridge.

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Heigh Ho! Heigh Ho! It’s off to Hike We Go! Ascending the Last Ski Trail Section

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

The Last Bit of Trail Before Emerging on the Ridge Photo by Aimee

On the ridge, it was very windy, and the visibility was bad. There were no distance views. After a summit photo, we headed off to the Horn. Slowly, as we headed toward the Horn, the skies cleared. Now, we had some beautiful distance views again.

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

There Weren’t Any Views When We Reached the Saddleback Summit

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Saddleback Summit Photo by Amie

The terrain on the ridge was mostly ice and shallow wind packed snow. But every once in awhile we traveled through an area of deeper snow. Mostly, we were able to stay on top of the snow, but occasionally, one of us would break through. Usually, when this happened to me, my foot would sink into mid-calf or knee height. A couple times, though, I sunk in higher.

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

It was definitely windy up on the ridge, but really, not bad for a mountain top. We were very bundled up. We had very little exposed skin. There were a few spots that were a bit sheltered from the wind and made good places to stop for a rest, snack, or water.

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

I couldn’t believe how different this hike was from the Saddleback/Horn hike Frosty, Christine, and I took last March. That hike had so much more snow! Parts of this trail, in the trees near the bottom of the col, were unrecognizable to me with so much less snow.

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

View Heading Toward the Horn Photo by Brett

We made it up to the Horn. There was sun and lots of wind. A cloud blew through while we were snacking. We took some summit photos, then headed back to Saddleback.

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

The Horn Summit Photo

The sky kept changing today, from cloudy, to overcast, to sunny. I’m glad that we had some sun and that the wind was bearable. Also, there wasn’t any precipitation to deal with. All in all, it was a great day to be out.

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

A Cloud Went by While We Were at the Summit of the Horn

The clouds were starting to return on our second visit to the Saddleback summit, but it was much better conditions than when we were there earlier.

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

The View Was Better Our Second Time on the Saddleback Summit

From the summit, we headed back down to the parking lot. It ended up being about six hours round trip. It was great to have our first hike with Amie and Allie. We hope to hike with them again.

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Leaving the Saddleback Summit to Head Back Down the Ski Trail

There are many more photos from this trip below.

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

The Horn Summit

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

The Horn Is in the Background Photo by Mike

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Looking Toward Saddleback

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Looking Toward the Horn

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Looking Toward the Horn

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

The Horn Summit Sing

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Looking Toward the Horn

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Heading Back up to Saddleback Photo by Allie

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Descending Into the Col From Saddleback Photo by Brett

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

The Last Push up to the Saddleback Ridge

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

I’ve Decided This Is Mountain Coral

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Almost to the Saddleback Summit the First Time Photo by Amie

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Looking Toward the Saddleback Summit

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

The Horn

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

View from the Col Photo by Brett

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Looking up at the Upper Section of the Trip-Color Ski Trail

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Saddleback

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

There Was Lots of Ice and Wind Packed Snow

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

There Were Interestingf Snow Patterns on the Ice

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

This Ladder Was Under Several Feet of Snow When We Were Here Last March

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

More Snow Patterns on the Ice

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

The Horn

Bangor Outdoor Club Saddleback The Horn Winter Hike Rangeley Maine

Wind Blown Snow Patterns

 

 

 

 


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Magoo

I like to get outdoors and enjoy life. I hike, snowshoe, run races, travel, camp, and sometimes just sit.

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