Summary: wake up at the north end of Mahoosuc mile and walk along Bull Branch brook on an unofficial trail marked with pink ribbons. By 8:40 am I’ve reached a public road at Wright Trail parking. Proceed on the road, take a swim, and reach car by 10:12.
05:33 I am up in a hammock woken up by a woodpecker nearby. Good. It is time to go anyway. The night was warm and full of stars and a bright lunar disk that made everything look mysterious in the forest. I woke up twice at 23:19 and 01:31.
I managed to take pictures of my shelter before I started to disassemble everything.
05:51 I am spreading all the things on a tarp – very convenient for packing, Bugs are sluggish but slowly are waking up and going for a kill.
06:51 I am starting the hike. It is not cold this morning. First, descend sharply down to the river, then almost immediately cross the river and have a relatively easy hike following an unofficial trail marked with pink ribbons. The trail is clearly visible on the ground from previous foot traffic. I notice a big fresh bear hoofprints on the wet sections on the trail. To avoid unexpected encounters, I started to whistle.
07:16 I am most definitely out of the woods and on the old unused section of Bull Branch Rd. Now it is just a matter of walking toward the car for several miles. Road is deformed by tranches at regular intervals from the old, removed culverts.
07:34 – 07:44 I missed the unnamed road – the path I could have taken for my loop option #2. To discover the trail you would need to know what you are looking for. The trail is there and it is very straight like a road. To test the option, I followed the path till the first washed-out bridge.
07:57 – with a new merge, now the road becomes very real, wide but still interrupted by frequent tranches.
08:36 – road reaches a widening. It looks like a sand carrier going up the slope. For the first time I see lazy, slow mosquitoes landing on my arms and they don’t even bother to fly away.
08:40 – 09:00 – I hiked 3.83 mi – Evel. 1285 ‘ – First signs of return to civilization. Now begins the open-for-car section of the road. It is the Wright Trail Parking. Parking is ample, but there is only 1 car and one other car arrived while I was there – an old Volkswagen van with Massachusetts plates. The guy inside was from Scituate, MA. He just arrived to explore and walk the dog. He gave me a cold can of Seltzer from Hannaford. Interestingly, will see this van 3 more times today.
09:09 – 09:32 – road approaches the Bull Branch brook. I take an opportunity to take a swim. Water is very cold. I can only stay in water for a few seconds. Multiple emails and messages begin to ping. I see old Volkswagen van flying on the road back for a second time.
09:48 – I am passing a strangely named Frenchman’s Hole – a deeper and wider section of the river with a parking lot and picnic tables. Here I see the old Volkswagen van parked for the third time.
10:11 I am approaching the bridge after which I dropped the car. Just before reaching the spot, I see a homemade sign “No Parking per Order of Oxford County”. On the bridge itself there is small “End of Public Lands” sign. Am I in trouble? No. I am good – the car is standing right there where I left it – the spot is too remote to cause any trouble. I do not even see any fresh tire marks in the ground.
The most magical moments of returning to civilization – retrieving valuables hidden all over the car, turning on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, changing socks and shoes.
10:20 ODO 194.5 +23°C – let’s start driving home via Sunday River, roots 2, 26 and 95 through Paris, Norway, Poland and Gray, ME. When driving through Bethel, ME I see the mysterious Volkswagen van for the fourth time.
11:45 convenient gas stop (Gulf) at Poland, ME 15.446 * $4.969 = $76.75
13:21 – I stop at NH Liquor & Wine outlet on route 95 to do a session of Duolingo.
14:31 – ODO 388.6 +32°C – I arrive home after a significant Friday traffic on route 128.
17:00 – with Lira we go out to Pho & Spice in Waltham.
Navigate through the List
- 01 2026-06 Preparation for a third trip (2026/06/02)
- 02 2026-06-03 WE - Private Mile Notch Rd. to Grafton Loop Trail (2026/06/03)
- 03 2026-06-04 TH - from Old Speck MTN over AT to Mahoosuc mile (2026/06/04)
- 04 2026-06-05 FR - local shortcut to Bull Branch and alternative roots (2026/06/05)
- 05 2026 06 Lessons for all three May-June trips (2026/06/06)
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