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MAINE HUTS AND TRAILS HIKE
BY BRAD NORRIS

WOW !!!

I was entrusted with my first ever leadership role with the CVOA being (self)-declared “King of the Climb” for the latest hike to the Poplar Stream Hut on September 20th … and I did quite a job if I do say so myself.

First of all, I made sure the very best members of this great association had signed up. Hut HikeThen near the end of happy hour at Tufulios on Friday a few more approached me to join and much to my surprise they all remembered and we nearly doubled the expected turnout. Then I arranged to have spectacular weather and personally saw to it that the trails were in meticulous condition. Then I made sure the people working in the hut would greet us with big smiles and great food ready to serve.

And oh yes, I almost forgot to mention that I scheduled all of this to happen on my wedding anniversary. … OK, OK, so it wasn’t all my doing. In fact I did none of the planning and just gladly accepted John McCatherin’s request to lead the charge just a few days before the event. You see, Nancy Perry has clearly been trying to shun the nickname of “Grand Poobah”, a title bestowed upon her by Tom Springs So it worked to perfection. Nancy could quietly tell me what to do and then I could bark out the orders to the rest of the troops. and now I realize it is the only reason I got the nod to this leadership position.

So we headed out at 10:33 from the trailhead parking lot and ascended up the hill with myself, Nancy Perry, Pam & Pappy Labbe, Linda Trueworthy, Rob & Lynn Anderson, Edie Stevens, Jack Donovan, John & J.J. Clements, Ed & Sandy O’Connor, Bob & Barbara Luke and dogs Crocker and Molly (the real leaders). This first section of the trail was new to me and I thought it was a short-cut to the lower Poplar Stream bridge but it was anything but a short-cut. The trail took us up a large hill and then back down where we met up with Sandy & Mike Jamieson. They had left the parking lot shortly after us but fortunately, unlike our leader they were able to find the short-cut so it worked quite well. Then at the next intersection we met up with Jean Pernice and Renee Norris, my bride on this same day 28 years ago. These two gals had cheated by starting from my camp on the Carriage Road and crossed the lower bridge to wait for us.

We proceeded up the wide main trail and I am told we hit the hut exactly one hour after we started at 11:33. If you have not visited the hut, you should know that the term “hut” is broadly applied as it is actually four beautiful wooden structures with a lodge featuring windows all around the southern side, big comfortable wooden chairs with large matching tables and another screened in area with picnic tables. The back of the lodge has spotless washroom facilities for overnight hikers and the loft includes a reading area with leather couches. Three out-buildings provide bunk space with several rooms for 4, 6 or 12 people. The buildings were built to the highest “green” standards and the lodge is energy self sufficient with composting toilets, a prominent solar collector just outside and small electric turbine at the stream.

With such a large group anticipated our hosts tried a new system of taking lunch orders that worked flawlessly. “I was told a dozen would be coming so I planned on twenty,” Jack Shields boldly stated from inside his kitchen. His prediction was very close as it ended up to be a total of 21 as Gail Miller and her guest joined us at the hut. The food came out quickly and efficiently and everybody seemed to enjoy the lunch.

After lunch Jessie Beckett of Trails and Huts volunteered to take our picture so Nancy gave her a broken camera to use. So we shuffled cameras around and soon after our Kodak moment, we headed back home taking a different route than our ascent.

We passed the small turbine used to generate the hut’s power and then took a left onto one of the narrower loop trails that takes you down the impressive stone steps to beautiful Poplar Stream Falls and then follows the eastern side of Poplar Stream. (If you go straight there is another loop trail that takes you to another set of falls, over the upper bridge and then descends down the western side of Poplar Stream ending at the steps by the lower bridge).

The return hike went off without a hitch until Ed assured us that we could take the original lower trail (you know, the one with the big rocks in front of it) along the stream back and to the parking lot. I think Ed was really still in search of that “other waterfall down the trail” that he talked about. So back up to the bridge we went and then down Carriage Road to complete our journey back to the parking lot.

We all made it back alive by 2:30 with limbs in tact and not too sore…. Another successful CVOA outing came to a close.