Grafton Notch

“Does anyone know where I can find maps of trails for the Grafton Notch Park? Table Rock, Moose Cave Gorge, Mother Walker Falls, Screw Auger Falls are all mentioned on web-sites but I can't find any info on distances, rating or maps of the trails.”

“You can download a map, distances and trail descriptions from this site for the GRAFTON LOOP TRAIL:

http://www.matc.org/glt1.htm”

“You can do all that, probably in a morning, certainly all day.

Start at Screw Auger falls. You can bound around there for a half an hour or so. Depends on how inquisitive you and your party are.

Then move on to Mother Walker falls. Really just a string of small cascades. Falls is being generous, but it's a nice nature walk, about a half mile.

Then onto Moose cave. Another half mile stroll into a gorge. Very nice, lichen gardens and wood scenery. The "cave" is a bit of a dissappointment if you have ever been to a cavern. In Maine and most of Northern New England, a cave is two rocks leaning aginst each other that you may get below and between. But this cave is huge by Maine standards. You can klimb all over it and see where it broke off the rock above it. Obviously it is named for the moose that was once stuck there. It's a fun place with informational placards.

Now on to Table Rock. This is accesable year round. There are enough folks going in winter to keep the trail packed down. You can do it in hiking boots probably. Snowshoes to be sure in winter. This is a fairly arduous mile straight up, or circle around the back side for easier terrain and winter. Little more than a mile. Table rock is aptly named. At the top, is a huge flat rock outcropping that you see the entire notch from. Bring snacks or a small stove and soup. Very nice up there. I've been there many times and never seen more than 2 dozen there. I aslo have only had it to myself once.

Enjoy”

“What we are really looking for is an overnighter. We are intermediate hikers in good shape. Looking for something challenging. Any ideas? We will be there in June.”

“Man falls 30 feet into Screw Auger Falls gorge, suffers serious injuries

By Terry Karkos, Staff Writer

GRAFTON TOWNSHIP — A man sightseeing at Screw Auger Falls on Bear River late Friday afternoon suffered serious injuries after falling 30 feet off a cliff into the lower gorge pool, according to rescuers on scene in Grafton Notch State Park.

The man, who is in his late 40s to early 50s, was carried on a rescue stretcher across the river and up a steep bank through woods to the highway, where he was placed in a Bethel Rescue ambulance, Newry firefighter Alan Fleet said.

Bethel Rescue took the man to a nearby field in Newry, where he was placed aboard a waiting LifeFlight helicopter at about 6:35 p.m., and flown to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.

Bethel Rescue crewmen said that due to patient confidentiality laws, they couldn't identify the man or his injuries. But, day hiker Dave Rogers of Mexico, who helped with the rescue and carryout, said the man's first name was Randy.

“By the look of him, his left knee and right shoulder were messed up, but he said what was hurting him the most was his ribs,” Rogers said. “The guy was begging for painkillers.”

The accident happened at about 5 p.m. in an area where there is no cell phone coverage for miles.

Fleet said the injured man, who had a dog on a leash, had walked out onto the cliff at the end of the railing to get a better view of the falls when the accident happened.

“The railings are nice, but nobody stays behind it,” Fleet said.

Rogers said he and his wife and their children hiked to the summit of nearby Table Rock and back earlier Friday, and then went to Screw Auger Falls.

“I was coming here to show it to the kids and a guy ran out and said he was looking for sweatshirts and blankets to keep the guy in the water warm until rescue arrived,” Rogers said.

He gave what he had and stayed to help.

Fleet said someone drove to a house in Newry where a local emergency medical technician lives and called 911 there. The responder then went up to help.

Newry firefighters and Andover Fire Department's Ropes Rescue Team also responded, but ropes were not needed to get the injured man from the bottom of the gorge.

Sgt. Rick Mills and Josh Smith of the Maine Warden Service also responded, along with Mahoosuc Mountain Rescue.

http://www.sunjournal.com/node/32978/
link has a couple of pics”

“thats just northbound of some really nice scenic trail. goose eye mt is amazing”

“I hope he's okay. So, what happened to his dog?”

“Damn reporters never get the important info in the story, treebait.”

“damn liberal media and their anti-canine bias”

“Poorly written story. What if Sarabelle were reading it? There's hardly anything written about the dog.”

“And still, people continue to leash their dogs on trails...”