Daytrip to Evan's Notch
Ah, September. A month of warm days, chilly evenings. Harvest. Abundance. It’s a good time of year to be in Maine. Life seems to settle back into a more sustainable flow of relaxation and reminders of the elements that ground us. Change. Community. Connection. We always look forward to this time of year — when the buzz of the summer subsides and the simplicity of this state stands out. For our September Daytrip, we were excited to be back in the mountains.
Before we set out for the mountains, we cruised down the hill from our home in the West End and picked up cold brew and samosas from Burundi Star. Their selection of locally baked grab-and-go options makes for the perfect pit stop before a big day. We broke the fast in the car on our way up to Luchador Tacos in South Paris, where we assembled burritos for the summit.
We had a few trailheads in mind around Evan’s Notch that we were choosing between for the Daytrip. When we started ascending the windy roads in our trusty Subaru, we were headed towards the Caribou loop trail. After cresting the apex of the notch road, we passed the East & West Royce trailhead to our left and kept going. Down, down, down. The road twisted through the still green forest and, before reaching the Caribou trailhead, I suggested we turn back for the Royces, for I didn’t want to regain all the elevation we just lost in the car. My desire for an easier hike backfired at me when we hit the trail for East Royce. Immediately, this trail took off towards the sky, with the gradient often above 20%. Our pace vacillated between spurts up the steep steps and a breather at the top before the next round. Motivated by views and the breeze often found on the summit, we persevered. When we got to the top, we exchanged a sweaty sigh and a smile as we took off our packs and took in the panorama of peaks. We devoured the burritos that weighed on our backs, later regretting their new residence in our digestive system as we continued onward.
On the way down, we found ourselves at the intersection between the parking lot and West Royce. While we had originally set out to do both peaks, our GPS, at this point, had alerted us that the trail signage and the mileage found on Alltrails was a bit off and we might be in for more than we bargained for. Disregarding the mumbles from our stomach, we veered to the west, through the beautiful forest in the saddle between the mountains, and ultimately up the north ridge of West Royce. Due to the nature of New England peaks, which often have trails running straight up their flanks, we were thankful for the switchbacks on West Royce which made this path more manageable. By the time we reached the summit of West Royce, our GPS read 4.6 miles, which confirmed our inkling that the 4.8-mile roundtrip listed on Alltrails was off. Thankfully, it was all downhill from here, so the remaining 2.8 miles didn’t challenge us nearly as much as what we had already done. The irony of trekking over to West Royce is that the peak is in New Hampshire, so we can’t even say it was for work…
There are a few items we bring with us on most adventures that make us feel better when things don’t go according to plan. We thought it might be helpful to share what’s in our pack. Feel free to follow the links below and explore more options from Backcountry.com and, should you feel compelled to get anything, you can save 15% off your first purchase using code MAINETHEWAY15 at checkout — exclusions apply!
By the time we got back to the car, we had logged 7.4 miles, a bit more than we bargained for, but the thrill of being back in the mountains propelled our adventure. If you’re inspired to recreate this daytrip, we would recommend either allotting more time for the hike or maybe just tackling East Royce. The views are still magnificent! My legs were officially noodles and there was no question we had earned a beer, so we made our way to the final stop of the day. If you didn’t know, Maine is home to Ebenezer’s Pub, a beer bar that has been ranked best in the world multiple times, along with many other accolades. With an incredible selection of worldly brews (lots of Belgian offerings), we settled in with a Saison and a Quadrupel, poutine, and a waffle.
These full days in the mountains have us looking forward to a fall of leaf-peeping, peak bagging, and unwinding in the sweet mountain towns of Western Maine. Looking ahead to this season, we’re excited to launch Issue 10: West shortly. Make sure you’ve signed up for our newsletter so you don’t miss any details on what’s to come!