Hiking in Maine

Bradley-Sunkhaze Preserve, located in Milford, Maine, is 12,710 acres owned by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), adjoining Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and Maine Parks and Lands Bradley Unit. On a cool mid-September morning, I hiked in this remote, quiet preserve, using the Birch Stream Trail. TNC’s website has a trail map, but the scale is problematic (Derek Zoolander would loudly ask if this is a map for ants), and the trails are overgrown and unmarked. I used AllTrails to navigate, and had downloaded the map well beforehand, as there is little to no cellular signal in this area.

There is a small parking area next to where Birch Stream crosses County Road, across from the Oak Point trailhead at Sunkhaze Meadows NWR. The Birch Stream Trail starts as an overgrown woods road with a small path in the center hemmed in by wildflowers, ferns, blackberry, and other clinging, thorny plants. A large boggy meadow lit by the sunrise opened up to the left, full of songbirds, and plenty of white birch lined the trail.

At about a half-mile, a white-blazed trail broke off to the right. I chose to continue straight on the Birch Stream trail. I assume that this was the Lichen Trail, but nothing was marked and this is definitely not a self-correcting trail system. Shortly after this intersection, the main trail became crowded by evergreens and the majority plant at ground level was sweet fern, which created a pleasant scent tunnel. At about .7 miles the trail split to the left, marked by blue blazes, and I followed it. Confusingly enough, there was a yellow blaze on a large tree shortly therein. This trail was much more well-maintained, with fresh yellow blazes, and a moss-covered surface.

There were a fair amount of twists and turns marked by the blazes that seemed disconnected to the actual packed trail beneath my feet, but following the yellow bright yellow blazes on the trees got me to Birch Stream at about a mile from the start. Birch Stream was flowing quietly, and was easily traversed, using rocks.

No trail, however, was evident on the opposite side, so I turned around and headed back up the yellow-blazed trail to the main trail. I took a left to continue east to intersect with the stream again. At most points this trail was uncomfortably narrow and much more of a game track than a hiking trail. A little over 1.75 miles up this track, I realized I must have overshot the trails in the preserve and turned around again. I turned right on a completely unmarked trail, and maybe an eighth of a mile in, I saw my first light blue blaze on a tree and realized I was going the right way.

Eventually, I reached pretty, slow-flowing Birch Stream again. According to the map, just like the previous crossing, there is a trail across that goes to the Balsam Trail and alternate parking area. I don’t doubt that this is true, but it was not immediately apparent. Given the difficulties of navigating the Birch Stream Trail already, I decided to return back the way I had come. A pile of planks, pointing in different directions near the banks of the stream, indicated that trail maintenance and construction is planned, which would be a good thing. All told, I hiked about 3.6 miles, taking about an hour and 25 minutes to do so. The character of the route would be something like a scribbled uppercase “E” on its side, due to the wrong turns and trail outages.

My conclusion is that this is not a family-friendly trail, unless your family likes a challenge. But it is a beautiful place, with a clean, quiet stream, and if you’re into wildflowers and birds, there will be plenty here for you. As far as wildlife, you likely won’t meet many other people here so the chances of an encounter are pretty good. I saw moose droppings and bear scat, and I’m sure there are many other woodland creatures waiting to be discovered.