White Cap Mountain, North Kennebago Divide, Monument 450 - Herd paths, bushwhacks - 9-27-2025

Hiking Trail Conditions Report
	Peaks	White Cap Mountain, North Kennebago Divide, Monument 450, ME

	Trails:	Herd paths, bushwhacks

	Date of Hike:	Saturday, September 27, 2025

	Parking/Access Road Notes:	drove in from Eustis side via Tim Pond Road, then out Lincoln Brook Road to Morton Cutoff to exit in Rangeley area ... Tim Pond Road was in better shape than Lincoln Brook Road ... most roads were in decent enough shape for a car with average clearance, Porter Brook Road had culverts you might want higher clearance, or you could park at a clearing up to a mile before the end of Porter Brook Road and walk an extra mile or so round trip ... rough mileage driving in from Rangeley via Morton Cutoff: 00.0 - turn North onto Morton Cutoff Road 03.2 - turn Right onto Lincoln Brook Road 10.9 - turn Left onto Canada Road (sign; aka Kennebago River Road) 14.1 - turn Left onto Wiggle Brook Road 14.3 - bear Left to stay on Wiggle Brook Road after bridge 18.4 - Snow Cupsuptic access road on Left, drive 0.4 up access road to park for Snow 18.7 - turn Right onto Oxbow Road (near 8-mile marker sign?) 20.8 - straight at large logging area on Left 21.9 - Right onto Porter Brook Road (sign) 23.0 - a few clearings you could park cars with low clearance 23.5 - a few clearings you could park cars with low clearance 23.9 - Herd Path on right (east) toward WC/KD col 24.0 - northern end of Porter Brook Rd, large culvert, park 2 cars, better to park at former clearings ?

	Surface Conditions:	Dry Trail

	Recommended Equipment:

	Water Crossing Notes:

	Trail Maintenance Notes:	decent amount of blowdown along the old logging road hiking down from Monument 450 on the US/Canada border down to the northern end of Porter Brook Road

	Dog-Related Notes:

	Bugs:

	Lost and Found:


	Comments:	parked a mile before the end of Porter Brook Road as there were hunters trucks blocking the road ahead when i arrived, which added a couple miles to the hike ... wear blaze orange, hunters are out, except on sundays, when there's no hunting in Maine (but there is sunday hunting in Canada, be careful if you're hiking near the US/Canada boundary swath) 0.1 miles before the end of Porter Brook Road, there's a remnant of an old logging road bearing right (east) off Porter Brook Road ... turn right here and follow a faint herd path that randomly fades but leads you up to the col between White Cap and Kennebago Divide, occasionally mushy moss with light blowdown but mostly open woods as you gain height-o-land ... whack south from height-o-land, seek the decent herd path leads you up to North Kennebago Divide and its cannister ... hiking back to the col between WC and KD, it's then a whack to White Cap ... you might find a snowmobile trail dropping off the NE side from the col, losing elevation to pick up the open path heading up from the end of Bear Brook Road on the east side of this ridge ? recent reports suggested Bear Brook Road was in tough shape, but a guy on East Kennebago the next day said that he drove up Bear Brook Road this weekend and had an easy time reaching White Cap (which was our experience hiking that route in Winter several years ago) i whacked (magnetic north) straight up from the WC / KD col, scaling boulders and earning battle scars on my forearms until the grade leveled out - once i gained the WC ridge, woods opened up a bit for a straight NW stroll to the cannister (i use paper maps and a compass) decided to try for Boundary, so i whacked straight towards Monument 450 Peak, descending the western side of WC, happy when i reached a cleared area until i started walking through it to discover that it wasn't easy going, with dead pine slash branches hiding their fickle treachery beneath flora - hacked my way south back into the woods which was easier going (avoid the cleared area!), then found easier going to the WC/Mon450 col and up the eastern side of Mon450 ... found the Monument 450 Peak cannister, then walked 100' more to reach the US/Canada boundary swath, and heard hunters shooting on both sides of the border - decided to save Boundary for another day, then hiked south along the boundary swath 0.2 miles, reaching a hunters blind with salt licks on the Canadian side, and walked down an open path marked with flagging tape there on the US side, which led me down an old logging road / path back to the northern end of Porter Brook Road ... if i knew that path from boundary swath to Porter Brook Road was open and easy, i might've gone for Boundary ... wasn't sure if i'd make the 5 miles round trip to Boundary then whack down from there in the dark ... Boundary would be an easier "get" following the path up from the end of Porter Brook Road to the boundary swath, then following the swath to Boundary Peak ... wear blaze orange if you go for it ... i had considered tenting next to my truck after this hike, then hiking Snow Cupsuptic the next morning, but i had time to hike Snow Cupsuptic that afternoon, so i went for it ... drove back to Wiggle Brook Road, turned left, then turned right onto Snow Cupsuptic access road, drove 0.4 miles up the access road then parked and followed an obvious path up to Snow Cup summit ... hiked straight beyond the parking area on a grassy road with deep mucky tracks that would eat your muffler then laugh at your misery, turning left after a half mile up another grassy road, reaching a clearing where i turned right at a cairn, then left at the next cairn into the woods, following an easy herd path up to Snow Cup summit ... much easier than the first time we hiked these peaks 20+ years ago when we had zero beta, just parked as close as we could to each summit then engaged in face-to-branch near-mortal combat which at times felt like we were earning Viking era honour, at other times felt like the Mountain Gods were out to crush our very souls ... we loved every minute of those trips, some more than others, wouldn't change a thing if we could ... hope this helps someone find their way to a fun day in the Great Outdoors with your favourite friends ...

	Name:	arm

	E-Mail:	winterhiker gmail.com

	Date Submitted:	2025-09-30

	Link:	https://
		Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense.