An Appalachian Trail Hiker Savors the Colorful Fall View

[PEERCE POND] a township in Somerset County, is home to all but a small portion of Pierce Pond, all of Upper Pierce Pond, Grass Pond and half of Kilgore Pond, which it shares with Bowtown Township to the east. Pierce Pond Stream exits the Pond at its southern tip and proceeds through Carying Place Township where it enters the Kennebec River.

In the late 1990’s, landowners around Pierce Pond protected the Pond and its surroundings using the Forest Legacy Program. The U.S. Forest Service paid to protect 12 miles of shore frontage in exchange for the landowners giving up their development rights while retaining rights to manage the land for timber.

Appalachian Trail Campsite in Pierce Pond Township (T2 R4 BKB WKR)

“Pierce Pond is a beautiful lake that truly warrants the protection of its shoreline from ever increasing development,” according to Ed Griffith, a UDSA Forest Service official. Considered one of the best fly-fishing trout ponds in Maine, it hosts several sporting camps for that purpose.

The Appalachian Trail passes through the southeast tip of the township, with a lean-to shelter on the Pond offering one of the best wilderness water views on the Trail. The Pierce Pond lean-to is just north of the Trail and down over a significant incline to within a few feet of the shore. The awkward looking outhouse remains away from the shore on the AT. Awakening AT’ers gaze at the Pond with Pierce Pond Mountain in the distance. Many hiker breakfasts have been cooked here before continuing toward the ever-closer Mount Katahdin.