Baxter Peak and so much more.

[percious]

This is going to be part one of a two part installment. I've had a crazy week, and this is all I can muster at this time. Shall I begin....

Wednesday morning we all met in Vernon, CT in good spirits, and after a little packing we were on our way. After a minor mixup in Mass, we were moving along nicely through NH and finally ME. We stopped briefly at a very nice town north of the capital for lunch. There were beautiful picnic tables overlooking a pond. Around 4pm we arrived at Katahdin shadows Campground in East Millonocket. After a short swim we headed over to a white river rafting facility that had a pub with some fairly good food. Hard to complain, our bellies full, felling relaxed, we turned in for the night after playing with some sparklers. The bugs were definately out in full force.

6am came early on Thursday (doesnt it every day?), and after some scrambling (eggs of course) we headed off to the park gate. 8 miles of dirt road later, we found ourselves abandoning our car, heading to a trailhead which we would return to in a different direction, after almost 30 miles of hiking. I love loop hiking, and this was the ultimate loop.

After a few miles, we reached the half way point, and converted to shorts mode. The trail was an easy grade, and we were making good time. Our first experience with the crystal clear waters of Maine came when we arrived at Basin pond, where we spied our first 2 objectives of the trip. Pamola hovered to the right, looking rather tame, while Hamlin loomed in the distance, which I knew would be tough with full packs. Mountains didn't scare us though... we were mountain men... errr... mountain people. We wanted to dunk ourselves, but decided rather to head for the hills.

Soon after we reached a sign that labeled chimney pond .3 miles further. This was quite a surprise, because I thought we had moved well, and were within a few yards... After hiking 10 more minutes we arrived, and I was certain that the mileage was wrong, but who knows. At this point we pumped/penned our hearts out, dropped our heavy packs, hung the bear bags, and registered for knife's edge. Our first objective was going to be hard, but all good things come at a price.

(cont.)

[percious]

Pamola started up at a stiff grade, and we were happy to be gaining elevation so quickly. Surely this would be an easy summit at this rate. We found a shady spot before the trees let up, and I got to lose the weight of lunch, well 3/4ths of it anyway. We continued beyond treeline, and saw very few people descending as we went up. It was strange to see so few people out on such a beautiful day. I guess the gate quotas are a good thing after all, just too darn hard to implement in other places.

Soon we spied Pamola's finger, and that was our next goal, since the summit seemed miles away. We stopped a few times to catch our breath, and continued to trudge on until we reached the finger. At this point we took a long break and played around on the finger. Each took his/her turn up the pointy rock, and the exposure gives you quite an adrenalin rush. I took way too many pictures, and we all had a few good laughs before trucking on.

Pamola's summit was ths size of a postage stamp, and infested with black flies. Needless to say, we did not linger as our main objective lay before us. Knife's edge is a spectacular trail, one in which you can spy two sides of a ridge without turning your head. It is an erie experience, as the ground gives way seemingly beneath you for 2000 ft on each side. The trail has some hairy parts, and the wind always seemed to kick up just as you made the decision to take that death defying step to the next knob. It is definately quite the experience.

Having successfuly traversed the edge, we arrived at South Baxter Peak no worse for wear. We had passed a few weary parties heading towards the tough stuff, and were glad to know that the trail down was of a much easier grade.

(cont.)

[percious]

We soon arrived at Baxter peak, and I got to spy for the first time the terminus of the Apalachian trail. It is odd to imagine that a continuous trail follows from that point all the way back to Georgia, some 2000+ miles away. We snapped some shots, (awaiting some of those pics, because my camera apparently biffed) and stopped for a bit to grab some snacks. I spied my seventh spider for the day (what are those black suckers?) and we all decided it was best if we headed back for camp. We were running low on food, and the desire to hike. It was good to be descending from here on out.

Our chosen route was the saddle trail. As we approached the pass, the wind increased steadily before peaking at the junction. As soon as we dropped down into the bowl however, the wind subsided, and we carried on, satisfied with our day's expedition. I decided this must be the perfect winter route for Baxter. Somewhere along the line Will twisted his ankle, and this slowed us a bit as we descended.

I decided to stop and pen a few liters (7 to be exact) whilst we were high up while the rest headed to camp to prepare dinner. After retrieving the water I felt very energized, and covered the last mile or so very quickly, running at times when I could. I was trying to catch the rest before they got to camp, but they beat me by 10 minutes... Oh well.

A feast of hot dogs and rice ensued, and we were all happy to have brought a considerable amount of netting to keep the flies out of our sweat box. They sure do build the leantos small for 4 people! Ben and Will had their feet hanging over the edge when they woke in the morning.

(cont.)

[percious]

ok, to narate for a minute here, that is the first installment.

pictures are here:

https://www.percious.com/hiking/

Enjoy

-percious

[Boreal Chickadee]

Glad you made it up! I've climbed Katahdin several times and when you try to describe what it is like, a verbal description seems so inadequate. Katahdin is like no other peak in the northeast. Awe inspiring.

Did you get to see the movie of Percival Baxter at the park headquarters? Very worth your time. I have the book on the entire history of his aquiring the land and donating the entire park to the people of the state of Maine. An amazing man with true vision.

We used to camp every year in Baxter for two weeks and then did not get back for a number of years. When I returned in '99, as I drove the tote road and first spotted Katahdin, I was so excited I stopped, jumped out and bounced up on the hood to get a better picture. The resulting dent reminded me of Katahdin and I really didn't mind looking at it at all. Every time I saw the dent in the hood I recalled my excitement and how much I felt like I had returned to an old friend.

Keep writing, I can't wait for the next installment.

[marzrw]

Well, I have been to Baxter State Park and it is awesome...I did not do Katahdin...Of course I fished instead...It was awesome...Very good fishing for wild brookies...I let 10 or 12 go, but am very sorry to say I kept 2 for my dinner...Skewered them over a campfire and ate them like cotton candy with my fingers...No mess, pots or pans...It was awesome...Coyotes howling at night...A sizable animal brushed my tent in the middle of the night with a full moon peeping through my tent fly...A memory I will not forget...Did not see a moose, but saw some tracks in the bottom of a pond and spooked a sizable deer with velvety antlers...Maybe I can do Katahdin someday too...It must be awesome....

[Boreal Chickadee]

Marzrw-My preschool daughter was fishing in Katahdin Stream and caught a trout asking repeatedly, is it 6?, is it 6? We had told her they had to be 6 inches to keep. Yes we ate some also, mostly from the Nesowahedunk. Pan fried, but your skewered ones sound really delicious.

Percious- We'd love to hear more of your story-Please!

[marzrw]

Marzrw-My preschool daughter was fishing in Katahdin Stream and caught a trout asking repeatedly, is it 6?, is it 6? We had told her they had to be 6 inches to keep. Yes we ate some also, mostly from the Nesowahedunk. Pan fried, but your skewered ones sound really delicious.

Percious- We'd love to hear more of your story-Please!

I don't remember the size limit, not sure if there is one...I know that the Nesowadnehunk was artificial lures or flyfishing only... I was camping at Trout Brook Campsite and fishing Trout Brook a very pretty stream...I remember Nesowadnehunk you could view Katahdin...Correct???...It was awesome and I do hope to go back there and fish other parts of Maine...They have many streams with Landlock Salmon as well...

[Boreal Chickadee]

When we were up in '99 we stayed at Trout Brook, but didn't fish that time. A very short stay, just a couple of nights after staying at Acadia. but my younger son was down at the stream in themorning and came racing back to the tent because a mama moose and calf just casually crossed the stream to him. Talk about excitement.

The same trip my daughter wanted to know if it was 6, my hsuband caught a huge trout and went to get the ranger to show him. I was pretty hungry and by the time they got back to the site I had the head chopped off and was making it sizzle over the fire. Hey, it wouldn't fit in the pan, so off with his head! Man, I wish I'd had a camera for their faces.

Nesowahedunk is on the western side of the tote road and I can't remember the views from the stream probably because all I remember is getting caught in the blowdown. But I seem to remember being able to see Katahdin from the dirt road where we parked.

Since I know you guys like to know the species, my old Baxter Park guide says mostly brook torut , but some Blueback trout in Wassataquoik Lake and some Sunapee trout in South Branch Ponds. Things may have changed greatly since it was written. The first time I was up there and climbed Katahdin I was early twenties so that was a long time ago.

How to talk like a native Mainer: Nesowahedunk is pronounced locally as Ne-saw-de-hunk (short e's)

[marzrw]

Now that you mention it, have read and heard about the Blueback and Sunapee...Thanks for the reminder..Acadia is awesome also isn't it...Two of the best places -ADK and Maine!

[percious]

I'll write the rest by the end of the week. The week after the week after baxter, my wife and I were driving down a winding road in WV and a deer decided to commit suicide with my car... I will write the rest when I get the pictures scanned. The last week has been spent ordering new parts...

Have a laugh at my expense!!!

https://www.percious.com/bmw_deer

-percious

[percious]

Ok, things have settled down (parts on order). So here is my second installment... Now where did I leave off?

Saturday morning we woke with our feet hanging off the end of the shelter. Will and Ben went off to gather water for the day while I worked with Michele to cook our blueberry pancakes. Michelle did a really good job with a really difficult meal.

After packing up and signing the register, we headed to the lead up trail for Hamlin. Will was still uneasy about his ankle, so we decided to forego the decision as long as possible. The weight of the food was distributed to the strongest members in the group so that everyone could move at an even pace. Will's ankle did well on the first mile or so. He had put on a beefy brace which did a good job on his ankle. His ankle was testy from the get-go. He decided to continue on, rather than hike out.

A half mile later we found ourselves approaching treeline. Although we were only 1/2 mile as the crow flies from Pamola, the terrain was quite different. Around every corner were beautiful white mountain flowers, and we enjoyed their sight in the morning sun. Off to the south we observed some cloud formations. We came to the agreement that these were lenticular, caused by the moist valley air being pushed up by north-bound low winds, then pushed east at higher elevations. They were neat clouds, because they formed exactly the shape of the basin formed by Pamola, Baxter, and Hamlin. It had been a windy night, so it did not surprise me to see such an active weather pattern.

After our break to analyze the weather pattern we continued trodding on, one false summit after another. In the distance I could see a large party of 10 or more people. Surely we would never catch them. It was at this point Michele took the lead, and before long had developed quite a gap over us chaps. She was a whole falsey ahead of us, and I could see our gap with the other group was shrinking. My load was feeling particularly heavy at this point, and I wondered if I should have given some more food to Michele. We took another short break when we caught up with Michele, and now the people in front of us were breaking on a small plateau along the mountainside. I knew we could catch them if we tried.

(cont.)

[percious]

I urged our group to push on, and I think everyone was in accordance. We were looking for another good break spot, but I really did not see a good one before the respice that the other group was using. Our egos at full blast, we pushed on, we could now see that the other group was donning only daypacks, and here we were lugging 40+ lbs up Hamlin and catching them! A few members of the group took off up the mountain as we approached. By the time we reached the respice, only 3 remained. We had done it.

I think everyone's moral was pretty good at this point. We all took a long break, and enjoyed the scenery. The rest of the lead group headed up to the summit, and we just sat basking in our accomplishment. 4 people, weary from a previous day's hike, one with an injury, had worked together to keep a solid pace for an excruciating climb. This was my summit.

After our break we headed up to the summit, having achieved the last false one. The summit was rather anti-climactic and we did not even take any shots of the actual summit. Instead we caught up with the group again at the next trail junction, where we had some group shots taken. We had finished the climbing for our trip. The next two and a half days would be nothing but downhill.

(cont.)

[percious]

The next section of trail lead us through "Tabled Lands" which is a remarkable place. An alpine zone above 4000 feet, the area was rocky and grassy, with small groups of pine trees scattered about. It is my guess that these "trees" are actually one tree that has grown horizontally instead of vertically. It was an interesting, if barren place to be. It seemed to fit that the skies were overcast, which gave the surrounding an ominous feel. The wind was blowing hard, and we were chilled despite the early morning warmth we felt on this late June day.

After a mile of rock hopping through the windy tabled lands, we started our descent. We could see our destination, Davis Pond. In the distance were the impressive Cliffs that make up the Howe Peaks. From here we would head straight down into the valley. We stopped for a lunch of tuna packets, and everyone was glad we had ransacked the local gas station for mayo, and onion packets a few days earlier. Its not that tuna by itself is a bad thing, its just that 7oz of it gets to be a bit much.

At this point the trail became steep and slippery. Water appeared everywhere, which was a good thing, because I was almost out. Michele slipped somewhere along the way, but made a great catch of herself, walking away with only a raspberry. We slowed considerably on the descent because of the trail conditions. I decided to stop and pen some water with Michele, while Ben and Will continued towards Davis. Soon after we could hear their voices, as we continued down switchbacks leading to the pond. We discovered ice right about the time we caught up to them, and the cool pockets of air were a welcome change for this hot summer day.

I was impressed by the surroundings we witnessed when we reached Davis pond. There was a rocky "beach" area and a beautifully skinny waterfall at the far end of the pond. The bugs however, were a completely different story. We all settled into the shelter, and basked in its copious space. There was definitely enough for 6 people, and we were glad to sleep with our feet inside. Quickly, we put up the bug netting, and the no-see-ums were cut down to about 5% of their force inside the shelter. This was tolerable.

(cont.)

[percious]

Dinner that night was corn chowder. Never was there a more hearty meal that this, and with all that climbing with full packs, it was a welcome sight. Better yet, Michele and Will took up cooking duties, so all I had to do was sit back and enjoy. It was an excellent meal.

After dinner we all rested, with full bellies. Will and Michele headed off to a precipice that over looked the pond. It looked like a wee bushwhack to get there, so I decided to instead stay and set up the bear bag. After the bear bag was hung I was kind of bored, so I grabbed Ben, and we followed in W+M's tracks up to the precipice. The whack was thick, but not impossible. I rate it a herdwhack. It was well worth the effort, as the view of the waterfall and the pond was great. We could see an otter swimming blissfully in the pond below. The sunset made for some great photos, as we batted the no-see-ums circling our netted heads. Sleep came easily that night, after some entertaining spiders and their fly-traps.

(cont.)