torn&frayed
New member
9/23/05 to 9/26/05
This may have been our most favorite trip to date.
Gary and I arrived at the Togue Pond Gate on Friday morning and we were on the Hunt Trail at around noon. It was his first time to hike The Owl. He was not dissapointed. The trail is in great shape and the summits have some of the best views in the park. The weather was perfect. We got back to the Katahdin Stream at 5:30 and we were able to spend time with a few thru hikers. Up to 30 of them were expecting to finish the A.T. on Saturday. We then continued driving along the Tote Road all the way around to the north end to South Branch Pond. We decided not to venture up to the fire tower on Burnt Mountain due to the lack of daylight.
Day 2 was nicknamed "sweet revenge on The Traveler". In June we got our butts kicked by the bugs and the sun and the heat and the humidity (anything else?). Oh ya, lack of water. See the trip report by SherpaKroto and friends. They did the loop the day after Gary and I last June. Anyway, this was one of the best hiking adventures ever. We did the loop clockwise this time. It was more fun than I could have dreamed of. The weather and all other conditions were perfect. The trail has a few spots where it is hard to follow but certainly no big issues there. There are several sections of exposure to heights, but if I can handle it, anyone can. I am extremely "frayed "of heights. We stretched the hike out to about 9 hours because the day went so well.
Day 3 was the loop over South Branch Mountain and Black Cat Mountain. This in no way compares to the Traveler Loop, but it still gets classified as an awesome loop. We did it counter-clockwise. The first peak has no views, but there are a few good outlooks along the way. The second peak (Black Cat or South Peak of South Branch Mountain), has 360 degree views. Again, the weather and trail conditions were perfect (how boring!).
Day 4 started out as a washout, and we had the 6 hour drive to deal with, so we packed up and headed south. Lean to #11 has a great deal of privacy if you like that sort of thing, and the privies weren't too bad. We had no wildlife sightings, which was kinda surprising. Although Mighty Mouse did manage to taste about 80 per cent of Gary's food.
What to do next year? I sure would hate to start neglecting Katahdin, but the entire park is spectacular. Oh well, plenty of time left for the master plan.
Gary and Jim Willette
This may have been our most favorite trip to date.
Gary and I arrived at the Togue Pond Gate on Friday morning and we were on the Hunt Trail at around noon. It was his first time to hike The Owl. He was not dissapointed. The trail is in great shape and the summits have some of the best views in the park. The weather was perfect. We got back to the Katahdin Stream at 5:30 and we were able to spend time with a few thru hikers. Up to 30 of them were expecting to finish the A.T. on Saturday. We then continued driving along the Tote Road all the way around to the north end to South Branch Pond. We decided not to venture up to the fire tower on Burnt Mountain due to the lack of daylight.
Day 2 was nicknamed "sweet revenge on The Traveler". In June we got our butts kicked by the bugs and the sun and the heat and the humidity (anything else?). Oh ya, lack of water. See the trip report by SherpaKroto and friends. They did the loop the day after Gary and I last June. Anyway, this was one of the best hiking adventures ever. We did the loop clockwise this time. It was more fun than I could have dreamed of. The weather and all other conditions were perfect. The trail has a few spots where it is hard to follow but certainly no big issues there. There are several sections of exposure to heights, but if I can handle it, anyone can. I am extremely "frayed "of heights. We stretched the hike out to about 9 hours because the day went so well.
Day 3 was the loop over South Branch Mountain and Black Cat Mountain. This in no way compares to the Traveler Loop, but it still gets classified as an awesome loop. We did it counter-clockwise. The first peak has no views, but there are a few good outlooks along the way. The second peak (Black Cat or South Peak of South Branch Mountain), has 360 degree views. Again, the weather and trail conditions were perfect (how boring!).
Day 4 started out as a washout, and we had the 6 hour drive to deal with, so we packed up and headed south. Lean to #11 has a great deal of privacy if you like that sort of thing, and the privies weren't too bad. We had no wildlife sightings, which was kinda surprising. Although Mighty Mouse did manage to taste about 80 per cent of Gary's food.
What to do next year? I sure would hate to start neglecting Katahdin, but the entire park is spectacular. Oh well, plenty of time left for the master plan.
Gary and Jim Willette
