buckyball1
New member
After spending the past two weekends doing a number of "medium" hikes in the Whites [Percy Peaks, Sugarloaf (Nash Forest),Stairs/Resolution, Monadnock(VT), etc], I decided to head up to Baxter today to try the one trail up Katahdin I'd not been on-ABOL Slide.
After a dark, someone foggy drive up Rt 95, I reached the gate around 520 and was at ABOL ready to hike about 6 AM. (a bit off topic, but FYI- of late, the day use lot at Roaring Brook has been filling by mid morning on many Fri/Sun, by 6-7 on Sat and often not at all on other weekdays) My plan was to go up the slide and at Thoreau Springs head back or perhaps down the Hunt.
I didn't look at the board, but it was probably a class 2 (perhaps a 1) day on the mountain. Partly cloudy with some haze which gave way to a warm morning.The walk in to the base of the slide(s) is pretty mellow, but at 1.3 miles the trail becomes increasingly steep. The lower part of the slide is in the trees, pretty loose skree/gravel with moderate size rocks scattered about--trickier going down than up. As you ascend, the slide opens up, the angle steepens markedly and the rocks/boulders increase in size as the gravel patches decrease. The last section before the tableland is very steep with large boulders which necessitate a bit of route selection and hand over hand.(poles are useful, but you probably need to stow them for the steepest section of the slide when descending)
After a bit of strenuous climbing,I topped out on the Tableland and was at Thoreau Springs at 8:01, feeling pretty good and decided to head to the summit. The last mile over the Tableland and up to the summit is pretty much an uphill walk with a few rocks/boulders tossed in. It was still pretty cool and there was a breeze blowing across the summit ridge. I summited at 8:30 and was fortunate to be alone on the top. Katahdin is a magical place at any time, but to be alone there for 1/2 hour is truly moving (sorry to be a bit melodramtic, but i feel strongly about this mountain). The views back across the Tableland, over the Hamlin Ridge, the North Basin, out onto Howe (North) Peaks(another superb, lonely place to hike) and especially the Knife Edge and dark, brooding walls that fall toward Chimney Pond are stunning -(IMHO
)the best in the East-a very special place.
I headed down and met some thru hikers at Thoreau, had a good talk, and decided to descend ABOL. While that's "not advised" if you ask park staff, the "preferred" descent route on the Hunt is no picnic, much longer and necessitates a road walk back to ABOL. The descent required a bit of care and gave my quads a pretty good beating, but wasn't that bad. I saw about 30-35 people on the descent all doing Ok and thought most/all would make the top.
a great day to be alive--
jim/buckyball1
After a dark, someone foggy drive up Rt 95, I reached the gate around 520 and was at ABOL ready to hike about 6 AM. (a bit off topic, but FYI- of late, the day use lot at Roaring Brook has been filling by mid morning on many Fri/Sun, by 6-7 on Sat and often not at all on other weekdays) My plan was to go up the slide and at Thoreau Springs head back or perhaps down the Hunt.
I didn't look at the board, but it was probably a class 2 (perhaps a 1) day on the mountain. Partly cloudy with some haze which gave way to a warm morning.The walk in to the base of the slide(s) is pretty mellow, but at 1.3 miles the trail becomes increasingly steep. The lower part of the slide is in the trees, pretty loose skree/gravel with moderate size rocks scattered about--trickier going down than up. As you ascend, the slide opens up, the angle steepens markedly and the rocks/boulders increase in size as the gravel patches decrease. The last section before the tableland is very steep with large boulders which necessitate a bit of route selection and hand over hand.(poles are useful, but you probably need to stow them for the steepest section of the slide when descending)
After a bit of strenuous climbing,I topped out on the Tableland and was at Thoreau Springs at 8:01, feeling pretty good and decided to head to the summit. The last mile over the Tableland and up to the summit is pretty much an uphill walk with a few rocks/boulders tossed in. It was still pretty cool and there was a breeze blowing across the summit ridge. I summited at 8:30 and was fortunate to be alone on the top. Katahdin is a magical place at any time, but to be alone there for 1/2 hour is truly moving (sorry to be a bit melodramtic, but i feel strongly about this mountain). The views back across the Tableland, over the Hamlin Ridge, the North Basin, out onto Howe (North) Peaks(another superb, lonely place to hike) and especially the Knife Edge and dark, brooding walls that fall toward Chimney Pond are stunning -(IMHO
)the best in the East-a very special place.I headed down and met some thru hikers at Thoreau, had a good talk, and decided to descend ABOL. While that's "not advised" if you ask park staff, the "preferred" descent route on the Hunt is no picnic, much longer and necessitates a road walk back to ABOL. The descent required a bit of care and gave my quads a pretty good beating, but wasn't that bad. I saw about 30-35 people on the descent all doing Ok and thought most/all would make the top.
a great day to be alive--
jim/buckyball1
