Spent this past weekend in BSP with a group organized by Windy from RoT.
Day 1
Meri and I made the long drive up Friday night and stayed in Millinocket. We had planned to hike Katahdin via the KE with a couple of other people on Saturday, but when we made it into the park in the morning we found out that it was a class IV day and all the trails to Baxter were closed. My plan B was to join a couple of people doing Coe, N. & S. Bro and Fort. I dropped off a little gear and then headed for the Marston trailhead where I found Whichway and Mainiac (Steve) still getting ready to start.
The weather, which had originally looked promising, got gradually worse as the day went on. Foggy/misty conditions kept us from enjoying views of the fall foliage. The Coe slide was a bit wet due to precip the previous day, but I thought it was a lot of fun. As we approached the summit of Coe we saw our first snow of the season clinging to the trees. The trip over to South Brother was uneventful, but conditions were somewhat colder and windier at the summit. The trail up to North Brother from the Junction with the Marston Trail was very wet and eroded in many places. Above tree line we hit the worst conditions of the day with high winds and sleet/snow. Mainiac finished his NE4Ks on N. Brother
- you can see in the photo that he really is smiling despite being pelted with ice and hanging on to the sign for dear life .
We wanted to go tag Fort as well (ok, Whichway and I really wanted to, I think Steve had had enough of us at this point). Fort was the only HH peak in BSP that I had not previously visited. We had some basic routefinding advice from the board and from a couple of hikers we met returning from there. Unfortunately, we had a hard time finding the trail. We made progress for a little while, but had trouble finding any trace of the earlier hikers or the herd path in the snow. Given the poor visibility, bad weather and the waning hours of sunlight, we decided to turn back.
Back at camp we enjoyed a potluck feast. This group takes car camping to a whole new level. You may notice in a couple of the campfire photos a large white tent that was erected at the campsite - an enclosed and heated cooking facility! My 3-person tent looked like a smart car in a sea of Escalades. There was a lot of talk about the big event of the day, Nilsa breaking her leg and the effort to get her down off the mountain. Marchowes was present, so the fire was substantial .
Day 2
Another Class IV day, so I joined Lawn Sale and his friends Ian and Josh on a hike up to Chimney Pond. The sky was blue and the air crisp as we set out. The walk up was pleasant, and we checked out every available viewpoint. We arrived at Chimney Pond just in time for it to start snowing We had a quick lunch and then headed over to Blueberry Knoll, which supplied very nice views despite the turn in the weather. On the trip back we made a final side trip over to Sandy Stream Pond hoping to see moose. We did not.
Dinner was fantastic once again - mostly courtesy of mtn ma and pa. A fire was made. Beer, wine and Moxie were consumed (I tried it for the first time and love it!). McRat entertained the crowd with his guitar and harmonica, and recorded a campaign song for Steve (the man in orange) Snyder who is running as a write-in candidate for President. Vote for Steve! Marchowes was present, so the fire was substantial.
Day 3
Meri and I had to head home by early afternoon, so we decided to do a pond tour instead of any more substantial hikes (although that darn Fort did try to lure me back). We visited Elbow Pond, Daicey Pond, Grassy Pond and Stump Pond. The weather was beautiful, and we took lots of pictures. We were really hoping to see some moose, but no such luck.
A really nice weekend camping in style with a great group. Thanks Windy for organizing the camp sites!
photos here: Baxter
Rebecca
Day 1
Meri and I made the long drive up Friday night and stayed in Millinocket. We had planned to hike Katahdin via the KE with a couple of other people on Saturday, but when we made it into the park in the morning we found out that it was a class IV day and all the trails to Baxter were closed. My plan B was to join a couple of people doing Coe, N. & S. Bro and Fort. I dropped off a little gear and then headed for the Marston trailhead where I found Whichway and Mainiac (Steve) still getting ready to start.
The weather, which had originally looked promising, got gradually worse as the day went on. Foggy/misty conditions kept us from enjoying views of the fall foliage. The Coe slide was a bit wet due to precip the previous day, but I thought it was a lot of fun. As we approached the summit of Coe we saw our first snow of the season clinging to the trees. The trip over to South Brother was uneventful, but conditions were somewhat colder and windier at the summit. The trail up to North Brother from the Junction with the Marston Trail was very wet and eroded in many places. Above tree line we hit the worst conditions of the day with high winds and sleet/snow. Mainiac finished his NE4Ks on N. Brother
- you can see in the photo that he really is smiling despite being pelted with ice and hanging on to the sign for dear life . We wanted to go tag Fort as well (ok, Whichway and I really wanted to, I think Steve had had enough of us at this point). Fort was the only HH peak in BSP that I had not previously visited. We had some basic routefinding advice from the board and from a couple of hikers we met returning from there. Unfortunately, we had a hard time finding the trail. We made progress for a little while, but had trouble finding any trace of the earlier hikers or the herd path in the snow. Given the poor visibility, bad weather and the waning hours of sunlight, we decided to turn back.
Back at camp we enjoyed a potluck feast. This group takes car camping to a whole new level. You may notice in a couple of the campfire photos a large white tent that was erected at the campsite - an enclosed and heated cooking facility! My 3-person tent looked like a smart car in a sea of Escalades. There was a lot of talk about the big event of the day, Nilsa breaking her leg and the effort to get her down off the mountain. Marchowes was present, so the fire was substantial
.Day 2
Another Class IV day, so I joined Lawn Sale and his friends Ian and Josh on a hike up to Chimney Pond. The sky was blue and the air crisp as we set out. The walk up was pleasant, and we checked out every available viewpoint. We arrived at Chimney Pond just in time for it to start snowing
We had a quick lunch and then headed over to Blueberry Knoll, which supplied very nice views despite the turn in the weather. On the trip back we made a final side trip over to Sandy Stream Pond hoping to see moose. We did not. Dinner was fantastic once again - mostly courtesy of mtn ma and pa. A fire was made. Beer, wine and Moxie were consumed (I tried it for the first time and love it!). McRat entertained the crowd with his guitar and harmonica, and recorded a campaign song for Steve (the man in orange) Snyder who is running as a write-in candidate for President. Vote for Steve! Marchowes was present, so the fire was substantial.
Day 3
Meri and I had to head home by early afternoon, so we decided to do a pond tour instead of any more substantial hikes (although that darn Fort did try to lure me back). We visited Elbow Pond, Daicey Pond, Grassy Pond and Stump Pond. The weather was beautiful, and we took lots of pictures. We were really hoping to see some moose, but no such luck.
A really nice weekend camping in style with a great group. Thanks Windy for organizing the camp sites!
photos here: Baxter
Rebecca
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