Baxter on Labor Day + Creature we saw there

[dr_wu002]

MEB, Rachel (Little Sister) and I went to Baxter for Labor Day Weekend. They had reservations from Friday through Wednesday. I arrived on Saturday. Together we did 4 hikes: 1. North Brother / Fort 2. Doubletop 3. Katahdin 4. The Owl. These were Sunday - Wednesday. MEB and Little Sister also did hikes on Friday and Saturday but they will have to describe them to you because I was not present.

We stayed at Abol Campground all 5 nights. The Campground was fairly crowded during the weekend but basically the activity died down after Labor Day. We were lucky in that we had fantastic weather for the entire time -- just like we did last year when we went to Baxter. I have a lot of pictures to show you from each hike that I did with MEB and Rachel but I have not finished processing them yet. We also were able to film the appearance of a strange creature that visited our campground twice. Luckily each time I had my camera handy as it has a video recording function.

The first time the creature visited we laughed at it because it seemed stupid and somewhat addled but the second visit made us more nervous when it attacked a water bottle that we had tossed towards it in case it was thirsty. Bad idea to feed the wild life. Here are links to the video:

first visit

Second, more troubling visit

In a little while I'll write some more complete reports for the various hikes, each of which was quite spectacular and then try to add pictures as well. This was the best trip ever and MEB and Rachel are awesome people to spend a long weekend with at Baxter.

-Dr. Wu

 

[ColdRiverRun]

It appears to be some sub species of the humping beast. I believe humpicas-wuacus rarely seen during daylight hours. ForrestGnome has been trying to photo one for years now, so great catch!

Can't wait to see good weather photos of these hikes.

 

[swamp]

I swear I saw that same beast on South Twin but no one would believe me. With a confirmed sighting we can now initiate some form of eradication program.

 

[dr_wu002]

North Brother and Fort - Sunday

The first hike that we all did together was North Brother. We had all done this one before but regardless it was amazing. You see, each hike was amazing until it was basically outdone the next day... but still, each hike was truly incredible in itself.

We started at some reasonable hour and began walking up the trail. It seemed like there was a ceiling of clouds at around 4500' but not really anything troubling at all. Going up to North Brother is your basic slog up a mountain. Push to get on the first plateau... flat walking.... steep walking again... pass a pond somewhere along the way... and eventually, at around 4000' or so you get to tree line and you're happy with the views and the fun level of the hike (which is always pretty high for me) increases even more.

Once we got to the summit of North Brother we verified -- by looking around -- that there was indeed a cloud level at around 4500'. My pictures, when I post them, will verify that for you as well, just in case you're a Doubting Thomas. Along the way we mingled with a group of 3 people and they were also on the summit as was a couple (girl+boy -- probably boyfriend/girlfriend). The summit was windy but quite enjoyable especially since the thick cloud formation was obviously beginning to break. We mentioned about a plane crash from the 40's on Fort and that peaked the other persons at the summit's attention. The boyfriend/girlfriend couple took off almost immediately to Fort. We were about to go over as well when one of the members of the 3 person group asked if he could tag along as well. His name was Atticus.

Almost immediately on the hike over to Fort I asked Atticus if he was a small dog. Despite having met Tom&Atticus before I wanted to give me senses and perceptions the benefit of doubt and asked away. Atticus said that people have asked him if he was Tom & Atticus before but admitted that it was the first time anyone had ever asked if he was a small dog. He could have had a spell put on him or something, it was less of a stupid question than you think.

The walk over to Fort was not what I expected. It was basically a "Trail-Whack" where there was an obviously herdpath but it was thick so your legs and arms (mostly legs) got cut up. The couple ahead of us seemed to dislike this part and I believe the boy might have been having trouble with spruce-needles as, and Mats will know what I'm talking about, "the full mailbox" was showing on this dude. We clandestinely nicknamed him "The Postman", exchanged pleasantries and moved on.

We got to Fort soon enough and this is an amazing little summit. It's basically a longish ridge with plenty of treeline to enjoy and fabulous views. Really exciting. We decided to explore the ridge and did our best to stick to the little herd path and not destroy any plants that were trying to live up there. The thick, gnarly spruce that we encountered on occasion while making our way across the ridge didn't, however, seem to mind our presence.

We found the obvious way to get to the plane and that was incredible. We explored a lot of this area. It was amazing how much thingamy was left from the plane. Of course we tried to remain respectful realizing that a number of people had lost their lives here. Eventually we left. MEB and Rachel took the obvious way back while I decided to show Atticus what it's like to get lost from the obvious way and have to bushwhack through thick spruce. He didn't seem to enjoy this part quite like I did but was an excellent sport. Soon though we were back at the summit ridge of Fort and once again enjoyed the views which had now opened up to gorgeous sun and high billowy clouds. We hung here for a while and then took the regular way back to North Brother.

Once back at North Brother we bid farewell to Atticus who had to rejoin his hapless companions. MEB and Rachel and I were three once again but there were two ladies also present at the summit. They were amused as to how MEB and I were trying to convince Rachel just how "easy" Abol and Hunt trails are on Katahdin, especially for someone afraid of heights. We also tried to persuade Rachel to go on the Knife Edge, something she had done before and vowed never to do again. We told her that it had nice views down to Chimney Pond and she yelled back that "Chimney Pond is filled with dead bodies!!" and that gave us all a laugh.

We realized that dinner was calling us so we headed out... we were lazy folk that day and decided that since it was getting late we wouldn't go to South Brother and wanted to go back and have fun at the campground. We saw the Postman dude along the way and he and his companion were going to South Brother and Coe. We were going swimming at some swim hole.

The trip down was quite fun and we had lots of weird stuff, as usual, to talk about. Once at the bottom we drove over to some Ledge Falls or something and went around on the hideously slippery rocks before returning to the campsite to make a nice dinner. Awesome Hike!

This was quite an enjoyable day and actually, I think we all agreed, that this might have been the most physically challenging hike for some reason. Not that it's a hard hike -- the other days just seemed easy. It was quite gorgeous though and the plane wreck was fascinating. Also, it was a special treat meeting Atticus who was a cool guy. Most important though was it was just a great hike for me with 2 great friends.

Pictures soon...

-Dr. Wu

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

The first time the creature visited we laughed at it because it seemed stupid and somewhat addled but the second visit made us more nervous when it attacked a water bottle that we had tossed towards it in case it was thirsty. Bad idea to feed the wild life. Here are links to the video:

first visit

Second, more troubling visit

Well, I do not think that the creature is an armadillo, although a BSP ranger once saw a black bear running around the Chimney Pond campground with a dead armadillo in its mouth.

 

[DougPaul]

The first time the creature visited we laughed at it because it seemed stupid and somewhat addled but the second visit made us more nervous when it attacked a water bottle that we had tossed towards it in case it was thirsty. Bad idea to feed the wild life. Here are links to the video:

first visit

Second, more troubling visit

My guess is that it is an abominable snowman in his summer coat.

Doug

 

[MichaelJ]

That creature bears a suspicious resemble to certain hikers I know when in their morning pre-coffee state...

 

[Gillian]

Ah yes, to be sure there's been many o' sighting on the home sod like this....sure lads and lassies if you look closely t'is clearly a travelling leprechaun gone bonkers lookin' for his liquor, probably his Jameson. Now, if you drunk it on the poor little chap, I'm sure a blanket soaked in wine would have made him happy.....

 

[dr_wu002]

Ah yes, to be sure there's been many o' sighting on the home sod like this....sure lads and lassies if you look closely t'is clearly a travelling leprechaun gone bonkers lookin' for his liquor, probably his Jameson. Now, if you drunk it on the poor little chap, I'm sure a blanket soaked in wine would have made him happy.....

Perhaps that's why it attached the water jug -- no alcohol allowed in Baxter.

-Dr. Wu

 

[dr_wu002]

Doubletop - Labor Day

All of us were kind of beat on Sunday Night and also feeling lazy. It was also really windy. But we were all moping around about going to Katahdin on Monday which we had planned... seemed like we were looking for excuses to do something else.

Sunday Night was not a good night for sleeping -- it was windy as hell and noisy outside and I woke up at like 2am and couldn't fall back asleep. I think I just had my blanket too and was cold in my tent. My sleeping bag was probably warm and toasty all rolled up in my car. Anyway, so we woke up and moped around more -- none of us wanted to do much exertion for some reason... so after a trip to the store in town, we decided to do Doubletop instead and wait for better weather, which was promised, on Tuesday.

We arrived at the trailhead at Doubletop at like 10 or 11... we were doing an out-and-back from the North; screw car spots. The walk up was quite a bit of fun -- it's steep for a little while, then flat, then really steep but the trail is incredibly lush and mossy... a real treat. And I actually felt pretty good which was a plus because it put me in a better frame of mind for doing Katahdin the next day. Also, another plus was that the weather got less windy and more sunny so that by the time we reached the first summit, it was bright and sunny.

The first thing we did when we got to the summit was we went to the South Summit to relax. Once at the South Summit, we parked there for about 2 hours, lounging in the sun, making weird noises, and trying to avoid the wind when it got a little chilly. The views were crystal clear with bluebird skies and only those billowy clouds pretty high up. Otherwise it was pretty gorgeous. The only downer was me having to slather on a second coat of sun screen... but in light of recent bouts of skin cancer around and the fact that skin cancer also runs in my family, I figured I'd really lay it on thick.

One group of 4 eventually made it to the South Summit but they kept moving. Perhaps they were spooked by our creepy conversation or maybe they didn't like the views or maybe they had a helicopter to catch -- I don't know but they boogied outta there as soon as they arrived. We stayed. Then a father-son combo showed up and we were just about hitting the 2-hour mark so we walked over to the North Summit again. The ridge walk over there is pretty frikkin' cool by the way -- all cliffy and knife-edgy, this was a treat for the second year in a row; the big difference was last year while walking over to the North Summit I had to make a poopie really bad but there was nowhere to go. This time around I had made the smart decision to utilize the excellent facilities that Baxter State Park provides to all hikers at the trail heads.

We arrived at the North Summit and enjoyed life there for an additional half hour or so.

Then we went down and you know what? We went back to those Ledge Falls. This time it was warmer (but more crowded) so we spent a lot of time frolicking. Let me tell you though, these rocks are slippery here -- I could stand in the water and let the current slide me around despite the fact that my feet were firmly planted on the rocks. And it was wicked difficult to get out of the water -- I had to flop around like some bass-ackwards seal just to get on dry ground. We saw some people fall in too and rudely laughed at them once we realized that they were unhurt. After that we all changed and went back to the campsite... another totally amazing day and we were like real super mentally charged for Katahdin on Tuesday!

Great Hike! Doubletop for me 2 years in a row and worth it. It's a short and fairly easy hike with spectacular views and well worth spending a lot of time at the summits.

Pictures Soon.

-Dr. Wu

 

[MichaelJ]

Perhaps that's why it attached the water jug -- no alcohol allowed in Baxter.

Oh, now you're just pulling our legs!

 

[donna]

Good thing you guys didn't hit COE...not that I've been trying to get that for 3 years or so.

Sounds like a great trip. I hope that wasn't the pee pee blanket with the wine spilled all over it...you're creature that is.

 

[MEB]

Wicked awesome trip! Looking forward to seeing your pictures. My legs have just about recovered from the trail-whack over to Fort. Next time I'll remember to wear pants. My last visit to Fort was in winter and we pretty much walked on the tree-tops when we were not stuck in spruce traps. Hanging out on Doubletop was also a treat...oh the weather was just spectacular! Watching the people slip and slide at Slide Dam was entertaining to say the least....those rocks are soooo slimy. My favorite day was the hike up Abol to Baxter, 1/2 of the knife edge and over to Hamlin. Another banner day to be above treeline with two awesome people. Thanks Rachel and Frank for making this one of my most memorable and fun trips this summer.....you guys rock!

-MEB

 

[leaf]

wu.. i told you not to feed the wildlife.

umm.. gillian? is beautious a real word?

 

[dr_wu002]

I'm going to have pictures and more trip report tonight. Stay tuned.

-Dr. Wu

 

[mookie]

bout time

I'm going to have pictures and more trip report tonight. Stay tuned.

-Dr. Wu

BOUT TIME!

 

[dr_wu002]

North Brother and Fort:

http://picasaweb.google.com/dr.wu002/NorthBrotherAndFortLaborDayWeekend08#

-Dr. Wu

 

[dr_wu002]

Doubletop - Labor Day:

http://picasaweb.google.com/dr.wu002/DoubletopOnLaborDay08#

-Dr. Wu