MEB
New member
I’m a little late on getting this out so here it goes.
Last week Paul and I had another stay up in Baxter State Park but this time our reservations were at Chimney Pond for a couple of nights. No matter how many times I’ve been here it always seems like the first time…. If you’ve never visited Chimney Pond I would highly recommend it. There is really no other place like it (at least that is in my own travels so far.)
We arrived at the park midday Monday under partly sunny skies and slowly began our way up the Chimney Pond Trail. It’s only 3.2 miles to the campground so we took our time getting there. Just after the half way rock there is a nice view point into the N Basin and we stopped here to take some pictures. There were some high clouds obscuring the summits and I kept hoping that the weather forecast for the next few days would take a turn for the better.
After getting settled in to our lean-to we took a stroll down to the pond and lucky for us the clouds had lifted a bit and we had some nice views up to Baxter Peak and the Knife Edge. After getting the forecast from the Ranger, which had turned for the worse, we headed back to the lean to for an early dinner and bedtime.
At 4 a.m. I was awakened by my alarm clock and we were on our way up the Dudley Trail just after 5 a.m. under the light of our headlamps, hoping to beat the front that was predicted to be coming through that day. I’ve been up the Dudley Trail several times and it never seems to get any easier. It’s only a 1.3-mile trip up to the top of Pamola but it’s hard! It took us just under two hours to get there but our efforts were paid off with a beautiful sunrise. Looking across the sunlit Knife Edge was just as beautiful and I was glad to see that we would be getting some views. There was one cloud however looming over Baxter Peak and the wind was really starting to pick up.
After getting a bite to eat and bundling up we slowly started our way down into the Chimney! I know a lot of people think descending into and out of the Chimney to be very scary but personally I think there are more tedious stretches on Dudley. After getting back up on the other side the cloud deck was beginning to drop and the clouds were starting pour over the top of the mountain and down into the cirque. So much for any more views! The Knife Edge in perfect weather can be intimidating but going across in fog and wind can be down right scary at times! And to top it off the moss covered rocks were starting to get a wee bit slippery too! Although we had the camera with us Paul was more interested in shooting video footage as we made our way along.
Traveling in limited visibility does have it’s drawbacks, such as not being able to see a darn thing, but on the other hand it’s a pleasant surprise to see you’ve reached your destination sooner than you thought! It was just after 8:30 and we were at Baxter Peak and we got to enjoy the summit to ourselves….matter of fact we had the whole mountain to ourselves that morning! We took a few summit shots and then started making our way down to the Saddle Trail. We thought about going down Cathedral, which we've done before, but I had had enough excitement for the day.
Just before 11:30 we arrived back at the Ranger station to sign ourselves back in and then headed off to our lean-to for a nice hot lunch and nap…for the most part we spent the rest of the day just eating and sleeping! Soon after turning in for the night the excitement picked up once again. The wind picked up and a steady rain began to fall, which was followed by lightening and thunder! There was one rumble of thunder that was so loud it actually shook the entire lean-to! Thankfully, we did not encounter this while we were out that morning!
Here are some picutres from our trip...I hope I get the link right this time!
http://community.webshots.com/user/mbaross
-MEB
Last week Paul and I had another stay up in Baxter State Park but this time our reservations were at Chimney Pond for a couple of nights. No matter how many times I’ve been here it always seems like the first time…. If you’ve never visited Chimney Pond I would highly recommend it. There is really no other place like it (at least that is in my own travels so far.)
We arrived at the park midday Monday under partly sunny skies and slowly began our way up the Chimney Pond Trail. It’s only 3.2 miles to the campground so we took our time getting there. Just after the half way rock there is a nice view point into the N Basin and we stopped here to take some pictures. There were some high clouds obscuring the summits and I kept hoping that the weather forecast for the next few days would take a turn for the better.
After getting settled in to our lean-to we took a stroll down to the pond and lucky for us the clouds had lifted a bit and we had some nice views up to Baxter Peak and the Knife Edge. After getting the forecast from the Ranger, which had turned for the worse, we headed back to the lean to for an early dinner and bedtime.
At 4 a.m. I was awakened by my alarm clock and we were on our way up the Dudley Trail just after 5 a.m. under the light of our headlamps, hoping to beat the front that was predicted to be coming through that day. I’ve been up the Dudley Trail several times and it never seems to get any easier. It’s only a 1.3-mile trip up to the top of Pamola but it’s hard! It took us just under two hours to get there but our efforts were paid off with a beautiful sunrise. Looking across the sunlit Knife Edge was just as beautiful and I was glad to see that we would be getting some views. There was one cloud however looming over Baxter Peak and the wind was really starting to pick up.
After getting a bite to eat and bundling up we slowly started our way down into the Chimney! I know a lot of people think descending into and out of the Chimney to be very scary but personally I think there are more tedious stretches on Dudley. After getting back up on the other side the cloud deck was beginning to drop and the clouds were starting pour over the top of the mountain and down into the cirque. So much for any more views! The Knife Edge in perfect weather can be intimidating but going across in fog and wind can be down right scary at times! And to top it off the moss covered rocks were starting to get a wee bit slippery too! Although we had the camera with us Paul was more interested in shooting video footage as we made our way along.
Traveling in limited visibility does have it’s drawbacks, such as not being able to see a darn thing, but on the other hand it’s a pleasant surprise to see you’ve reached your destination sooner than you thought! It was just after 8:30 and we were at Baxter Peak and we got to enjoy the summit to ourselves….matter of fact we had the whole mountain to ourselves that morning! We took a few summit shots and then started making our way down to the Saddle Trail. We thought about going down Cathedral, which we've done before, but I had had enough excitement for the day.
Just before 11:30 we arrived back at the Ranger station to sign ourselves back in and then headed off to our lean-to for a nice hot lunch and nap…for the most part we spent the rest of the day just eating and sleeping! Soon after turning in for the night the excitement picked up once again. The wind picked up and a steady rain began to fall, which was followed by lightening and thunder! There was one rumble of thunder that was so loud it actually shook the entire lean-to! Thankfully, we did not encounter this while we were out that morning!
Here are some picutres from our trip...I hope I get the link right this time!
http://community.webshots.com/user/mbaross
-MEB
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