baxter state park

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Viewseeker

Viewseeker

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Home: Fulton, NY: Wright W46 finish
Headed to Katahdin in july I hope. planning is late im sure. Need info on taking my daughter 15, i see the abol trail is closed. so whats the next best trail for a friendly hike up ? campground? book to read about? map ?

thanks from NY!!
 
You have some planning ahead. Do you want to stay in the park (primitive camping, no running water, outhouses) or outside the park (longer drive in but some amenities)? In either case you need to make reservations, either to camp or for day use parking. Weekends and holidays fill up quick for both campsites and day use parking. There are some maps of the trails on the BSP website for planning. There are plenty of guides available at the headquarters in Millinocket or near the park entrance but you need to buy them the day before as they will not be open early enough in the AM. Plan on at least two full days in the park, as the odds of a good day on the summit is about 1 in 3. Its not worth hiking up on a bad day and the park is very good at predicting what sort of hiking conditions will be a day in advance.

There is no super easy way to climb Katahdin, the Saddle Slide it about the easiest with the least views. Hunt Trail, the AT is the most popular. The campground for the Saddle is Roaring Brook, Katahdin Stream is the Hunt Trail. Either trail you take it is 8 to 10 hour hike. If you camp in the park at the trailhead start early, otherwise if you stay outside the park be at the gate when it opens. Be aware the park is big and the roads in the park are slow, it can take 2 hours to drive from some campgrounds to the katahdin trailheads so don't just pick one at random.

If you are serious go through the maps and make weekend reservations now, otherwise you have a bit of breathing room but don't wait.
 
Depends on which trail you want to do and your ability. Saddle is a long walk in via Chimney ravine, then a climb up a gravel slide. Its the easiest and you would camp at Roaring Brook. Cathedral trail is a alternative, it is very much a boulder climb with some exposure. Hunt Trail is on the Katahdin stream side. It has one section of major bouldering but is a popular route.
 
I agree with peakbagger, it really depends on what your intended route is. Suggest to pick a route and try to find a campground around it. It is NOT out of the question to drive around but it is inconvenient in many cases...

Jay
 
I agree with the advice to pick your route, then the campground. Both sides have advantages and some alternatives if the weather to summit is dubious, the guide is available on line through the park store, initially written by Steven Clark has a lot of trail descriptions and park info, basic map. If your daughter is up for primitive camping I vote for staying in the park. Sometimes a stay inside bookended by motel stays in town helps, it is an amazing place, hope you can check out some of the park away from the greatest mountain as well, good luck and have fun.
 
Hard to say what I think you should do. It's an opinion based pretty loosely on not much known. My son and I went twice last year, both across the knife edge. First time up was via Dudley Trail to Pamola, then across knife edge and down Saddle. It seemed to me with the crowd at the top that Dudley was a very little used trail. IMO, no matter which trail you take, they are all rugged. Our second trip went up Cathedral and down knife edge and Helon in drizzle. It was slow going for us, and we all agreed that would not ever happen again. Just a miserable time. Good weather for us is a must.

Both times we stayed in town. The hotel....meh. Not sure of any other decent place to stay. It was a hot shower and...well, it was a hot shower.
 
Well I checked on camping, its going to be in the park. roaring brook and katahdin are both full so im opting for Abol. Trail is closed but its open. We will take the AT (HUNT) trail. I don't want to be driving . We have 5 days or so to take a good weather day. Where abouts is the last water on the Hunt trail to fill up? Clean is bet?
 
Since you are at Abol, you need to get up early to play the parking game at KSC, you need to be parked prior to the day use visitors arriving. I expect with Abol closed parking will be a PITA at KSC. An early start is highly recommended anyhow. There is no treated or tested water in the park inlcuding at the campgrounds, most folks bring in a few gallons of bottled water. The last good water is when you cross over Katahdin Stream from the north side to the south side over a bridge. This trail gets a lot of use and drains into KSC so its up to you if you treat. There is water source referred to as Thoreau "Spring" on the plateau soon after the junction with Abol trail. Some folks drink from it as it tends to be flowing in early summer. Later in the year its a mud puddle. I would treat but its your call.
 
Definitely treat. But since you'll have your car handy, a couple of the 2.5 gallon containers make starting off in the morning fine. Other places to go. If there five days, during the week, visit Roaring Brook and hike up South Turner stopping at Sandy Stream Pond for moose viewing. (Okay by day three, you'll see your share) The Owl and Doubletop offer great views too. If aspiring New England 4,000 hikers, you'll need to visit Hamlin and North Brother. (Nevermind, save that for your next visit)
 
Mike P. said:
Definitely treat. But since you'll have your car handy, a couple of the 2.5 gallon containers make starting off in the morning fine. Other places to go. If there five days, during the week, visit Roaring Brook and hike up South Turner stopping at Sandy Stream Pond for moose viewing. (Okay by day three, you'll see your share) The Owl and Doubletop offer great views too. If aspiring New England 4,000 hikers, you'll need to visit Hamlin and North Brother. (Nevermind, save that for your next visit)
Click to expand...

Having Never hiked a high Peak, I'm happy to get my daughter up this one. Then visit some other less intense activities, any suggestions? Beach? I plan on heading to the coast early if we summit early in the week, gotta find some roadside lobster to Mooow on.
 
There's a nice little sandy beach at Togue Pond just outside the park gate and the swimming is quite nice. Also fun is canoeing or kayaking around the numerous ponds. Some have drive-up access, others are more remote locations, where you get the key from the ranger, hike in to the location, and paddle away. Rentals are very inexpensive. There's a list here of what's available.

EDIT: oh, you wanted a coastal beach? Those are *cold* :) In any case, as long as you're that far up in Maine, might as well hit up Acadia if you don't stay up longer in Baxter. It has everything.
 
The logical tourist return home is to head to Bangor and head down the Ellsworth to RT 1 then head south on Rt 1, plenty of places to get lobster. The new bridge in Bucksport has a elevator up the spire and the old fort just after the bridge is nice place to check out. In Belfast if you have had your fill of the tourist traffic take RT3 back to Augusta and get back on the interstate, otherwise continue on RT1 south realizing that the average speed to Brunswick will be less than 25 MPH. Most of this section of RT 1 stays in shore but the bridges over the rivers in Wiscasset and Brunswick are nice but the trade off is summer tourist traffic to the match. t can take 1 to 2 hours to go through Wiscasset. Most of good ocean beaches are south of Brunswick but Popham beach near Bath is a nice one.
 
FYI: the lobster roll at Red's Eats in Wiscasset is highly overrated.
 
In Baxter Park, the swimming in Kidney Pond is good but be aware of leeches. They're harmless and easy to detach but make some people nervous. Along the Tote Road there is a nice swimming hole in the Nesowdnehunk ... smooth rock makes for a natural fun slide.
 
Stan said:
In Baxter Park, the swimming in Kidney Pond is good but be aware of leeches. They're harmless and easy to detach but make some people nervous. Along the Tote Road there is a nice swimming hole in the Nesowdnehunk ... smooth rock makes for a natural fun slide.
Click to expand...

I believe that is called Ledge Falls.:)
 
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