Lucky Laura
Active member
Baxter Park is quite a place. All of us who pursue the "lists" often find a peak or two which confound us... the Sewards or Santoninis in NY... maybe Owl's Head or West Bond in the Whites... for me it was Katahdin and Hamlin in Maine. Part of this was due to the logistics and regulation of Baxter Park in the past. Thankfully, they have softened their rules.
I started scrounging for groups to get Baxter and Hamlin a few years ago... one year, three trips in a row were canceled due to weather....one group tried to add me 5 days before their trip but the rangers said it was too late...last year, I went with Arm's group for a try up the slide, but still sick from the flu, I turned back. A month ago, a few of the "NY Rock Stars" drove all the way from Albany to join me for another Abol Slide attempt. Though we summited Katadhin, it was the worst conditions I've ever been in and the scariest climb I ever had. Needless to say, we didn't venture over to Hamlin.
Saturday morning, the 13th, I skied out to Roaring Brook bunkhouse with my sled under painfully blue skies. The entire mountain was as alluring as it gets. I felt like a dog in the Iditarod chomping at the bit to go, go, go. The sking was awesome- plenty of snow still in the park. When I reached the bunkhouse by 11, I decided not to take a chance on the weather holding up another day. I grabbed my pack and snow shoes and set off for Chimney Pond. I was a little tired when I reached the Hamlin Ridge Trail but seeing just 2 more miles left, I plodded up the trail in my snow shoes. In a short time, I broke out of the trees and started climbing the spiny ridge, which resembles the Air Line trail a little- two big bowls on either side.
I should have put on crampons but managed to make it in micro spikes. It was mostly hard packed snow and rime ice, especially up higher. Finally, I reached the summit at 2:30pm with views that would make any hiker cry. It was spectacular. The winds prevented sun bathing opportunities and there was that steep descent left to get done. Being a wimp with heights, I did a lot of crab walking in sections going down. The gratitude of making it was something else- probably because it was such a battle to get these Baxter Peaks.
Oh, and Sunday? The curtains came down on the mountain and the winds sounded fierce. I was feeling awfully lucky! Hamlin finished the Winter Northeast 115s for me. As silly as peak bagging seems sometimes, the positive experiences and people you meet along the way are what really make it such a great pursuit. Along with the realization of how fortunate we are to be able to recharge ourselves in such a beautiful setting as our Northeast mountains.
I started scrounging for groups to get Baxter and Hamlin a few years ago... one year, three trips in a row were canceled due to weather....one group tried to add me 5 days before their trip but the rangers said it was too late...last year, I went with Arm's group for a try up the slide, but still sick from the flu, I turned back. A month ago, a few of the "NY Rock Stars" drove all the way from Albany to join me for another Abol Slide attempt. Though we summited Katadhin, it was the worst conditions I've ever been in and the scariest climb I ever had. Needless to say, we didn't venture over to Hamlin.
Saturday morning, the 13th, I skied out to Roaring Brook bunkhouse with my sled under painfully blue skies. The entire mountain was as alluring as it gets. I felt like a dog in the Iditarod chomping at the bit to go, go, go. The sking was awesome- plenty of snow still in the park. When I reached the bunkhouse by 11, I decided not to take a chance on the weather holding up another day. I grabbed my pack and snow shoes and set off for Chimney Pond. I was a little tired when I reached the Hamlin Ridge Trail but seeing just 2 more miles left, I plodded up the trail in my snow shoes. In a short time, I broke out of the trees and started climbing the spiny ridge, which resembles the Air Line trail a little- two big bowls on either side.
I should have put on crampons but managed to make it in micro spikes. It was mostly hard packed snow and rime ice, especially up higher. Finally, I reached the summit at 2:30pm with views that would make any hiker cry. It was spectacular. The winds prevented sun bathing opportunities and there was that steep descent left to get done. Being a wimp with heights, I did a lot of crab walking in sections going down. The gratitude of making it was something else- probably because it was such a battle to get these Baxter Peaks.
Oh, and Sunday? The curtains came down on the mountain and the winds sounded fierce. I was feeling awfully lucky! Hamlin finished the Winter Northeast 115s for me. As silly as peak bagging seems sometimes, the positive experiences and people you meet along the way are what really make it such a great pursuit. Along with the realization of how fortunate we are to be able to recharge ourselves in such a beautiful setting as our Northeast mountains.
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