How To Hike Katahdin

[DayTrip]

I was talking with one of our vendors at work this morning about his plans to hike Katahdin this summer and it got me all fired up again to drive up there and do the same (I have never been to Baxter State Park or hiked in ME). I searched some VFTT threads trying to find advice but did not find much (other than a winter post).

I am a solo hiker and would likely drive up and try to stay in a nearby town, hike following day, stay that night and drive home the 3rd day. From what little I've read Baxter State Park has a lot of procedures and requirements and you don't just cruise in there and go hiking. I want to keep this as simple as I can but I realize there will be some leg work involved.

So these are my questions:

1) What is REQUIRED of a visit to hike Katahdin in terms of regulations, permits, etc?

2) Is Millinocket the closest town to stay in a motel or lodge? How much of a "town" is it (i.e. restaurants, bars, gas stations, etc). How far is trailhead from town (looks to be about an hour on Google Maps but I'm not sure if that is where trailheads I want are)? Am I better off camping instead? (I'd rather stay somewhere with a shower and a bed after my 8 hr drive provided the trade offs are not too excessive).

3) What is the best time of year/week to have the best chance of small crowds and be allowed access (from what I have read there are days where a "limit" is reached and access to the park is denied)? It would be a "one shot deal" for me so I would likely plan midweek. How can I guarantee a sunny day for my hike? (Kidding)

4) What is the most popular route? Easiest route? Which of the peak names is the official summit with the sign? (I have no maps to reference and see there are numerous summits along the ring - it appears Baxter Peak is the official summit). Approx times and mileages for the loop of each would be helpful. Best trail map out there?

5) I would really like to do the Knife Edge as part of the hike if it is reasonable length and time. I've seen a lot of photos of it and it does look awesome but also rigorous. Is it mostly PUD or is it serious rock scrambling the whole way? What would be the shortest route to the true summit that would include the knife edge?

6) I doubt I could afford but are there any outfits that provide guidance and/or do all the legwork arranging (permits, booking a campsite, preferential access to the park, etc)? If so, any idea what they charge? I really do not want to do in a group but having an experienced guide along wouldn't bother me.

Any advice anyone has, references to other websites or forums, etc would be greatly appreciated. This trip will be quite an upgrade from my jump in the car day trips so I want to gather as much info as possible before I..well.. jump in the car. Been on the "bucket list" for a long time. Thanks.

 

[David Metsky]

1) What is REQUIRED of a visit to hike Katahdin in terms of regulations, permits, etc?

Reservations if you're staying in the park. Nothing if you're outside the park. You just need to get in the gate and have an open parking spot at your desired trailhead.

2) Is Millinocket the closest town to stay in a motel or lodge? How much of a "town" is it (i.e. restaurants, bars, gas stations, etc). How far is trailhead from town (looks to be about an hour on Google Maps but I'm not sure if that is where trailheads I want are)? Am I better off camping instead? (I'd rather stay somewhere with a shower and a bed after my 8 hr drive provided the trade offs are not too excessive).

There are motels in Millinocket, it's a fairly substantial town that caters to hikers. There are also campgrounds. I'll let others opine on which are best.

3) What is the best time of year/week to have the best chance of small crowds and be allowed access (from what I have read there are days where a "limit" is reached and access to the park is denied)? It would be a "one shot deal" for me so I would likely plan midweek. How can I guarantee a sunny day for my hike? (Kidding)

Midweek is best, give yourself at least a few days in case whether doesn't allow a summit trip. Anytime in mid-summer will be busy but with a little bit of flexibility and the willingness to get on line early you should be able to get a spot.

4) What is the most popular route? Easiest route? Which of the peak names is the official summit with the sign? (I have no maps to reference and see there are numerous summits along the ring - it appears Baxter Peak is the official summit). Approx times and mileages for the loop of each would be helpful. Best trail map out there?

There are two main dayhike routes. One is up the Abol Slide and down the Hunt trail. Or up and down Hunt (the AT). That won't get you the Knife Edge however. If you want to get the KE you should park at Roaring Brook and take the Helon Taylor trail up, cross the KE, and down the Saddle trail to Chimney Pond and out. Or, if you're more ambitious, go over Hamlin Peak and down Hamlin Ridge trail to Roaring Brook. That's a bigger day and you'll be above treeline for much of it. But it's the most spectacular trip in the park.

http://www.baxterstateparkauthority.com/hiking/hikeKathadin.htm - this has trail descriptions, maps, etc.

5) I would really like to do the Knife Edge as part of the hike if it is reasonable length and time. I've seen a lot of photos of it and it does look awesome but also rigorous. Is it mostly PUD or is it serious rock scrambling the whole way? What would be the shortest route to the true summit that would include the knife edge?

The route described above will get you the KE. The most challenging part is climbing down to and out of the Chimney. It's steep rock scrambling. IMO, the rest of the trip is just fun easy scrambling/hiking that's not too rigorous. Unless you do it in bad weather, which I wouldn't recommend.

6) I doubt I could afford but are there any outfits that provide guidance and/or do all the legwork arranging (permits, booking a campsite, preferential access to the park, etc)? If so, any idea what they charge? I really do not want to do in a group but having an experienced guide along wouldn't bother me.

IMO, you don't need a guide for Baxter. Getting a campsite for a solo hiker won't be too difficult if you are flexible. You can check availability online and book them just a few weeks in advance. If it's a nice weather day, you won't be alone very long.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

There are tons of threads on vftt about Baxter State Park. In short it looks like a lot but isn't as complicated as you might think.

Dave did not mention the DUPR you can but 2 weeks in advance to guarantee a parking spot. I foolishly did this for the weekdays after Labor Day last year and the lots were never close to full.

Tim

 

[peakbagger]

Best time of year is late August thru mid September. Many folks prefer the weeks after Labor Day, the crowds thin out and the leaves are turning. Labor Day weekend and the two proceeding weekends can be a zoo.

You are required to buy a day use parking pass to dayhike Katahdin. With the exception of very popular weekends you can buy the at the gate but you have to wait until 7AM to buy them. The gate is open earlier so its generally better to reserve a pass prior to your visit. (no refunds on the passes). If you don't reserve a pass, you may not get the trailhead you want. If you stay in one of the three campgrounds with trailheads to Katahdin, you don't need a day use pass to park. If you drive a car with out of state plates you also have to pay a road fee which I believe is $14.

There are a couple of options for camping closer to the park gate than Millinocket, check out this link http://www.neoc.com/. Nothing wrong with the motels in Millinocket just don't expect high end. If you do want to camp in the park, you have to make reservations in advance and it complicates the trip somewhat up front but cuts a couple of hours off a long day by starting out at a trail head. If you want the AT experience, there is an AT hostel in Millinocket that will shuttle you in and out of the park and offers overnight very rustic accommodations. They will be quite busy servicing thru hikers in later summer.

There is no "easy" route to the summit, all routes have their issues but most would probably agree the Chimney Pond/Saddle trail combination the "easiest". It has a steep sandy slide section sort of reminiscent of the south slide of Tripyramid. Second easiest is arguably Abol, which is one long slide, it has major sun exposure with a mix of terrain, Next up is the AT AKA the Hunt trail, its is very well graded initially but has about a 1 mile section of very large boulders (some the size of large trucks), there are some steel assist bars mounted in the rocks to use to ascend the most tricky spots. Chimney Pond/Hamlin Ridge is nice route but very long for most folks. Hamlin is worth a separate visit. Next harder is Chimney Pond/Cathedral Trail, its not technical but very steep with lots of boulder scrambles, not a great trail is you don't like exposure, Great Gully trail in the whites is a comparison.

The final two are variations that require a trip across the Knife Edge, I would not recommend it to a first timer although many have done it. It has significant vertical exposure and you will need to traverse some very steep vertical sections using your hands. Yes the downclimb into the Chimney is challenging but there are usually folks in the area to help out. My classic route for a dayhike is up Chimney Pond Trail, then Cathedral trail to the summit, then over to Pamola via the Knifes Edge and then down Helon Taylor Trail. This is a very long day for some but it hits a lot of impressive territory (but is quite exposed in the afternoon). If when you are on the summit the weather appears to be going downhill, you can hike down to the Saddle trail as a backup. I would avoid Dudley Trail as an option, it is very steep and is mostly a boulder field. A descent down Dudley puts a lot of stress on ones knees and a hike up it can be real discouraging as half the route is false summits.

One observation is that many folks who grew up in Maine were probably dragged up to Baxter with a youth group usually around the age of 11 to 13. Most survived so climbing the mountain with little experience is possible but it makes for a really long day. I know of some out of shape folks who have taken 12 plus hours and regretted it all the way down. In general despite the lower elevation, a hike up Katahdin is best compared to hike up Adams with terrain similar to Kings Ravine and Airline. For most folks its an 8 to 10 hour day.

Planning a trip to Baxter is tough unless you have some leeway or plan for a few spare days to get a good weather day. Generally Baxter attracts any weather within 100 miles and a rule of thumb is only 1 in three days is really worth climbing. They rate the climbing conditions daily and unless its a class 1 day it can be a cold and wet experience. There are some other nice mountains in the park to visit on Class 2 days and if its a class 3 day, read a book. In general weather and clouds form in the afternoon, so arriving at the park gate early is strongly suggested and summiting before noon is highly recommended. The gate opening times vary over the course of the summer but usually you can get in line and be let in the park while it is still dark and be at the trailhead a little before sunrise.

A general comment is that you need at least a week to hit all the major spots in Baxter State Park. Everyone has Katahdin on their list but once you are up there you will realize that there are lot of other places to go. Unless you are willing to backpack some of the park is out of reach but for most, a trip to Baxter will call for a hike up Doubletop, the Brothers, Fort, Coe loop, Traveler and Katahdin.

One thing to keep in mind is water management has to be considered, there are no AMC huts with wells above treeline. On the west side of the mountain the Hunt trail and Abol goes by "Thoreau Springs" but in late summer early autumn the spring can be a stagnant pool. Plan on bringing extra water.

 

[Daniel Eagan]

My wife and I have been to Baxter a few times, camping at the Roaring Brook campsite. We've never had trouble getting a site, although we do go during the week and not on the weekend.

In my opinion a relatively experienced hiker should not have any trouble with the Knife Edge. You just have to focus. We encountered two tricky spots, big steps we call them, and the rest of the route was fine apart from the exposure. Kids passed us in flip-flops.

My recommendation is to do it earlier in the day, then you can decide how ambitious you want the rest of the hike to be. We've gone up the Helon Taylor trail, over the Knife Edge, then Baxter and Hamlin. We came back down the Saddle Trail because we wanted to see Chimney Pond, an awesome site. We've also climbed other routes but that is our favorite by far.

We've stayed in a couple of grungy motels in Millinocket and have come to prefer the Big Moose Inn (http://www.bigmoosecabins.com/) which has rooms, cabins, and tentsites as well as a good restaurant. I think it is the closest place to Baxter Park. Especially after a long drive it will be a welcome place to sleep.

There is a great sandwich shop whose name escapes me right now, it's off the main street and has Italian specialties.

 

[Framerman]

I can only give you my perspective and suggestions. I went twice last year. First time they were predicting 90°, clear, and scorching hot. It turned out to be about 80°, cloudy and about 60 mph gusts. The weather is quite unpredictable, so I don't think you can count on anything 100%. The second time we went it was socked in and drizzling. We all agreed after the hike that next time, it may not even be worth going. It's quite slippery. We went down the KE and it got a little hairy at the chimney.

The first route went up the Dudley Trail, KE, then down Saddle. It's well known that the saddle is the easiest, yet it can still be quite tough. Our second trip went up the Cathedral and down KE and Helon Taylor. That's a pretty good trip IMO. Cathedral is quite steep. I wouldn't suggest going down that trail.

I'd get the day use pass just in case. You never know. Also, get to the gate early. It opens at 6, but we were there at 530 and there was a line already. It takes about 5 minutes I guess for the rangers to let each car through, then it's still a good drive to the trailhead. If you get going by 630, you're doing well.

Millinocket...well...some good and some bad. I'd avoid the DD sausage egg and cheese breakfast like the plague. Not good. The hotel...well it's a place to stay. Defintely not 5 star, but it has a bed and hot shower. It's a trip from there to the gate just like you said. Hardly anyone on the roads early.

Unfortunately for us, what we found was that it is like a herd of cattle all heading up to the summit and all roughly reaching at the same time. It gets crowded. September you will start getting through hikers finishing, which makes for some real nice entertainment. It's fun. I'd suggest going during the weekday like you thought. It would be much less crowded. Heading down was like "hi...hi...hi...hi...hi..." so many people.

Have not gone the west side yet, but I heard it's a nice trip as well. No KE unless you backtrack.

And most of all, enjoy yourself and bring some painkillers.

 

[DayTrip]

There are tons of threads on vftt about Baxter State Park. In short it looks like a lot but isn't as complicated as you might think.

Dave did not mention the DUPR you can but 2 weeks in advance to guarantee a parking spot. I foolishly did this for the weekdays after Labor Day last year and the lots were never close to full.

Tim

I was quite confident there would be tons of threads but I couldn't find under "Katahdin" or "Baxter". I seem to get either way too much irrelevant information or no information. I obviously don't think the same as posters when I search for threads, use the right search terms, etc. Anyway.

 

[DayTrip]

So if I'm understanding this right there is only one gate to get into entire Baxter State Park but there are multiple trail heads you would proceed to inside the park? Or is each trail head it's own gate situation with the "show up at 3AM" wait in line affair? And if you stay at one of the camping grounds in the park do you only deal with the gate to get into Baxter once but then you're free to move around at your leisure once inside?

 

[tomcat32]

I hike Katahdin regularly and have been up or down every route. If you are looking for the best of, definitely hit the Knife Edge. Easiest to include Knife Edge is up Helon down the Saddle. I would recommend using Dudley or Cathederal only on a climb. If you have the endurance, my favorite loop is up Hamlin Ridge and down Helon. Psychologically, I prefer ending on Helon because it dumps you out just before the trailhead at the end of the hike. The most challenging part of Knife Edge is the Chimney between Pamola and Chimney Peak where there is a short actual climb.
On the other side Abol is shortest route at less than 4 miles to the summit but it steep and loose rock. Hunt Trail is more exposed with better views but longer. There are a few spots with rebar to assist on the jumble of rocks.

Before July 4th I never had a problem getting trailhead of choice even on a weekend if you get there at 6am. After july 4th expect to get a Dupr for a weekend spot. Saturday seems to busier than Sundays. Mid Week I never had an issue getting my trailhead of choice unless it's a holiday. Sept and Oct usually has less hazy skies and crisper views. You can hike after Oct 15th but there is no camping in the park and Knife Edge will likely be closed due to snow.

The closest place to stay outsid of park in the New England Outdoor Center where you can camp for $10 a person At least a few years ago and they have food service at least on the weekend but expect crowds on the weekend since it's a rafting operation.

Millinocket has everything you need minus a quality gear store. A couple motels, a couple fast food places, a couple other places to eat, even a high class strip club. It's about 20 miles from the business part of town to the park.

Like said before allow extra days to account for weather since the summit is often in the clouds.

As far as weather. I'm pretty sure they did away with the class system. Either a trail is closed or it's not and rangers will try to recommend not to use a trail but won't stop you.
unless it's closed.
http://tomcatoutdoors.blogspot.com/2013/06/katahdin-and-hamlin-peak-hiking-maines.html this is a link to a trip report for a loop including Hamlin, up Hamlin Ridge down Helon.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

I have the following threads bookmarked from my researching it to go last year. Peakbagger (Dennis) is, as usual, an excellent source of information. He should probably maintain a BSP FAQ

Winter-Baxter-Expedition-Advice
Baxter-S-P-Logistics-Help-Needed
Ktaadn
Baxter-State-Park-Day-use-Parking-Permits
Baxter-State-Park-Day-Use-Parking-Reservations-Started-4-1
Katahdin-2009
A-week-at-Baxter-State-Park-%96-September-13-19-2008-PART-TWO
Two-Great-Peaks-in-Baxter-State-Park-(9-7-9-10)-Katahdin-and-The-Traveler
Driving-to-Baxter-question
Baxter-S-P-driving-from-Roaring-Brook-to-South-Branch-Pond
Katahdin-Pamola-Baxter-and-Hamlin-Peaks
Hiking-Katahdin-during-busy-season
Baxter-Katahdin-Brothers-Fort-and-Coe-NEHH

I can't vouch they are all helpful, but between these threads and the BSP site, I figured out everything I needed to know.

Tim

 

[DayTrip]

OK. Thanks for those links.

 

[marty]

And if you stay at one of the camping grounds in the park do you only deal with the gate to get into Baxter once but then you're free to move around at your leisure once inside?

The Reservation FAQs state the following:

11. Do campers need a Day Use Parking Pass (DUPR) to hike Katahdin?
No, but let the campground Ranger know of your plans the day/night before your intended hiking day. They can provide information on weather and trail conditions and suggest a starting time to leave for the trailhead.

I called the Park Headquarters to clarify that. They concluded that you as a camper do not need a day pass to any of the trailheads, provided that you contact the campground Ranger the day before your intended hike and that you leave for the trailhead by the time the ranger tells you. I asked them if this means I could stay at Katahdin Stream Campground and hike at Roaring Brook without a day pass, as long as I followed the instructions. The answer was yes.

Here is the link for the FAQ reservations: http://www.baxterstateparkauthority.com/reservation/resFAQ.htm

Marty

 

[peakbagger]

To comment on Marty's information, that is quite interesting and a change in policy. For at least two years after the day use parking rule went in place, the policy was that if a camper was staying at a campground other than a trailhead campground, the camper had to park prior to when day use users were let in the park. Therefore when I staying at Daicey Pond and wanted to hike from Roaring Brook, I had to leave Daicey in time to go past Togue Pond prior to when the park declared Roaring Brook full (when they block the road). A year later I was Katahdin stream and the same rule was in place. Therefore the park appears to have put in more reasonable policy. Of course the Ranger may just tell you that you need to leave for Roaring Brook from KSC at 4 AM so the policy may not have really changed

With regards to the park entrances, there are two but the north gate is about a two hour drive from the main gate which is Togue pond. If you go on the baxter start park website there is a map of the park and the gates and locations of trailheads. From Togue Pond it about a 45 to 60 minute drive on the parks roads to the trailheads on the east and west side. Thus someone staying at KSC or Abol who wants to hike from Roaring Brook has about a 1.5 hour drive on park roads. If you are outside the park , you wait in line and if you have passes they check you in and send you on your way. On weekends, there will be lot of folks in line so you may wait in line for up to an hour after the gate officially opens for you to actually get on the park roads.

Do yourself a favor go during the week, things go a lot faster and there are fewer folks on the trails

 

[marty]

Of course the Ranger may just tell you that you need to leave for Roaring Brook from KSC at 4 AM so the policy may not have really changed

That is a very good point and probably what the Ranger will tell me . If the Togue Pond gatehouse opens at 5 AM, then leaving at 4 or 4:30 may be the case.

Regards,
Marty

 

[1SlowHiker]

You can check my trip reports at http://1slowhiker.blogspot.com/2013_09_04_archive.html and http://1slowhiker.blogspot.com/2013_09_05_archive.html for other options using the bunkhouses. Like you, I hike solo and have an 8 hour drive up (RI) . I drove up and hiked to Chimney Pond bunkhouse my first day then did Baxter & Hamlin via Dudley and the KE on day 2 then stayed at a bunkhouse at Nesowanehunk the 2d and third nights doing the Coe, Brothers, and Fort loop on the 3rd day. (I’m the red dot in one of Tim’s pictures in the last link he posted above. It was my most favorite hike ever. I just went back and checked my trip report and think I may repeat it again in Sept. Also if you stay in the park they will tell you if you go out you have to be back by 8 or 10 but you don't really. The ranger at the gate told me that if i was late getting back to the gate that i could improvise (drive around the gate) wink - wink. Also if you look at the roads in BSP maps keep in mind that they are narrow dirt roads and also used by moose so keep it slow and expect long drives from the gate to the THs.

 

[DayTrip]

Great information everyone. Thanks.

So based on all this it sounds like the most convenient option would be to camp at a campground in the park closest to my trail head of choice and go through the festivities at the gate the day prior when it is likely later in the afternoon as I arrive and the morning rush is done. Then I can just get up and start hiking when I am ready (provided I make the time to trail I may be given by ranger). If I'm so inclined I could stay in Millinocket the night of my hike and head back the following day.

Also I recall reading in one of the prior posts on VFTT that there actually is cell service in Baxter, although spotty. Is that accurate? I have Verizon as a carrier. Anyone know how reliable it is? Need to make sure I stay in contact with the wife so she isn't freaking out the whole time wondering if I'm OK or at the base of the Knife Edge (maybe I'll leave out the part about the Knife Edge until it's done and we can just look at pictures).

Lastly, regarding the degree of difficulty of the Knife Edge there seems to be differing opinions to difficulty level here. I've done the 48 4k's in NH and many of the harder trails in the Whites like Huntington Ravine, Madison Gulf and the North Tripyramid slide. Where does the Knife Edge rate compared to these benchmarks? And the boulder fields mentioned on other trails. Are they like The Fan in Huntington Ravine? Not as bad? Worse? I think peakbagger used the reference of comparing it to doing Adams via Airline Trail. Done that route before and it didn't bother me at all difficulty wise. Just trying to get a gauge of exactly the severity. The mention of "The Chimney" you climb down to at the end. What is that like in reference to The Chimney on the Osceolas? Obstacles like this don't generally bother me on the way up but I'm less confident descending elements like that. Any added detail on this would be great appreciated.

OK lastly part 2: anyone have a recommendation on the most detailed map available for Katahdin and it's trails? I assume there is a comparable set of trail guides or maps to what the AMC puts out for the White Mountains? EMS or REI would stock yes?

 

[tomcat32]

I definitely get cell service on Katahdin. I know I had service on Park Road between Katahdin Stream TH and the gate and I only have Tracfone. Knife Edge is more going from Pamola to Chimney is most technical part. It's not slabby like Huntington but more of a climb. There are only a couple spots where it is actually 3 feet wide. The Great Basin side is steeper but it isn't sheer drop. A fall would still be bad. Dudley is a steep boulder and scree covered climb, probably too loose to go down in anything but very dry conditions. Cathederal I wouldn't recommend going down but it gives great views into the basin pretty close to the edge. Saddle covers some boulders but the last pitch to Tableland is loose ground but not nearly as steep as the others. Helon Taylor is a long spur down from Pamola covering 3 miles and steepest at top. Some roots and rocks may be needed to grab going up Helon. Hamlin is a little more of a rocky jumble with with great views in the North and Great Basins. Hamlin Ridge is mostly above treeline and requires some hands up the jumbles of rocks. Abol's challenge is loose rock. It is very loose and steep. Near the top it requires some use of hands to get over some sections. Hunt Trail is another spur like Helon or Hamlin Ridge. It is nearly 11 miles round trip up and down Hunt. It has good views into Wetherle Ravine toward the Owl. In my opinion it is my least favorite route. It has several sections of scrambling with Rebar at the worst sections to help climb. I find Huntington Ravine or Kings Ravine not as challenging as most routes up Katahdin with exception of Saddle mostly because Katahdin routes are long. Huntington to me is only challenging for that one stretch where it gets slabby where Katahdin's challenge seem more continuous.

Best map I have came with Maine Mountain Guide. It has all park trails and distances between junctions. This is a great resource if you plan any other hikes in Maine and is very thorough for Baxter Trails.

 

[peakbagger]

You are getting close. Pick your preferred route and then pick corresponding campsite that is at the trailhead you want o leave from. Bunkhouses are a nice option for solo hikers. You wont regret heading into the park the day before.

There is zero cell coverage down low, once you are up are at or near treeline you will most likely have Verizon coverage. There really is no coverage once you leave Millinocket down low.

There are several maps available, realistically I don't think anyone is much better than another for hiking on Katahdin. AMCs maps is a good one. The trails are well marked so the maps is mostly useful for planning.

Pretty much across the board the typical Katahdin trail have no equals in the whites. The boulders are bigger and the trails steeper. With the exception of the flat ledge section on Huntngtons ravine trail, Huntington's is easier than most of the Katahdin trails. The knifes edge on a nice day is fun for many, but the exposure is significant. There are usually "chicken routes" around some of the more extreme sections but there are some spots with no options except to crawl on all fours. The final pinnacles prior the chimney require going sidewards on a near vertical slope using four points of contact. There is plenty of texture on the rock to hang onto. The drop down to the chimney is far more intimidating than the Chimney on Osceola. If you are heading from the summit to Pamola it requires either someone to spot you or it requires a "controlled slide" hoping you land on something that you cant necessarily see. There sometimes can be 30 or 40 folks waiting to go through this section and if there are a couple of folks below they can guide your feet to where you need to land. On the other hand I have met folks who had a fine time doing the knifes edge up to the Chimney and they have turned around at this point rather than going down this section. The Adams comparison was mostly with reference to overall elevation gain and length of route

 

[DayTrip]

Pretty much across the board the typical Katahdin trail have no equals in the whites. The boulders are bigger and the trails steeper. With the exception of the flat ledge section on Huntngtons ravine trail, Huntington's is easier than most of the Katahdin trails. The knifes edge on a nice day is fun for many, but the exposure is significant. There are usually "chicken routes" around some of the more extreme sections but there are some spots with no options except to crawl on all fours. The final pinnacles prior the chimney require going sidewards on a near vertical slope using four points of contact. There is plenty of texture on the rock to hang onto. The drop down to the chimney is far more intimidating than the Chimney on Osceola. If you are heading from the summit to Pamola it requires either someone to spot you or it requires a "controlled slide" hoping you land on something that you cant necessarily see. There sometimes can be 30 or 40 folks waiting to go through this section and if there are a couple of folks below they can guide your feet to where you need to land. On the other hand I have met folks who had a fine time doing the knifes edge up to the Chimney and they have turned around at this point rather than going down this section. The Adams comparison was mostly with reference to overall elevation gain and length of route

So I should expect long sections of trail like The Fan in Huntington Ravine? And why does one not go up this nasty chimney and go down some other route?? Is there a reason people would prefer to descend here?? As much as I want to do this it sounds like you are probably right not to try first time until I've traveled some of the trails and have an idea of overall layout, terrain, vertical, etc.

 

[DougPaul]

Lastly, regarding the degree of difficulty of the Knife Edge there seems to be differing opinions to difficulty level here. I've done the 48 4k's in NH and many of the harder trails in the Whites like Huntington Ravine, Madison Gulf and the North Tripyramid slide. Where does the Knife Edge rate compared to these benchmarks? And the boulder fields mentioned on other trails. Are they like The Fan in Huntington Ravine? Not as bad? Worse? I think peakbagger used the reference of comparing it to doing Adams via Airline Trail. Done that route before and it didn't bother me at all difficulty wise. Just trying to get a gauge of exactly the severity. The mention of "The Chimney" you climb down to at the end. What is that like in reference to The Chimney on the Osceolas? Obstacles like this don't generally bother me on the way up but I'm less confident descending elements like that. Any added detail on this would be great appreciated.

It has been a while, but:

I wouldn't worry about the KE. I've done it in the rain in summer and in the winter. The vast majority of it is an easy walk. The only remotely difficult section is the short climb from Chimney Notch to Chimney Peak. It's a bit of a scramble requiring the use of hands, but not difficult and is well marked. There are a few bits of exposure so some intolerant hikers may have (psychological) difficulty. I don't recall crawling on any of it...

Might be worth avoiding in high winds or thunderstorms.

The Boulder Field on Dudley is just a boulder field. Slow and requires the use of hands, but not particularly difficult. I've been up and down it in the rain.

The guidebooks are overly cautious because a few people have difficulty. There are a number of threads assuring potential first-timers that it can be done by mere mortals...

Doug