BIGEarl
Well-known member
August 14, 2012: Katahdin – Baxter Peak via Hunt Trail
Trails: Hunt Trail (aka Appalachian Trail, final few miles)
Summits: Mount Katahdin – Baxter Peak
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
I can’t say for sure that Hunt Trail is the toughest trail I’ve ever hiked but it’s really high on the list. It’s also a lot of fun! Our plan was to hike to the summit and then spend a few hours enjoying some laps on Knife Edge. We’ve gone through a similar plan before and it’s a great way to spend the day. An earlier start and better understanding of the nice features of Hunt Trail would have been helpful.
We arrived at Katahdin Stream Campground and pulled into the last space in the Day Use parking area. The trailhead was very busy and we would find a lot of company on the trail as well. We grabbed our things and set off. The previous day was a pretty tough one and I was still feeling it a little but expected within the first mile everything would fall into place. The conditions we had for the day were hot and very humid with very little breeze. We were walking into another very tough day. The early part of Hunt Trail is a very mild hike and easy warm-up. By the time we covered that first mile everything was loose and I was drenched with perspiration and already falling into a short cycle of hike for a distance and stop to lower the heart rate, and then go again. At one point Sue suggested we could change our plans and head to The Owl instead (it also starts on Hunt Trail) and save this hike for the next day. We both knew the forecast for the next day wasn’t as good and decided to stay with our plans.
After passing the trail junction for The Owl, and crossing Katahdin Stream below the falls, the climb started. Gradually, the grade increased and we were soon climbing some pretty nice erosion control. At the time we didn’t know once we started into these rocks we would be hiking rocks, slabs, and boulders, for the remainder of the climb. The sections of erosion control were like climbing stairs. They led to a section of slabs above the falls that had great traction. After the slabs we started into a rocky trail that stayed with us to the summit. There were a few places along the way that required both hands and feet to climb past. Soon we reached a feature called The Cave.
Soon we reached the treeline at a place called the Camels Hump. From here we enjoyed our first really nice views of the day and they would stay with us until we returned. Ahead we could see a boulder field made up of huge boulders. The trail is very well marked and we had no trouble at all in following the proper route. Our climb through the boulder field was really tough in places, but really fun as well. Having to figure out how to get past one obstacle after another can make the hike a lot more interesting if you let it. I think we were both really enjoying this area. At the same time we were wondering how people with big packs got through. It must be very difficult.
At one point there is a steel hand-hold embedded in a boulder and next to it is a steel post. Once we pulled ourselves up on the boulder with the hand-hold, the post was a place where a foot could land and have a solid support while finishing with that particular boulder. Slowly we made our way up through the boulder field and eventually reached a relatively flat area. Climbing through the boulder field was fun but it cost quite a bit of extra time. At this point in our hike we were roughly an hour over plan for our hike (one lap of Knife Edge is ~one hour). We enjoyed the short break provided by this flat section but in front of us was a place called The Gateway and a half-mile climb through ~800 feet of elevation to the Tableland (a large relatively flat area to the west of Baxter Peak).
The tough part of our climb was done. From here to the summit was roughly ~1.5 miles and 700 feet in elevation. Along the way we met Lori, Melissa, and Amicus. They had ascended via Abol Trail and planned to descend via Hunt Trail. We stopped to visit for a while but soon continued with our plans. The time was a little past 2:00pm; we now knew the difficult terrain we would need to descend and the extra time it would probably require. Our plans for a few laps on Knife Edge would have to wait until another visit.
We continued the hike to the summit. Soon the final 700 feet of elevation was behind us and we were on our final approach to the summit of Baxter Peak and north end of the Appalachian Trail. We found a few people at the summit, there were more on the ridge leading to South Peak, and still more on the various other trails leading to Baxter Peak. The place received a lot of traffic that day. We got our usual summit pictures along with a number of nice short-range and long-range view pictures. We also relaxed for a while and enjoyed the place. After a while Sue said “I’m ready if you’re ready”. That was the signal – it was time to head back down.
Knowing what was ahead only removed the mystery of the adventure; it didn’t make it any easier. In fact, descending this very difficult terrain presented a new set of challenges that we didn’t have while ascending. Along the way we had people moving faster than us go flying past, and we made our way past others that were moving slower. Everybody has their comfort zone on the descent and needed to stay within it to avoid a mishap.
We made our way through the steep drop from Tableland to the boulder field, down through the boulder field to the Camels Hump, back below the treeline past The Cave without any problems along the way. Somewhere below The Cave it started to rain. Thankfully we had descended below all of the tough sections. We stopped to pull out the rain gear and then continued with our descent. Someplace near the falls it was no longer raining; we stopped again to retire the rain gear. From there to the trailhead was an easy final cruise.
Once we hit the trailhead it didn’t take very long to toss our things in the back, grab a couple cold drinks, and set off for the campground and dinner.
Sorry Sue for not making it to Knife Edge. We still managed to enjoy a really fun day on Hunt Trail.
Pictures will follow.
Trails: Hunt Trail (aka Appalachian Trail, final few miles)
Summits: Mount Katahdin – Baxter Peak
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
I can’t say for sure that Hunt Trail is the toughest trail I’ve ever hiked but it’s really high on the list. It’s also a lot of fun! Our plan was to hike to the summit and then spend a few hours enjoying some laps on Knife Edge. We’ve gone through a similar plan before and it’s a great way to spend the day. An earlier start and better understanding of the nice features of Hunt Trail would have been helpful.
We arrived at Katahdin Stream Campground and pulled into the last space in the Day Use parking area. The trailhead was very busy and we would find a lot of company on the trail as well. We grabbed our things and set off. The previous day was a pretty tough one and I was still feeling it a little but expected within the first mile everything would fall into place. The conditions we had for the day were hot and very humid with very little breeze. We were walking into another very tough day. The early part of Hunt Trail is a very mild hike and easy warm-up. By the time we covered that first mile everything was loose and I was drenched with perspiration and already falling into a short cycle of hike for a distance and stop to lower the heart rate, and then go again. At one point Sue suggested we could change our plans and head to The Owl instead (it also starts on Hunt Trail) and save this hike for the next day. We both knew the forecast for the next day wasn’t as good and decided to stay with our plans.
After passing the trail junction for The Owl, and crossing Katahdin Stream below the falls, the climb started. Gradually, the grade increased and we were soon climbing some pretty nice erosion control. At the time we didn’t know once we started into these rocks we would be hiking rocks, slabs, and boulders, for the remainder of the climb. The sections of erosion control were like climbing stairs. They led to a section of slabs above the falls that had great traction. After the slabs we started into a rocky trail that stayed with us to the summit. There were a few places along the way that required both hands and feet to climb past. Soon we reached a feature called The Cave.
Soon we reached the treeline at a place called the Camels Hump. From here we enjoyed our first really nice views of the day and they would stay with us until we returned. Ahead we could see a boulder field made up of huge boulders. The trail is very well marked and we had no trouble at all in following the proper route. Our climb through the boulder field was really tough in places, but really fun as well. Having to figure out how to get past one obstacle after another can make the hike a lot more interesting if you let it. I think we were both really enjoying this area. At the same time we were wondering how people with big packs got through. It must be very difficult.
At one point there is a steel hand-hold embedded in a boulder and next to it is a steel post. Once we pulled ourselves up on the boulder with the hand-hold, the post was a place where a foot could land and have a solid support while finishing with that particular boulder. Slowly we made our way up through the boulder field and eventually reached a relatively flat area. Climbing through the boulder field was fun but it cost quite a bit of extra time. At this point in our hike we were roughly an hour over plan for our hike (one lap of Knife Edge is ~one hour). We enjoyed the short break provided by this flat section but in front of us was a place called The Gateway and a half-mile climb through ~800 feet of elevation to the Tableland (a large relatively flat area to the west of Baxter Peak).
The tough part of our climb was done. From here to the summit was roughly ~1.5 miles and 700 feet in elevation. Along the way we met Lori, Melissa, and Amicus. They had ascended via Abol Trail and planned to descend via Hunt Trail. We stopped to visit for a while but soon continued with our plans. The time was a little past 2:00pm; we now knew the difficult terrain we would need to descend and the extra time it would probably require. Our plans for a few laps on Knife Edge would have to wait until another visit.
We continued the hike to the summit. Soon the final 700 feet of elevation was behind us and we were on our final approach to the summit of Baxter Peak and north end of the Appalachian Trail. We found a few people at the summit, there were more on the ridge leading to South Peak, and still more on the various other trails leading to Baxter Peak. The place received a lot of traffic that day. We got our usual summit pictures along with a number of nice short-range and long-range view pictures. We also relaxed for a while and enjoyed the place. After a while Sue said “I’m ready if you’re ready”. That was the signal – it was time to head back down.
Knowing what was ahead only removed the mystery of the adventure; it didn’t make it any easier. In fact, descending this very difficult terrain presented a new set of challenges that we didn’t have while ascending. Along the way we had people moving faster than us go flying past, and we made our way past others that were moving slower. Everybody has their comfort zone on the descent and needed to stay within it to avoid a mishap.
We made our way through the steep drop from Tableland to the boulder field, down through the boulder field to the Camels Hump, back below the treeline past The Cave without any problems along the way. Somewhere below The Cave it started to rain. Thankfully we had descended below all of the tough sections. We stopped to pull out the rain gear and then continued with our descent. Someplace near the falls it was no longer raining; we stopped again to retire the rain gear. From there to the trailhead was an easy final cruise.
Once we hit the trailhead it didn’t take very long to toss our things in the back, grab a couple cold drinks, and set off for the campground and dinner.
Sorry Sue for not making it to Knife Edge. We still managed to enjoy a really fun day on Hunt Trail.
Pictures will follow.
