Katahdin loop?

[Tramper Al]

So,

I am thinking about going up to that Baxter State Park for a weekend in September. I want to climb the biggest mountain there, of course, and I plan to hike up via the Hunt Trail or Appalachian Trail, whichever looks easier.

Anyway, after reaching the summit, I'd like to head out over the Knife Edge to Pamola, weather permitting, and am wondering about making a nice loop. I could hike down to Chimney Pond, then back up the mountain via Saddle (or Cathedral?) Trail, and down the Abol Slide. I was thinking about leaving my car at Abol CG, and that's where the couple of others who may be joining me on the loop will be staying too.

So, is this a reasonable loop or no? Is there a 'cut-off time' for re-ascending the mountain from Chimney Pond? I realize this might make for a longish day, but I am planning to do some warm-up hikes in the week before, so my fitness level should be pretty reasonable.

Also, if you have an alternative approach in mind, I'd be interested. I do want to start up from Katahdin Stream, though.

Thanks in advance . . .

 

[spencer]

Well, the Katahdin cirque forms about 3/4 of a circle, but that's just not good enough for you, huh?

down Dudley to Chimney Pond and back up to the top would certainly add a little kick to the day. I haven't done it, but it seems reasonable. I think you'd probably want to take the Saddle up. It'd be a bit more mileage than going up Cathedral, but I think it would be easier at the end of a long day. Elevation is about the same either way.

Alternatively, there will enough of us that there that some of us could start from RB and meet you up there so you could traverse.

 

[spencer]

and the cutoff time from Chimney is 11am in September. I suspect that could be flexible.

spencer

 

[Tramper Al]

Le cirque et le coucher du soleil

Well, the Katahdin cirque forms about 3/4 of a circle, but that's just not good enough for you, huh?

The circuitous cirque route sounds great, actually. Maybe I should consider doing it twice, that is out and back (weather still permitting?).

and the cutoff time from Chimney is 11am in September. I suspect that could be flexible.

Flexible maybe if you have a killer rep with the BSP rangers? I not sure how far "Did you hear about the guys that started out for East Turner in the dark" would get me.

 

[weatherman]

a real butt-kicker

Having done this same loop in two sections, 10 years apart, in a totally different order than you, my feelings may not be totally accurate, but I'd think about it similarly to going up Mt Washington via the Ammo Ravine Trail, down Boott Spur then the Boott Spur Link to Hermit Lake, back up Lion Head to the summit then back down via Ammo. Add some adrenaline to give you more energy, as you have not done this before. Subtract some energy because of the footing issues going down Dudley AND Abol. Hope this is sort of helpful.
Weatherman

 

[Papa Bear]

As you probably know, Rambler and I did the Knife Edge after finishing the AT last September. We had no problem hitching back from Roaring Brook to our car.

We left the car at Abol Bridge. Then after getting to katahdin Stream, camped at the Birches. On summit day we hiked the Hunt Trail to Katahdin, Knife Edge to Pamola then down the Helon Taylor to Roaring Brook. Hitched to the road to the Abol Ponds CG. Walked the mile or so out of the park to Abol Bridge.

Done!

Although you are undoubtedly the man, I would not summit the massif twice in a day. Save your energy and do the traveler loop the next day.

If you must do a loop, once you get to Baxter Peak go north to Hamlin, then down via the NW Basin Trail past Davis Pond to the Wassataqoit Stream crossing (here), then bushwhack across to Fort, then simply continue along the Brothers range to OJI, then bushwhack over to Barren and decend the Barren slide and bushwack due south back to Katahdin Stream. Done, no problema!

I believe this is the classic Katahdin-Northwest Basin-Brothers-OJI-Barren loop.


Pb

 

[Tramper Al]

If you must do a loop, once you get to Baxter Peak go north to Hamlin, then down via the NW Basin Trail past Davis Pond to the Wassataqoit Stream crossing (here), then bushwhack across to Fort, then simply continue along the Brothers range to OJI, then bushwhack over to Barren and decend the Barren slide and bushwack due south back to Katahdin Stream. Done, no problema!
I believe this is the classic Katahdin-Northwest Basin-Brothers-OJI-Barren loop.

Ouch, I wonder what is the 'cut-off time' for this little day hike? Maybe "the day before yesterday"?

 

[twigeater]

Depending on the ranger, "cut-off" times can be suggestions that the ranger may remind you of, or rules one considers written in stone...
I once left Roaring Brook at 7pm, promising the unhappy ranger I'd be at Chimney Pond by 8:30. So shoot me, I got there at 8:35...
He made me promise to check in with the ranger once at Chimney Pond, but I don't think Rob Tice was too happy about me waking him up just to tell him that I had arrived.

 

[Papa Bear]

Ouch, I wonder what is the 'cut-off time' for this little day hike? Maybe "the day before yesterday"?

Well if you're not that speedy, you could save some distance and go due east from the foot of the NW Ridge straight to Coe. (across here). But you'll miss that airplane wreck on Fort.

Pb

 

[weatherman]

Here's an idea

Bring some dice. Station a friend with a car at each of about four trailheads. Climb the Hunt trail. Celebrate. Roll dice to see which direction to go next. At each succeeding trail junction, roll dice again. When you are stopped by overwhelming fatigue, heart failure, a ranger, excessive alcohol consumption or some combination thereof, proceed to the nearest trailhead and say "surprise"! Then get a ride to the nearest locked ward and check in.

 

[Mike P.]

Climb Baxter twice or bushwhack through the Klondike, I might go to Neverland Ranch 1st.

For a slower loop for either rain/fog or the time to stroll above treeline, up Dudley or Helon T. over the Knife Edge & down via Hamlin Ridge. (or reverse) Hamlin Ridge divides two of the basins & give you a great view back towards KE. Distance is in the low double digits I believe, a half day IMO compared to the others...

 

[Frodo]

Tramper Al,

If you are looking to include finishing the AT and do the Knife Edge in the same hike, then I would recommend just reversing your route after you reach Pamola (except maybe head down the Abol Slide and walk the 2 miles back to Katahdin Stream, if you looking for something different on the way down). It's only an additional 1.1 miles, which is obviously much shorter and easier than going all the way down to CP and back up. Hey, and you would get to do the most scenic trail (Knife Edge) this side of the Rockies twice!

Heading down the Dudley Trail then back up via Cathedral or Saddle is definitely doable in a day, but would be pretty brutal…

 

[Tramper Al]

Thanks

Thanks for the suggestions, both those practical and those bizarre. I think I like the out and back Knife Edge idea the nest. Watch, I'll be so tired from hiking up, I'll just take a nice nap near the summit until someone else shows up.

 

[nartreb]

Did you say you were thinking about going DOWN the Abol trail? That trail's a real butt-kicker as somebody was saying. I don't recommend it after a long day of hiking. In fact, several of the trails on Katahdin are steeper than most anything in the Whites except maybe the Tuckerman Ravine headwall.

Starting from Abol camp around 8:30 AM, my group made it as far as South Peak before turning around. We went down Hunt and hitch-hiked back to camp a little before sunset (this was in October, so maybe 6PM?). Continuing over the Knife Edge to Pamola and back would have been feasible though time-consuming, but I for one would not look forward to descending into the Great Basin and then re-ascending by any route. Somebody has already compared it to climbing Washington twice in one day, and I agree.

<a href="http://www.summitpost.org/show/route_link.pl/route_id/3983/object_id/36">more about Abol trail</a> (with links to more info about Katahdin)

 

[Tramper Al]

Did you say you were thinking about going DOWN the Abol trail? That trail's a real butt-kicker as somebody was saying. I don't recommend it after a long day of hiking.
Starting from Abol camp around 8:30 AM, my group made it as far as South Peak before turning around.
. . .but I for one would not look forward to descending into the Great Basin and then re-ascending by any route. Somebody has already compared it to climbing Washington twice in one day, and I agree.

Climbing back up Katahdin from Chimney Pond via the Saddle Trail would only be about a 2300 foot elevation gain, I believe. I don't think any of the Washington trailheads are quite so high up.

If I try anything fancy on Katahdin, rest assured I will be getting an early start, probably about 4 to 5 hours earlier than 8:30.

I think you are right about descending Abol Slide at the end of a long day. I am hopeful that heading down Helon Taylor and hitching a ride back to Abol CG will be a viable option.

 

[nartreb]

Duly noted, tramper Al. There are plenty of people who like their hikes more, um, vigorous than I do. (Getting up at 4 AM? Only if the tent is on fire!) Just making sure you were aware of the steepness factor - it really surprised me.

By the way, we did the Brothers & Coe the next day (Marston-Coe trail loop from Slide Dam), I highly recommend it even without PB's suggestion of bushwhacking the Klondike (you could add on Fort and OJI and a longer approach via the OJI trail, and still "sleep in").

 

[Tramper Al]

By the way, we did the Brothers & Coe the next day (Marston-Coe trail loop from Slide Dam), I highly recommend it.

Hey, thanks for that suggestion. I'm pretty sure I've already hiked that Brothers-Fort-Coe loop though. Is that the one with the airplane part up top and the startled bear on the trail?

 

[SherpaKroto]

FWIW, Tramper Al is finishing a number of lists on this one. He's a "tongue firmly in cheek" kind of guy. He helepd me celebrate my 67 on North Brother.

I can personally attest to his early riser status from a trip he and I took to Gray Knob a few years back. While I sipped rum and hot cocoa with 2 generations of hut masters, he was near getting ready to hike Talk about truly hiking our own hikes (At least we got to see a moose on the drive up)

Al: You'd enjoy heading down Dudley or Helon Taylor after a long day. I think we could pretty much guarantee a car spot for you And beer. At this point, I'm happy to hike any trail to Baxter Peak. Assuming they approve my reservations, which went in Saturday morning

 

[king tut]

i wouldn't recommend going back up the mountain again from chimney pond. any of the three trailheads you start at, you're looking at 3800-4000 vertical feet for a normal hike. re-ascending from the pond would make it well over 6000 vertical in a day. it's do-able if you don't want to walk for the next week, but if you descend down abol, hunt, or the chimney trails, you will need plenty of energy- those trails are steep. i wouldn't recommend chimney or abol slide for descent though- they go down 2000+ feet in a mile. pretty steep. what i would recommend if you want a good long hike is parking at roaring brook, going up to hamlin peak then to baxter then across the knife edge to pamola and then down. that would be over 10 miles and plenty for one day.

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

"I want to climb the biggest mountain there, of course, and I plan to hike up via the Hunt Trail or Appalachian Trail, whichever looks easier."

If I am not mistaken, I believe that the Hunt Trail is indeed the northern end leg of the AT, and overall is one of the two easiest ways up Baxter Peak, the other being a combination of the Chimney Pond and Saddle Trails.

Of course, I think that the Knife Edge is a must do, but I think that the KE is more aesthetic when done in only one direction as part of a traverse or a loop, rather than an out and back.

So, perhaps go up the Hunt, cross the KE, and go down the Dudley to Chimney Pond, and out to Roaring Brook on the Chimney Pond Trail, as others have suggested for a traverse. Or, as part of a loop, go up CP and Dudley Trails, cross the KE to Baxter, continue to Hamlin, and return to RB via the Hamlin Ridge, Blueberry Knoll, and CP Trails, as others have also suggested. If you get an early enough start on a west to east traverse, you could take a side trip to Hamlin Peak via a cut off from the Hunt Trail, before returning to finish on Baxter.

This "out and back" concept reminds me to post something about whether or not one should get "credit" for two ascents of the same summit on the same trip, which I was considering once again on Field in the Willey Range this past Saturday. I will go post that idea on a separate thread now.