Katahdin loop?

[Tramper Al]

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 . . .

Now, of course, there are people on this board who pretty routinely put together a long day's hike with 6000 feet or more of elevation gain. I, however, am not one of them.

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.

Alas, I must start up from Katahdin Stream this time. That is certain. I did hike a Roaring Brook loop of sorts on my first walk up on Katahdin's slopes. RB-Hamlin-Saddle. But it was a short loop, running down from the saddle to do a little canoeing that afternoon.

If I am not mistaken, I believe that the Hunt Trail is indeed the northern end leg of the AT . . .

You are not at all mistaken, and are most certainly correct in this. Still, I think that if I survive the 100 Mile over the week prior, I will have earned the right to choose the Hunt or the AT, whichever looks easier, to climb Katahdin. It is a matter of exercising what little measure of choice I have left at that moment.

 

[CJK]

having gone to school in New Brunswick I have had the fortune of hiking Katahdin around 10 times, and can still remember the first time on I-95 going south to Virginia for a spring hike and seeing this massive thing in the distance, and having to stop at LL bean just to ask what the heck I had seen, and remembering the first time I looked down into chimminey pond from the summit. Anyways, here are my 2 cents worth;

1) going down and back up is one heck of an ambitious day, and the hike down abol would be steep at the end of the day. The weather on Katahdin is also notoriously tough, things change fast and for the worst often. To get an idea of the time required I hiked from Roaring brook, up cathedral, across to Pamola, and down the long way back to roaring brook, we were not in a hurry but took I think it took around 8-9 hours. Most of the other hikes I can remember took about the same time.

2) the classic approach to Kathadin is chimney pond, and cathedral is quite a lot of fun. However, if it is your first time I loved going up abol, and across to the Peak, and having chimney pond spread out below me, I was blown away by what I saw. The descent down the AT trail is not a bad way to go either, and it is usually not a problem to get a ride.

ck

 

[Tramper Al]

Hey, thanks everyone for the continued advice. At this point, I know that hiking Katahdin once or 1.5 times is tiring.

I plan to hike up via the Hunt Trail or Appalachian Trail. . .

Alas, I must start up from Katahdin Stream this time. That is certain.

And I really really MUST climb up via the AT (= Hunt) from Katahdin Stream. My primary purpose, you see, is to complete my section hike of the AT through New England. To achieve that, I will need to hike up Katahdin via the AT.

The other loops are interesting, I'm sure, and I've hiked or seen parts of them on a previous trip. But my route up is set in stone, as it were. It is my route down that is still rather up in the air, if you will.

Thanks again!

 

[DougPaul]

And I really really MUST climb up via the AT (= Hunt) from Katahdin Stream. My primary purpose, you see, is to complete my section hike of the AT through New England. To achieve that, I will need to hike up Katahdin via the AT.

Up Hunt, tag Katahdin summit, Knife Edge to Pamola and back, down Hunt or Abol Slide. (We did this in winter, Abol Slide up and down.) Get to do the Knife Edge twice and not much additional elevation. No car spot problem.

Hmm, looks like this suggestion has already been made. Anyhow, it worked for us.

Doug

 

[twigeater]

One time my nephew and I hiked up the Hunt Trail, with the intent of returning to our camp at Katahdin Stream via the same trail. Once on the mountain, we decided we'd descend via the Saddle and Chimney Pond trails after hiking up to Baxter Peak. (no knife edge for me - been there, done that, LOL)

We met up with a ranger friend of mine, who told me we could have the ranger at Roaring Brook radio the ranger at Katahdin Stream to take a message to our party to come pick us up. The RB ranger wasn't there, so we hitch hiked to the gate, and the gate house attendant radioed KS for us.

Up and over - one of the nicest hikes on Katahdin I've done.
Took us about 8 hours.

If I was a Knife Edge hiker, we might've gone down Helon Taylor or Dudley.