tomcat32
Active member
I wanted to get in one last trip up the big K this year and weather looked good for Saturday. We planned on Cathedral and Knife Edge down Helon. We arrived at the gate a little later than usual and just barely made it into Roaring Brook lot. Due to people not knowing how to park we were forced to park along road. (No big deal but if people parked closer probably another several cars could have fit rather than be forced along the road which ranger wasn't too happy with.)
Snow was visible on the summit with even a few signs of snow at the lot. Chimney pond Tr. was slick with icy spots and crowded. At Chimney Pond ranger was advising everyone to take Saddle but stating he couldn't force anyone to not take other trails. Apparently they got rid of there Class system and you are on your own at making the calls. We still used the Cathedral since I had experience on Katahdin with similar conditions and the J Man is a capable hiker and experienced Katahdin hiker himself.
While there were slick spots and one particularly tricky spot that required a short bypass. Otherwise it was slow going. Snow increased with elevation up Cathedral. We didn't have traction but were fine. We were first up that trail for the day.
Skies were mostly clear but a cloud settled on Katahdin while at the summit but cleared again before we departed. Summit was 22F on my thermometer with gusts hitting mid 30s I would guess. There was no more than an inch of snow up high but everything was rimey.
Two things that stood out on the trip. I never saw the mountain so busy. Summit was crammed full. You almost needed a number getting down the Saddle with bottlenecks forming on the slicker sections. The huge numbers packed the snow on the trail making it very slilck at best.
The other crazy thing that shocked me was the sheer volume of denim. It seemed everybody had appropriate jackets, gloves, hats, but still tons of jeans, a few cheap sweat pants, and a few with cheap hoodies (UMaine, Colby, or hoodies of the sort).
We could get by without traction until we hit the extremely packed down Saddle where it descends steeply alll the way to almost Chimney Pond where it would have been helpful. Even though some went across Knife Edge we opted not too being that between the two of us we probably have 15 crossings and without traction we didn't want to risk it. In retrospect it may not have been as bad as the Saddle since it may have been blown off. It did look quite rimey though.
This was my 14th trip to the summit and by far the most crowded, odd being the fairly blustery conditions. Then again I usually don't hike it in mid summer unless its not a weekend, so maybe this was the weekend norm for Katahdin.
It was nice to get a winter preview .
Snow was visible on the summit with even a few signs of snow at the lot. Chimney pond Tr. was slick with icy spots and crowded. At Chimney Pond ranger was advising everyone to take Saddle but stating he couldn't force anyone to not take other trails. Apparently they got rid of there Class system and you are on your own at making the calls. We still used the Cathedral since I had experience on Katahdin with similar conditions and the J Man is a capable hiker and experienced Katahdin hiker himself.
While there were slick spots and one particularly tricky spot that required a short bypass. Otherwise it was slow going. Snow increased with elevation up Cathedral. We didn't have traction but were fine. We were first up that trail for the day.
Skies were mostly clear but a cloud settled on Katahdin while at the summit but cleared again before we departed. Summit was 22F on my thermometer with gusts hitting mid 30s I would guess. There was no more than an inch of snow up high but everything was rimey.
Two things that stood out on the trip. I never saw the mountain so busy. Summit was crammed full. You almost needed a number getting down the Saddle with bottlenecks forming on the slicker sections. The huge numbers packed the snow on the trail making it very slilck at best.
The other crazy thing that shocked me was the sheer volume of denim. It seemed everybody had appropriate jackets, gloves, hats, but still tons of jeans, a few cheap sweat pants, and a few with cheap hoodies (UMaine, Colby, or hoodies of the sort).
We could get by without traction until we hit the extremely packed down Saddle where it descends steeply alll the way to almost Chimney Pond where it would have been helpful. Even though some went across Knife Edge we opted not too being that between the two of us we probably have 15 crossings and without traction we didn't want to risk it. In retrospect it may not have been as bad as the Saddle since it may have been blown off. It did look quite rimey though.
This was my 14th trip to the summit and by far the most crowded, odd being the fairly blustery conditions. Then again I usually don't hike it in mid summer unless its not a weekend, so maybe this was the weekend norm for Katahdin.
It was nice to get a winter preview .
