arm
Well-known member
spent a few days in Baxter State Park last weekend ... fun way to wrap up Winter
Spencer invited friends to join him on his quest to complete his Klondike Grid, after our original BSP ski traverse plans weren't gathering much steam
we planned to hike up from Katahdin Stream Campground then bushwhack to the base of the Klondike and climb gullies in Witherle Ravine
Frodo, Giggy and Nate were on our original team, but couldn't make it ... we tried to keep group size small to avoid crushing anyone's Wilderness experience
Stevo and i carpooled up saturday and met Spencer and Brett at Abol Bridge, then skied in to Katahdin Stream Campground, our home sweet home for three days, camping out in lean-to sites ... BSP Tote Road had decent snow cover, cold temps induced crisp quick skiing conditions
GO could only swing two days, so rode his snowmobile in to basecamp
Stevo shoveled out a basecamp area fit for kings ... shortly after setting up basecamp we spotted a polar bear, our basecamp mascot
stoked a campfire, then Spencer had dinner ready in a jiffy
the superest Full Moon since 1993 rose over Katahdin ... we were about 14% sure that it seemed superer than usual
the next morning we started up Hunt Trail, snowshoeing on top of hard crisp snow ... perfect conditions for bushwhacking ... things were looking good as we crossed the bridge near Owl Trail and hiked up past Katahdin Stream Falls ...
we started our bushwhack about a half mile beyond the bridge, entering open woods a few hundred yards up the south bank of Katahdin Stream, rarely breaking through the hard snowy crust
after a half mile of bushwhacking, we decided that we'd opt for Plan B, hiking up Hunt Trail ... team vote, not sure if we'd end up climbing gullies after dark ... GO decided to head out due to an aching knee, hoping to avoid polar bear collisions on his snowmobile later on
we made it back to Hunt Trail, stashed some climbing gear, then hiked up trail
we swapped to crampons when we reached treeline ... the iron rung areas had some steep icy patches but were easy to negotiate
Brett started ahead across Katahdin's Tableland before we topped out on Hunt Trail, but turned back before reaching summit ... he might have been sketched out about chances of running into polar bears solo ?
Spencer, Stevo and i walked across Tableland to Baxter Peak on a perfect Winter day ... clear views, not much wind, 20F temps kept snow from getting soft ... there's more ice on Katahdin than we've seen in past Winters ... rime ice sculptures were beautiful
easy hike back down Hunt Trail to basecamp, where Brett had a campfire stoked ... the polar bear and super Full Moon made another appearance
cold nights led to hard quick skiing conditions on BSP Tote Roads on our way out monday ... Stevo and i sledded down steeper road sections on our pulks
when you see Katahdin's massif from new directions you realize how many endless gullies, crags, aretes and features it has ... especially in Winter, when snow fills in the cracks ... you could climb there for years without scratching the surface
Baxter is amazing place in Winter ... nothing like it east of the Rockies
looking forward to the next trip already !
posted a few pics
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/579851766wXDVer?start=60
http://www.youtube.com/user/armmon
Spencer invited friends to join him on his quest to complete his Klondike Grid, after our original BSP ski traverse plans weren't gathering much steam
we planned to hike up from Katahdin Stream Campground then bushwhack to the base of the Klondike and climb gullies in Witherle Ravine
Frodo, Giggy and Nate were on our original team, but couldn't make it ... we tried to keep group size small to avoid crushing anyone's Wilderness experience
Stevo and i carpooled up saturday and met Spencer and Brett at Abol Bridge, then skied in to Katahdin Stream Campground, our home sweet home for three days, camping out in lean-to sites ... BSP Tote Road had decent snow cover, cold temps induced crisp quick skiing conditions
GO could only swing two days, so rode his snowmobile in to basecamp
Stevo shoveled out a basecamp area fit for kings ... shortly after setting up basecamp we spotted a polar bear, our basecamp mascot
stoked a campfire, then Spencer had dinner ready in a jiffy
the superest Full Moon since 1993 rose over Katahdin ... we were about 14% sure that it seemed superer than usual
the next morning we started up Hunt Trail, snowshoeing on top of hard crisp snow ... perfect conditions for bushwhacking ... things were looking good as we crossed the bridge near Owl Trail and hiked up past Katahdin Stream Falls ...
we started our bushwhack about a half mile beyond the bridge, entering open woods a few hundred yards up the south bank of Katahdin Stream, rarely breaking through the hard snowy crust
after a half mile of bushwhacking, we decided that we'd opt for Plan B, hiking up Hunt Trail ... team vote, not sure if we'd end up climbing gullies after dark ... GO decided to head out due to an aching knee, hoping to avoid polar bear collisions on his snowmobile later on
we made it back to Hunt Trail, stashed some climbing gear, then hiked up trail
we swapped to crampons when we reached treeline ... the iron rung areas had some steep icy patches but were easy to negotiate
Brett started ahead across Katahdin's Tableland before we topped out on Hunt Trail, but turned back before reaching summit ... he might have been sketched out about chances of running into polar bears solo ?
Spencer, Stevo and i walked across Tableland to Baxter Peak on a perfect Winter day ... clear views, not much wind, 20F temps kept snow from getting soft ... there's more ice on Katahdin than we've seen in past Winters ... rime ice sculptures were beautiful
easy hike back down Hunt Trail to basecamp, where Brett had a campfire stoked ... the polar bear and super Full Moon made another appearance
cold nights led to hard quick skiing conditions on BSP Tote Roads on our way out monday ... Stevo and i sledded down steeper road sections on our pulks
when you see Katahdin's massif from new directions you realize how many endless gullies, crags, aretes and features it has ... especially in Winter, when snow fills in the cracks ... you could climb there for years without scratching the surface
Baxter is amazing place in Winter ... nothing like it east of the Rockies
looking forward to the next trip already !
posted a few pics
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/579851766wXDVer?start=60
http://www.youtube.com/user/armmon
