bryan
New member
date: 3/10/12
trails: abol stream trail, abol beach access road, tote road, abol trail, hunt trail, saddle trail, northwest basin trail, hamlin ridge trail, baxter peak cut-off
conditions: lots of parking (and also lots of vehicles) at the abol bridge area. some were driving in the road that accesses abol stream trail and parking a bit closer, but road is icy. abol stream trail was a pretty frozen snowmobile track to the tote road which was snowmobile packed and hard underfoot. lower abol trail packed hard in the morning and softer once the sun hit it later in the day. the upper part of the slide was hard crusty snow with rock and increasing ice the higher you went. thankfully by the afternoon the sun had softened things a bit which made for better footing on the descent, but it still required caution especially for the upper 1/4 mile or so. once on the table land hard crusty snow and ice with some exposed rock was the standard up to baxter peak and down to the saddle. much of the same up to hamlin peak with one section of deeper drifted and wind packed snow. the baxter peak cut-off was not easy to follow (for me anyway) as many of the cairns and blazes were buried and i eventually just headed directly towards the top of the abol trail across the snow fields.
equipment: wore snowshoes from the start up to the steep section of the slide on abol trail then switched to crampons until below the slide on the descent. snowshoes from there to abol pond then microspikes the rest of the way out. an ice axe was very helpful for the slide descent.
comments: awesome hike. was happy to be able to take advantage of this great day to get up to baxter and hamlin peaks. some clouds blew through obscuring things early, but by late morning the summits were in the clear with blue skies and little to no wind. stunning views in all directions especially to various points on the mountain itself and some of the surrounding peaks in the park. i had to take a step out of my usual comfort zone as far as terrain goes on the upper part of the abol slide, but knew that would be the case before heading up. a pretty spectacular route. nice seeing mikel and his group as well as meeting some folks out with the maine amc chapter. great to be out.
bryan
[email protected]
trails: abol stream trail, abol beach access road, tote road, abol trail, hunt trail, saddle trail, northwest basin trail, hamlin ridge trail, baxter peak cut-off
conditions: lots of parking (and also lots of vehicles) at the abol bridge area. some were driving in the road that accesses abol stream trail and parking a bit closer, but road is icy. abol stream trail was a pretty frozen snowmobile track to the tote road which was snowmobile packed and hard underfoot. lower abol trail packed hard in the morning and softer once the sun hit it later in the day. the upper part of the slide was hard crusty snow with rock and increasing ice the higher you went. thankfully by the afternoon the sun had softened things a bit which made for better footing on the descent, but it still required caution especially for the upper 1/4 mile or so. once on the table land hard crusty snow and ice with some exposed rock was the standard up to baxter peak and down to the saddle. much of the same up to hamlin peak with one section of deeper drifted and wind packed snow. the baxter peak cut-off was not easy to follow (for me anyway) as many of the cairns and blazes were buried and i eventually just headed directly towards the top of the abol trail across the snow fields.
equipment: wore snowshoes from the start up to the steep section of the slide on abol trail then switched to crampons until below the slide on the descent. snowshoes from there to abol pond then microspikes the rest of the way out. an ice axe was very helpful for the slide descent.
comments: awesome hike. was happy to be able to take advantage of this great day to get up to baxter and hamlin peaks. some clouds blew through obscuring things early, but by late morning the summits were in the clear with blue skies and little to no wind. stunning views in all directions especially to various points on the mountain itself and some of the surrounding peaks in the park. i had to take a step out of my usual comfort zone as far as terrain goes on the upper part of the abol slide, but knew that would be the case before heading up. a pretty spectacular route. nice seeing mikel and his group as well as meeting some folks out with the maine amc chapter. great to be out.
bryan
[email protected]
