Looks like an out and back if your doing the Knife Edge this Year

[skiguy]

http://northeastexplorer.com/wordpr...Iz3-pC25blhGjTeRbVHRxhAq-0tRLHyrQK5XIBEjffGW8

 

[Mac]

up Abol down Pamola or up Pamola down Saddle

 

[skiguy]

up Abol down Pamola or up Pamola down Saddle

You are correct. I was confusing my "H"'s as in Hunt and Helon Taylor. Thankyou for the clarification.

 

[peakbagger]

Last years annual report indicated that the Dudley may be open in 2019 but not completed. I havent seen any recent updates and expect that if it does open it will be "soft" open late in the season without a lot of publicity. BSP does not like to over promise.

 

[SpencerVT]

I wonder if the next trail to close up there will be the Cathedral trail?
Some of those routes up Katahdin are sketchy in terms of loose rock and massive steepness.

 

[peakbagger]

Cathedral trail was relocated at least once in the last thirty years. The section of Dudley that slid was always one step away from washing out. Most of the trails on Katahdin were not designed to any proper trail building standard, they were just fall line routes that the park kept open because they didnt have the resources to rebuild them correctly. The ongoing Hunt trail relocations and the Abol and OJI reconstruction are built to modern standards. I expect when the North Brother relocation gets back on the schedule it too will be built to last. Probably the trail that is at the most risk is the Doublehead South trail, Its already closer to a crooked drainage ditch then a trail. I expect there is no rebuilding it rather it would be total relocation. I expect Cathedral can only be hardened so much. Its always going to be one bad storm and a winters worth of freeze thaw cycles from needing a relocation. Same with the Saddle Trail.

 

[DayTrip]

That's a bummer. Saw that article too. Staying in Roaring Brook in July and was hoping to try that trail. Only one I haven't done from that side. Given the kind of terrain on Katahdin I don't know what you can really do without some massive effort. All you can really do is make sure the route avoids boulders ready to tumble. I personally would rather do trails with a certain element of risk on Katahdin rather than have some massive construction create an "artificial feel" to the trails. It's one of the park's biggest appeals to me - the untouched, wild feel of it.

 

[DayTrip]

I wonder if the next trail to close up there will be the Cathedral trail?
Some of those routes up Katahdin are sketchy in terms of loose rock and massive steepness.

I found the Saddle Trail far worse than Cathedral. That headwall on Saddle was all super loose and sandy. Must be a nightmare when it is wet. Cathedral was very steep but it all felt solid and you could grip it. I don't remember any loose sections until the upper section after the cut off junction, which was loose but at that point it isn't very steep and wasn't a big deal.

 

[skiguy]

That's a bummer. Saw that article too. Staying in Roaring Brook in July and was hoping to try that trail. Only one I haven't done from that side. Given the kind of terrain on Katahdin I don't know what you can really do without some massive effort. All you can really do is make sure the route avoids boulders ready to tumble. I personally would rather do trails with a certain element of risk on Katahdin rather than have some massive construction create an "artificial feel" to the trails. It's one of the park's biggest appeals to me - the untouched, wild feel of it.

This is a most excellent post. Kudos to you to put it in to words in a spot on manner for sure.

 

[Stan]

I'd prefer Chimney Pond as a base camp for Katahdin, either ascending, descending or both, but what about Helon Taylor as part of a Knife Edge loop one way or the other? Did I miss something about the latter?

 

[David Metsky]

Did I miss something about the latter?

Nope, skiguy confused Helon Taylor and Hunt trails. He figured it out in post #3.

 

[Mac]

Nope, skiguy confused Helon Taylor and Hunt trails. He figured it out in post #3.

Mac (me) added to the confusion by referring to the peak (Pamola) instead of the trail (Helon Taylor).

 

[SpencerVT]

Cathedral trail was relocated at least once in the last thirty years. The section of Dudley that slid was always one step away from washing out. Most of the trails on Katahdin were not designed to any proper trail building standard, they were just fall line routes that the park kept open because they didnt have the resources to rebuild them correctly. The ongoing Hunt trail relocations and the Abol and OJI reconstruction are built to modern standards. I expect when the North Brother relocation gets back on the schedule it too will be built to last. Probably the trail that is at the most risk is the Doublehead South trail, Its already closer to a crooked drainage ditch then a trail. I expect there is no rebuilding it rather it would be total relocation. I expect Cathedral can only be hardened so much. Its always going to be one bad storm and a winters worth of freeze thaw cycles from needing a relocation. Same with the Saddle Trail.

Interesting information, thanks!

Also, I like what DayTrip said about one of the park's biggest appeals being the untouched, wild feel to it, rather than an artificial massive construction trail building system. - I agree!