J
Jim W
Guest
I just spent 4 days in Baxter State Park with my little brother, Gary W. It was one of the best BSP trips ever. We arrived on Saturday afternoon at Roaring Brook, where we had a lean-to reserved for one night. We decided to do a quick day trip to Chimney Pond and back, as a warm up for the Sunday to Tuesday backbacking adventure.
On the way back to camp, in the early evening, Gary started the usual religious discussion. After a bit of back and forth, I said to him, "Listen, I just find it hard to believe that Dad and Jeff are up there in Heaven controlling the weather on our behalf". Well, within minutes a thunderstorm rolled in and drenched us! For the next 2 and a half days the weather was spectacular. Clear blue skies and moderate to warm temperatures and very little wind. Thank You, Dad and Jeff.
On Sunday, we loaded up the backbacks for the hike to Russell Pond. We started by way of Sandy Stream Pond. As usual, we got a close-up encounter with a cow and her calf. The calf was grazing within inches of the boardwalk. Rather than spook the little guy (well not as little as he/she was in June!) we backtracked away from the boardwalk and continued toward Russel Pond Trail. We stayed with that trail all the way to the camp. The water crossings were all done without any incidents. We got to lean-to #5. Unbelievable. It's huge, clean and very, very remote. It has it's own privy (but it's one of the nastiest of all). No wildlife sightings here, kinda surprising.
Monday was our toughest day. Northwest Basin trail to Hamlin Ridge Trail to Chimney Pond. The beauty in this area made up for any difficulties. We'll repeat this one for sure. Maybe in reverse next time. The Northwest Basin Trail follows right into the heart of the basin. High cliffs on both sides. A wild, beautiful river with boulders in it that match any in Mahoosuc Notch. A few tricky river crossings and one that required walking through the river. Boulder fields to climb through. Foliage near it's peak. Below the headwall are Lake Cowles and Davis Pond. Spectacular. Then the steep climb to the Tableland at Northwest Plateau and the awesome walk to Hamlin Peak along the plateau. And it doesn't get any better than following the exposed Hamlin Ridge down to Chimney Pond. Lean-to #2 has views of the entire Knife Edge. We had a full moon rise over Pamola directly in front of the lean-to. It eventually crossed the sky just above the Knife Edge. Did I mention, Thank You, Dad and Jeff?
Tuesday, we packed up and headed south. Into the rain.
Jim W and Gary W
On the way back to camp, in the early evening, Gary started the usual religious discussion. After a bit of back and forth, I said to him, "Listen, I just find it hard to believe that Dad and Jeff are up there in Heaven controlling the weather on our behalf". Well, within minutes a thunderstorm rolled in and drenched us! For the next 2 and a half days the weather was spectacular. Clear blue skies and moderate to warm temperatures and very little wind. Thank You, Dad and Jeff.
On Sunday, we loaded up the backbacks for the hike to Russell Pond. We started by way of Sandy Stream Pond. As usual, we got a close-up encounter with a cow and her calf. The calf was grazing within inches of the boardwalk. Rather than spook the little guy (well not as little as he/she was in June!) we backtracked away from the boardwalk and continued toward Russel Pond Trail. We stayed with that trail all the way to the camp. The water crossings were all done without any incidents. We got to lean-to #5. Unbelievable. It's huge, clean and very, very remote. It has it's own privy (but it's one of the nastiest of all). No wildlife sightings here, kinda surprising.
Monday was our toughest day. Northwest Basin trail to Hamlin Ridge Trail to Chimney Pond. The beauty in this area made up for any difficulties. We'll repeat this one for sure. Maybe in reverse next time. The Northwest Basin Trail follows right into the heart of the basin. High cliffs on both sides. A wild, beautiful river with boulders in it that match any in Mahoosuc Notch. A few tricky river crossings and one that required walking through the river. Boulder fields to climb through. Foliage near it's peak. Below the headwall are Lake Cowles and Davis Pond. Spectacular. Then the steep climb to the Tableland at Northwest Plateau and the awesome walk to Hamlin Peak along the plateau. And it doesn't get any better than following the exposed Hamlin Ridge down to Chimney Pond. Lean-to #2 has views of the entire Knife Edge. We had a full moon rise over Pamola directly in front of the lean-to. It eventually crossed the sky just above the Knife Edge. Did I mention, Thank You, Dad and Jeff?
Tuesday, we packed up and headed south. Into the rain.
Jim W and Gary W
