Guthook
New member
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2009
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First off, I agree the East is crowded and I can see why the current state of limitations into Baxter gives it a more remote feel. Personally, if I want remote wilderness, I seek it in CO. There is enough land out there, that you can always find a place away from people, ( although the 14ers are not that quiet) the 13ers however are the hidden Gem. Anywho, I digress. I go into the mountans to be free to do what I want, I do not like rules and regulations. I will not even by a parking Pass, but thats another debate. I climbed Katahdin in the 80's and I did not like the following. I had to get up way early and sit in front a gate just to get in. They classed the days according to the weather, on certain days you couldnt go above treeline. I mean, I'm going to drive 6 hours and not be able to summit? But the thing that ended my time in Baxter was the winter regs for sure. I put in to solo the mountain during the winter months. Its a amazing mountain and a winter ascent would have been awesome, I had the skills and would have had a great chance. They basically laughed at me, minimum party of 4 blah blah blah. That did it for me, I've never been back and I wont go back. I go to the mountains to seek freedom, not have to check on rule after rule, to tiptoe around and have a ranger sniffing at me at every turn, no thanks. I know, The park is beautifull, many do what they have to do to go there. If thats ok for you then have at it, we just come from different perspectives regarding wilderness. No right or wrong, just different.
I've heard similar stories about the park from the 70's and 80's, and I'm going to assume that the rules must have been relaxed a bit since then. The only hoop I had to jump through for a week-long backpacking trip there this summer, and then another three-day trip in September, was calling the park to reserve campsites a few weeks ahead of time. It took ten minutes of my time, and guaranteed me quiet campsites without any neighbors.
The sentiment of "I'm going to drive 6 hours and not be able to summit?" strikes me as a bit arrogant (although I'm assuming that's not how you meant it). As someone who spends a lot of time in the mountains, I never feel that it's my right to succeed whenever I set out to do something. Granted, it's usually internal or natural factors causing that failure, not a ranger saying I can't do something, but I would never let the lack of success be the defining characteristic of a trip. So what if you don't get to do exactly what you want and climb the mountain on a stormy day? Check out some of the lower parts of the park, or climb a different mountain (others have mentioned Doubletop and the Brothers. I'll add the Traveler to that list, which is one of the most beautiful mountains I've ever seen). I'm guessing that when you fly to CO and go on trips there, you're not angry when external factors shut you out of a goal, right?
So you're right that it's not one of us is right and one of us is wrong. For me, getting on a plane even for an hour is more of a hassle than driving three hours to Millinocket. I know the area much better than I know the Rockies, and that is part of what appeals to me. I know where to go to find the kind of solitude I want, and the kind of scenery I enjoy. And when I see rules put in place by land managers (of which there are many in all public lands, even in the Rockies), I see that as a sign that people care about the land enough to want to preserve it.