BIGEarl
Well-known member
August 5, 2011: Traveler Loop - BSP
Trails: Pogy Notch Trail, Center Ridge Trail, Traveler Mountain Trail, North Traveler Trail
Summits: Peak of the Ridges, Traveler Mountain, North Traveler Mountain
Hikers: Whitchway (Melissa), Trail Trotter (Sue), and me
Baxter Park is a big place but when you toss in narrow, twisting roads that have a 20 MPH speed limit the place seems even bigger. From the campground to the trailhead lot for our hike was a two-hour drive (one-way, all within the park). Along the way we nearly had the opportunity to meet some folks from New York. We were traveling through a turn in the road when we met these folks coming from the opposite direction. We were on our side of the road; so were the others. I hit the brakes and turned into the ditch. The New York vehicle did the same but headed for the opposite ditch. It was very close but we missed. No harm – no foul.
We got started from the campground a little later than planned and started hiking a little later than planned but the hike was a relatively small one and we weren’t concerned. The Park Ranger at the trailhead seemed to have a different opinion and took a couple shots at discouraging us from the hike. There’s a chance his comments made us want to do the hike even more.
Our plan was to follow the recommendations of the Maine Mountain Guide and hike the standard loop counter-clockwise. The “loop split” is roughly .1 mile from the South Branch Pond Campground, which is where we parked for the day. After we signed-in at the trailhead we were off. The first trail segment was a 1.5 mile warm-up along the east side of South Branch Pond (actually two ponds – Upper and Lower South Branch Pond). The trail is very wet and muddy, but the area has received several days of rain, which could have something to do with the trail conditions. There were bridges where needed to get through marshy areas and the other muddy sections had enough rocks and various high spots to help keep the boots clean. After roughly 45 minutes we reached a bluff overlooking the north end of Upper South Branch Pond and the trail junction with Center Ridge Trail. It was time to start the climb.
Center Ridge Trail is generally a constant climb to Peak of the Ridges. As the name suggests, the trail follows the ridge. Initially, the climb is in thick wooded conditions but eventually the trees thin and get smaller, and the views start to open up. A short distance into the climb we came to some wild blueberries. Melissa started grazing, and never stopped. It turned out there were wild blueberries everywhere for the remainder of the hike and Melissa enjoyed her share.
This section of the hike was one of the details the Park Ranger focused on as a negative. The trail gains roughly 2000 feet in 2 miles. That’s not a negative; it’s just a pleasant climb. We reached the initial viewpoint, briefly stopped to enjoy the views, and set off for what we thought was the summit up ahead. The trail was still working through relatively thick growth and we approached the “summit” that was visible from the viewpoint. Eventually, we saw it was a false summit and the actual summit was further ahead. We continued up the ridge to the next “false summit” for the climb (that’s entertaining), and then the next “false summit” (that’s interesting), and then the next “false summit” (that’s concerning), and then the next false summit (that’s annoying). After a couple more we actually could see a sign post ahead and knew we were approaching Peak of the Ridges. When we started our hike, the mountains were all completely socked in with clouds. During the early part of our hike the sun burned off the cover and we were enjoying terrific clear conditions. Considering all of the blueberries and the terrific views, hiking Center Ridge Trail was a treat.
By now the day was hot and very humid. We were told there was no water anywhere on the loop and brought extra with us. I was going through mine at a faster rate than expected but still had plenty. After the usual summit formalities on Peak of the Ridges we set off for Traveler Mountain.
The section leaving Peak of the Ridges (~2000 feet in length) is referred to in the Maine Mountain Guide as “Little Knife Edge”. It's described as "a vertical spine of columnar rhyolite rock". I believe we all enjoyed this section - a lot! It’s exposed with great 360 degree views, and some interesting climbing along the way. We carefully worked through Little Knife Edge and down to the col between Peak of the Ridges and Traveler Mountain. There, the trail went back into dense growth for a brief period before coming back out for an exposed climb on loose rocks to the summit. I lost my footing and went down once but don’t know if the others had any slips. Other than the times we were hiking on clear sections of rocks, we were still passing through endless blueberries, and Melissa was really happy. From Peak of the Ridges the hike to Traveler Mountain appeared as if it would be a lot of work. In fact, the trail takes a pleasant route to the summit – the climb is gradual. We reached the summit of Traveler Mountain, had a brief stop, and set off for North Traveler Mountain.
The ridge hike to North Traveler Mountain covers roughly 2.5 miles and 950 feet of elevation. Approximately 300 feet of elevation are on the ridge walk and the final 650 feet are in the climb to North Traveler. Between the summits is a very pleasant but rocky walk through sections of dense growth and exposed sections with great views. This hike is loaded with everything – including food but no water. A little more than two hours after leaving Traveler Mountain we were standing on North Traveler getting our summit pictures and enjoying the great views. It’s generally all downhill from here (except for a couple small bumps that don’t even show up on topographic maps).
Just like Center Ridge Trail, North Traveler Trail is a ridge walk with terrific viewpoints along the way. One of the highlights of the day happened a short distance below the summit of North Traveler. We were quietly hiking along with Sue leading the way, I was second, and Melissa was last. Suddenly Sue froze. She glanced back to me and then pointed. In front of us was a very large bull moose doing a Melissa imitation – he was grazing. Evidently it was dinner time and he was more concerned with eating than he was with hikers. Sue slowly made her way ahead and managed a couple really nice pictures. The moose made it into the slideshow. After enjoying the short distraction we quietly left the area and continued our descent back to the Pogy Notch Trail.
The rocky conditions never eased up until we reached the Pogy Notch Trail. By then I was ready for a change, any change at all. We swapped rocks for mud and made our way back to the South Branch Pond Campground and the waiting truck with a cooler full of cold drinks. I ran out of water roughly a mile back and was ready for a cold drink.
As we approached the truck we found the same Park Ranger checking vehicles. He saw us and started a conversation with Sue. I couldn’t hear what was being said. After, Sue told me he started by saying – “tell me you’re tired, you have to be tired”. Sue’s only regret was she didn’t respond with “for a small hike it has a lot of variety”. We got into the cooler and were soon packing for the two-hour return drive.
What a great start to our Baxter Bash 2011 hiking. Thanks Sue and Melissa, it was a great time hiking the Travelers.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails: Pogy Notch Trail, Center Ridge Trail, Traveler Mountain Trail, North Traveler Trail
Summits: Peak of the Ridges, Traveler Mountain, North Traveler Mountain
Hikers: Whitchway (Melissa), Trail Trotter (Sue), and me
Baxter Park is a big place but when you toss in narrow, twisting roads that have a 20 MPH speed limit the place seems even bigger. From the campground to the trailhead lot for our hike was a two-hour drive (one-way, all within the park). Along the way we nearly had the opportunity to meet some folks from New York. We were traveling through a turn in the road when we met these folks coming from the opposite direction. We were on our side of the road; so were the others. I hit the brakes and turned into the ditch. The New York vehicle did the same but headed for the opposite ditch. It was very close but we missed. No harm – no foul.
We got started from the campground a little later than planned and started hiking a little later than planned but the hike was a relatively small one and we weren’t concerned. The Park Ranger at the trailhead seemed to have a different opinion and took a couple shots at discouraging us from the hike. There’s a chance his comments made us want to do the hike even more.
Our plan was to follow the recommendations of the Maine Mountain Guide and hike the standard loop counter-clockwise. The “loop split” is roughly .1 mile from the South Branch Pond Campground, which is where we parked for the day. After we signed-in at the trailhead we were off. The first trail segment was a 1.5 mile warm-up along the east side of South Branch Pond (actually two ponds – Upper and Lower South Branch Pond). The trail is very wet and muddy, but the area has received several days of rain, which could have something to do with the trail conditions. There were bridges where needed to get through marshy areas and the other muddy sections had enough rocks and various high spots to help keep the boots clean. After roughly 45 minutes we reached a bluff overlooking the north end of Upper South Branch Pond and the trail junction with Center Ridge Trail. It was time to start the climb.
Center Ridge Trail is generally a constant climb to Peak of the Ridges. As the name suggests, the trail follows the ridge. Initially, the climb is in thick wooded conditions but eventually the trees thin and get smaller, and the views start to open up. A short distance into the climb we came to some wild blueberries. Melissa started grazing, and never stopped. It turned out there were wild blueberries everywhere for the remainder of the hike and Melissa enjoyed her share.
This section of the hike was one of the details the Park Ranger focused on as a negative. The trail gains roughly 2000 feet in 2 miles. That’s not a negative; it’s just a pleasant climb. We reached the initial viewpoint, briefly stopped to enjoy the views, and set off for what we thought was the summit up ahead. The trail was still working through relatively thick growth and we approached the “summit” that was visible from the viewpoint. Eventually, we saw it was a false summit and the actual summit was further ahead. We continued up the ridge to the next “false summit” for the climb (that’s entertaining), and then the next “false summit” (that’s interesting), and then the next “false summit” (that’s concerning), and then the next false summit (that’s annoying). After a couple more we actually could see a sign post ahead and knew we were approaching Peak of the Ridges. When we started our hike, the mountains were all completely socked in with clouds. During the early part of our hike the sun burned off the cover and we were enjoying terrific clear conditions. Considering all of the blueberries and the terrific views, hiking Center Ridge Trail was a treat.
By now the day was hot and very humid. We were told there was no water anywhere on the loop and brought extra with us. I was going through mine at a faster rate than expected but still had plenty. After the usual summit formalities on Peak of the Ridges we set off for Traveler Mountain.
The section leaving Peak of the Ridges (~2000 feet in length) is referred to in the Maine Mountain Guide as “Little Knife Edge”. It's described as "a vertical spine of columnar rhyolite rock". I believe we all enjoyed this section - a lot! It’s exposed with great 360 degree views, and some interesting climbing along the way. We carefully worked through Little Knife Edge and down to the col between Peak of the Ridges and Traveler Mountain. There, the trail went back into dense growth for a brief period before coming back out for an exposed climb on loose rocks to the summit. I lost my footing and went down once but don’t know if the others had any slips. Other than the times we were hiking on clear sections of rocks, we were still passing through endless blueberries, and Melissa was really happy. From Peak of the Ridges the hike to Traveler Mountain appeared as if it would be a lot of work. In fact, the trail takes a pleasant route to the summit – the climb is gradual. We reached the summit of Traveler Mountain, had a brief stop, and set off for North Traveler Mountain.
The ridge hike to North Traveler Mountain covers roughly 2.5 miles and 950 feet of elevation. Approximately 300 feet of elevation are on the ridge walk and the final 650 feet are in the climb to North Traveler. Between the summits is a very pleasant but rocky walk through sections of dense growth and exposed sections with great views. This hike is loaded with everything – including food but no water. A little more than two hours after leaving Traveler Mountain we were standing on North Traveler getting our summit pictures and enjoying the great views. It’s generally all downhill from here (except for a couple small bumps that don’t even show up on topographic maps).
Just like Center Ridge Trail, North Traveler Trail is a ridge walk with terrific viewpoints along the way. One of the highlights of the day happened a short distance below the summit of North Traveler. We were quietly hiking along with Sue leading the way, I was second, and Melissa was last. Suddenly Sue froze. She glanced back to me and then pointed. In front of us was a very large bull moose doing a Melissa imitation – he was grazing. Evidently it was dinner time and he was more concerned with eating than he was with hikers. Sue slowly made her way ahead and managed a couple really nice pictures. The moose made it into the slideshow. After enjoying the short distraction we quietly left the area and continued our descent back to the Pogy Notch Trail.
The rocky conditions never eased up until we reached the Pogy Notch Trail. By then I was ready for a change, any change at all. We swapped rocks for mud and made our way back to the South Branch Pond Campground and the waiting truck with a cooler full of cold drinks. I ran out of water roughly a mile back and was ready for a cold drink.
As we approached the truck we found the same Park Ranger checking vehicles. He saw us and started a conversation with Sue. I couldn’t hear what was being said. After, Sue told me he started by saying – “tell me you’re tired, you have to be tired”. Sue’s only regret was she didn’t respond with “for a small hike it has a lot of variety”. We got into the cooler and were soon packing for the two-hour return drive.
What a great start to our Baxter Bash 2011 hiking. Thanks Sue and Melissa, it was a great time hiking the Travelers.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
