Baxter Part Two: Return With The King 8/27-8/28 2009

BACK TO BAXTER

After our trip down the Hunt Trail a few weeks ago, I was excited to hike Doubletop Mountain in the western part of the park. I had one Thursday free before the weekend of Henryfest, a community music festival put on by 317 Main Street where I teach music. Over the weekend I made a two night reservation at Nesowadnehunk campground in Baxter State Park. My last lesson was over at 6pm on Wednesday and I was going to try and reschedule a couple of folks so I could make the gatehouse by 9pm, the cutoff for entering the park until the following morning at 5am.


I don't know what made me think of it but at the last minute I asked Kris (aka "The King", "King Day", "Kingaling" and other pseudonyms), bass player in our band Jerks Of Grass, if he wanted to join me for a mini vacation and some fresh mountain air. I knew he wasn't a hiker so I told him I planned to hike Doubletop and he could hang at the campground and get some fresh air, maybe go for a swim and we could check out some spots together as well. I secretly hoped we might be able to hike up to Chimney Pond, almost seven miles round trip and plenty of rocks and elevation gain, but an incredible payoff at the top.


BETTER LATE THAN NEVER


It turned out that Kris had a few commitments in Portland the night we were to leave, so I didn't cancel my students and had time to hit LL Bean to set Kris up with a new Ridgerest, a 40 degree sleeping bag and a headlamp. I also gave him my trusty Lowe Alpine Half Dome 40, which I carried for hundreds of miles before replacing it with the GoLite Jam all with the stipulation that if he has a good time on the trip and wants to go again, it was all his to keep. The plan was we'd meet up when he was ready, drive up part or all of the way and be at the gatehouse by 5am one way or another.


We didn't meet until almost 11pm, but it was fine. I prefer to travel to Baxter at night, there is no traffic and as long as you find a tractor trailer to follow to act as a moose ram, it's an easy trip. We had a great ride up, talking the whole way. It was an uneventful ride, no critters in the road. We stopped on the park road a ways from the gatehouse still at a pull out to stretch our legs. We had made it all the way to the park road in just under four hours from Yarmouth, a very respectable pace. The Milky Way was so bright and as our eyes adjusted the depth of the stars increased, it was truly spectacular. Kris said that he'd like to hike up to Chimney Pond, and I was psyched. The weather was forecast to be ideal for hiking, cool and clear.


We hung out for quite a while, there was no rush as we had to be in line at the gate at 5am, two hours from now. We passed the painted rock and pulled off into the stealth camping lot very close to the park entrance, I'm sure many folks have spent a few hours sleeping that spot over the years.


At 4:30 I started up the car and we got in line, and fell back asleep. I awoke to headlights in the mirror and maybe a soft honk of a horn, there were no cars in front of me now. We pulled up to the gatehouse and told them we had a reservation. I had called and told them of our change of plans and how we had missed our first nights stay but were here now. I also asked for a day use spot at Roaring Brook trailhead - it's by far the most popular trailhead on the mountain and it fills up by 6am most summer days. The ranger told me no problem, we just needed to let the gatehouse folks know that we had already been checked in to Roaring Brook.


The scale of the park really comes into focus on the Park Tote Road, a good but narrow dirt road that connects all the various trailheads and campgrounds in the park. The speed limit is 20 mph and with good reason. There are many sharp turns, wandering moose in the road and the deadliest of all hazards, the dreaded SUV with New Jersey (or New York) plates. These folks have usually been driving for 12+ hours to get here and can't believe that NOW THE PAVEMENT IS GONE!! AHHHHHH!!!!!! You need to be ready to get out of their way - even 30 mph is very dangerous on this road. Nesowadnehunk Campground is 17.9 miles from the gatehouse - "about an hour" the ranger had said. Oh yeah. Damn.


I figured we'd make the drive, then sleep for awhile and hopefully make it back to the gatehouse in time to convince the rangers to let us start later than normal. The cutoff for hiker leaving Roaring Brook for Chimney Pond is 5pm for people staying at Chimney for the night, so I figured we'd probably want to be leaving Roaring Brook before 3pm, which meant being awake, fed and packed no later than 1:30pm. We wouldn't reach the campground until 6:30 at the earliest so we would get five hours of sleep if we were lucky. I had no idea what our pace would be like and wondered if we'd make it all the way.


The drive was beautiful, we were the first ones on the road - it was almost eerie when we passed the empty Abol and Katahdin Stream trailheads. The sun was just coming up as we reached the campground. We got out of the car and it was COLD! The look on Kris' face was priceless as we left he car headed to find our tent site.


We didn't find our site I was confused and had the wrong site number in my head. Ironically, we ended up in the right campsite by accident after wandering around for a short while. There were several empty sites and we choose the closest to our current location.

I had brought two small tents but had failed to bring the center poles for my two person tent. My buddy had recently repaired my poles and I hadn't recognized the black pole in my gear box, and left it behind. I had a one man tent along as well, but it had a three pole one hub setup, but all the poles were corded together. I managed to rig it so we could use the one man tent's poles as the center pole and we shared the small two man tent. I was toast from the drive up and I hadn't napped but for a few minutes in line. I slept soundly and we got up at 12:30 and had some breakfast, cold cereal with powdered milk in a ziplock bag. We had some Honeycomb and loaded our packs. I gave Kris a synthetic shirt and a pair of Wrightsock dual layer socks which I love for hiking. They prevent blisters and dry very quickly. We started the 24 mile drive to Roaring Brook at about 1:30. There was quite a bit of traffic, making the road exciting and very dusty.

There are very few views of the mountain itself on the Tote Road and virtually no parking areas for viewing. There is one spot where you can see Katahdin with a very small pullout. I took these two shots of Kris, it really looks like he's standing in front of a fake backdrop of the perfect mountain scene. We enjoyed a couple of slices of Pat's Pizza I had from the night before and soaked in the beauty of the ridge. Even at in the middle of the day it was a little chilly out. We passed the junction of the trail towards Abol Bridge and I told the King about spending five days in Baxter a few winters ago. The 13+ mile cross country ski from Abol Bridge to Roaring Brook dragging a sled full of food and ice climbing gear was an epic journey in all respects. Every 10 minutes or so I'd say, "still dragging that sled King" particularly on the steep sections.

Don't Mess With THE KING!

We made it to the gatehouse and I tried to explain to the ranger our situation. She was confused at first and then when I told her we were checked in for a spot at Roaring Brook and were headed for Chimney Pond she looked at her watch, scowled a bit and then stared me down with her steely blue-grey eyes. She was staring into my very soul as I told her we had just been here a couple weeks ago and had cruised the loop, that I'd been to Chimney in the winter, etc. I assured her by reminding her we were staying the night at Nesowadnehunk again tonight and that we had headlamps. Waved us on and she told us to have a good hike.

I hadn't said anything thing about it but soon Kris spoke up about her piercing eyes, like a wolf or something.

It was nearly 3:00 when we finally arrived at Roaring Brook. We signed the hiker register and were approached by Harry, a young man with braces and a large pack of new looking gear, brand new boots and socks pulled up nice and high and filled with optimism. He asked if we had any water we could spare. I had a 3 gallon jug in the car and was happy to help. We walked back to the car and Harry's dad joined us with some empty bottles and Camelbacks. Baxter is unusual for a public park, it's reasonable to expect to be able to fill you bottles somewhere in the park, but not here. They were headed to Russell Pond tonight and points beyond over the next fours days. We had exactly enough water to fill all their containers. They were very appreciative and we bid them a nice trip.

KING OF THE MOUNTAIN

We set out on the Chimney Pond trail, a 3.3 mile path leading to Chimney Pond and the incredible views there. The trail rises over 2000 feet on mostly good footing, with many rock steps along the way. I sent Kris out in front to match his pace. I was impressed, Kris was really rocking it up the trail. I let him know that I thought he was setting a great pace and not to feel rushed, as this is an endurance sport. We continued at a great clip and the next thing I knew we were on the first steep section below Halfway Rock, a nice flat resting rock marked with blue paint "1/2". We had been walking for less than an hour, a very respectable pace.

The first real viewpoint was just ahead. As we broke out of the woods into this area of scrub trees, it was nice to be in the sun. A stiff breeze was blowing and the North Basin wall loomed in the distance. We rested here for a bit and had a snack. I was really happy to be back in Baxter again, especially to share one of my favorite activities in one of my favorite places with a good friend. Soon we were back on the trail and lots of folks were headed the opposite direction. We kept on and the King showed no sign of slowing as the trail got steep once again. We found ourselves at the junction of the North Basin trail with 2.3 miles down and one to go. We soon were on the final steps, past the Yurt in the woods and soon breaking out into the open and headed straight for the pond. As we passed the cabin, the ranger asked us if we were day hiking we said yes, and headed down to the pond. It had only taken 2:15 to get here.

There was no one else there and we sat on a couple of comfortable rocks and soaked in the incredible view. It really hard to fathom the size of Katahdin when you're sitting on the shore of the pond, again it almost looks fake. The Knife Edge looks all of 20 feet long, in this foreshortened view. We pumped some water, probably as pure as any in the northeast and had another snack. We lingered there for quite awhile, until the sun dipped below the ridge.

It was exactly six o'clock when we started down again. The trail went by quickly, Kris was getting the hang of using trekking poles and soon we once again were at the outlook just before Halfway Rock. We rested there and enjoyed the setting sun.

We set out once again and started down the granite staircase once again. It started to become dark as we entered the woods and soon we dug out the headlamps.

After a stop at the viewpoint of the stream for a drink, we walked the last mile back to the car.

Hangin' with the King

Been there, done that

We drove back to the campground and I fired up the Fancy Feast stove at prepare our dinner, Spicy Thai Chicken. We ate the hot food sitting out in the cold, enjoyed our respective adult beverages and promptly fell asleep. I had to be back no later than 3pm to setup for Henryfest so we woke up at 8am and packed up to head out. It was another cold morning and I had slept like a log. We were both ready for a hot breakfast so we shouldered our packs and made for the car, crossing the bridge over the stream and stopping for a photo.

We made one last trip down the park road stopping at Daicey Pond for a look and perhaps a glimpse of a moose.

We never did see a moose. Once we reached the gatehouse my trip meter showed we had driven nearly 100 miles INSIDE the park! We stopped and took the obligatory Painted Rock shot and then turned right to head to the Golden Road so Kris could see the view from Abol Bridge.

View from Abol Bridge

We hit the Applachian Trail Cafe in Millinocket for some food. I ordered an omelet and homefries, it was just okay and I was a little disappointed. We tried to stop for coffee in Bangor, the gal at the coffee shop was very unpleasant and so was the coffee. We deposited them into the nearest trash can and headed to Gardiner and the promise of good coffee.


At a rest area we found a new candidate for our favorite highway game (see my Long Trail trip for details)

We vowed to return to the mountain soon so Kris could stand on the top next time.