Katahdin Stream CG in Baxter - group sites?

[somers515]

I plan on arriving in Baxter next week (Thursday) and so I don’t have to worry about getting a Birches spot I have been checking to see if there has been any late cancellations so I could get a Katahdin Stream CG spot. No luck so far. But I see on the CG map that there are some group sites for $50. Since I’ve been hiking with a few other hikers I was wondering if that’s a possibility. Is it a far walk from the group sites to the AT? I searched and didn’t see any prior posts in whiteblaze about it. I think the group sites are called Foster Field. I’ll call Baxter in the morning before I shuttle back to trail but just curious if anyone on whiteblaze knows anything about these group sites. Thanks in advance for any info!

[peakbagger]

The KSC group site is a couple of miles north of KSC just past the road to Daicey Pond. The AT used to head in that direction but was relocated away from it about 10 years ago to get rid of road walk. Its pretty simple to get there, at the junction with the Daicey Pond Road to the campground just follow the dirt road out to the main road and Foster field is a short distance north on the main road. The old AT remains but it still means a dirty dusty walk down the road back to KSC. Using my mapping program its about a 2.5 mile walk down the road to KSC. The road is quite busy and if you hear traffic get completely off the road and plan to get a mouth full of dust.

The Foster field sites are nice for a group, there are three of them in an open field that share two large picnic pavilions, open on all sides with a roof over them and two large picnic tables under cover with park style charcoal grilles. If someone is meeting you and driving in have them bring a coleman lantern as it gets dark early this time of year. More than a few AT hikers who have not made arrangements in the park have ended up there and needed to hitch or walk down to KSC. There is no ranger assigned, although the KSC ranger may stop by, groups staying there tend to be a bit louder and stay up later (no guarantees as the other groups at the site may not agree). If hikers were meeting someone who was driving in to meet them it would be preferable way to spend a last night on the trail as KSC tends to be lot quieter. BTW its legal to pick up dead wood in the woods for burning at BSP and there is no wood supply at Foster Field like there is at KSC, just head up the road a bit and there is usually plenty of dead wood to grab in the woods.

BTW, I think $50 is the minimum with a per head fee on top of it over a base number. BTW I have stayed there twice car camping. The usage drops down a lot during the week after Labor Day but some college orientation groups do use it as they cannot book sites at KSC. FYI, the Birches is first come first served based on the sign up board at the park boundary past Abol bridge. If the sign up board is full, you are out of luck so best try to make alternative plans if there are any large groups expecting to arrive when you do.

[somers515]

As always extremely helpful info. Thanks peakbagger!

[somers515]

Yikes now I see Foster field on the Baxter State Park trail map. Silly me since it was on the Katahdin Stream CG map I thought it would be closer!

[chknfngrs]

Dude you are crushing it. Just told my crew and they all WHOOPED out loud

[Daybreak]

If you can't get the Birches on the day you want then.. .
It is a very tiring day but you can summit Katahdin from Abol bridge via the AT.
Or, hike the AT to the Birches talking to thrus, rangers... and perhaps score a campsite. Rangers have been known to be helpful here. If all fails, it is a simple quick flat fruitful 4 miles back to Abol. Summit the next day from Abol via bluebonnet passing by the Birches.

[somers515]

Ha thanks Chcknfngrs! And thank you Daybreak for the info. I woke up and checked the Baxter State Park website and see a 6 person tentsite at Abol for Thursday night. If my friends and I take that one (instead of hoping for a birches site) then we’d have to do a 2 mile park tote road walk to start our day Friday morning. Hmmm. Any thoughts whiteblaze?

[tiptoe]

For what it's worth, I camped at Abol and summited Katahdin from there, then descended via the Hunt Trail to complete my AT section hike. Some of my sections were northbound, some southbound, and in a sequence dictated by weather, vacations from work, and other constraints, so the randomness at the end was totally in keeping with the rest of my adventure. Don't know if any of this is a concern for you, but the Abol Trail worked out well for me.

[TJ aka Teej]

Grab that site at Abol. First thing in the morning it's an easy hitch to KSC.

[peakbagger]

Grab that site at Abol. First thing in the morning it's an easy hitch to KSC.

Yup, most traffic in the AM is zooming right by Abol heading to KSC as soon as the Togue Pond Gate opens. I have picked up several folks over the years heading in that direction.

[somers515]

I did grab the site thank you all! Then when I went to enter the park I (and my 2 hiking friends) could have stayed at the Birches (still spots as of 8am that day and because we had the reservation we didn’t have to rush in). The Baxter Park Ranger was extremely nice and helpful. He radioed in and was able to switch us to a Katahdin Stream CG lean-to (seems like they get last minute cancellations occasionally). It was a terrific spot! We summited yesterday and because of bad weather that rolled in just after I summited we took Abol down and did the road walk anyway. All worked out!

[LoneStranger]

Between the heat and the storms you've certainly gotten the full Maine treatment. Glad you got up before it blew up. I heard a lot of folks had to turn back yesterday.

[tiptoe]

Congratulations to you. Rangers were helpful to me as well, as were the suggestions I got from many Whiteblazers over the years. Your experience brings back memories...

[peakbagger]

Ditto, I can now say it was more than 50 years ago I first went to the park as a boy scout of age 11 and the rangers were helpful then to a bunch of clueless kids as they have been all my subsequent visits. I think everyone who visits and attempts to follow the rules in place have good interactions with the rangers and staff. Sadly the folks who just show up and expect special treatment, tend to yell the most and that sometimes rises to the surface.

Glad you had a good experience, now plan on a revisit to go see the rest of the park as the typical thru hiker visit skips the most interesting parts of the park.

[sore ankle]

Congratulations on summiting Katahdin. Well done!

[somers515]

Between the heat and the storms you've certainly gotten the full Maine treatment. Glad you got up before it blew up. I heard a lot of folks had to turn back yesterday.

Ha well . . we figured the thunderstorm wouldn’t hit till the afternoon based on the last forecast we received. The forecast was for under 40% chance of rain and a low chance of thunderstorms. It’s a little crazy to me that the forecast posted by the park isn’t posted till 7am and doesn’t include any reference to morning vs afternoon but I digress. So I got up super early and I made it up and I enjoyed great views at the top around 8:50am. Then I saw the huge storm rolling in (it was behind me on the Tablelands and I don’t see it until I was at the top). So things went from amazing to limited visibility, rain, thunder real quick. But I made it down safely and I think I was the only thru hiker to get a view from the top that day so I count myself as very lucky. I’m looking forward to calmer hiking down south! (I’m a flip flopped out of Harpers Ferry)

Thanks to all others for the congratulations and don’t worry peakbagger I have visited the park a few times now and I definitely want to visit more! :-)