Exposure on Mt K, 100 Mile Wilderness?

[weary]

From Baxter State Park listing of fatalities. It stops in 1998. Nothing after

Aug. 10, 1986 Derek Quiet, age 16 - Fell off Knife Edge on Mt. Katahdin.

I don't remember the incident. And I can't find any details. Maybe TJ knows what happened.

[mudhead]

You can't expect the Park to publicize events like a death. Messes with the tourist money.

Peakbagger- You are a good sort to work her up and down thru that.

If you can step off a ladder onto a flat roof, you can do the Hunt Trail, in my opinion.

Looks scarier than it is, you just focus on the 20' feet of trail in front of you.

Turning around is no crime. Been done a bazillion times.

[TJ aka Teej]

I don't remember the incident. And I can't find any details. Maybe TJ knows what happened.

The boy fell about 20 feet, wind related, I believe. 20 feet might not sound like much, but picture a basketball rim at 10 feet, now times 2 onto jagged granite.

There have been fatalities since then. A female winter ice climber was struck in the head by a falling rock above Chimney Pond, at least two heart attacks, and a young man struck by lightning in of all places, Katahdin Stream Campground.

[weary]

It may be a matter of semantics. I'm not particularly stable on my feet and I've done the Knife Edge several times. I know it's easy to fall. But the situations I observed at times were people falling "on the trail" not "off the trail."

But I can imagine a clerk doing a summary report and not knowing the lay of the land reporting an incident as "falling off."

It's just that I don't remember any places on the Knife Edge trail where it would be easy to "fall off." Nor can anyone I've known who has experienced the Knife Edge remember a section where "falling off" is likely.

But if you guys insist I'll check again this summer, though I truly am getting too old for such shenanigans.

[envirodiver]

It may be a matter of semantics. I'm not particularly stable on my feet and I've done the Knife Edge several times. I know it's easy to fall. But the situations I observed at times were people falling "on the trail" not "off the trail."

But I can imagine a clerk doing a summary report and not knowing the lay of the land reporting an incident as "falling off."

It's just that I don't remember any places on the Knife Edge trail where it would be easy to "fall off." Nor can anyone I've known who has experienced the Knife Edge remember a section where "falling off" is likely.

But if you guys insist I'll check again this summer, though I truly am getting too old for such shenanigans.

There are many places on the AT or any other backwoods trails that you can have unfortunate falling incidents. Best that I remember the highest cause of deaths while hiking is falls. If you insist that the Knife edge is safe and not a possible fall event, go for it. I've hiked it and think you are FOS.

[rickb]

Certainly one can fall and hurt themselves is countless places along the AT.

Opportunities to fall 10 or 20 or even more feet abound. You can fall and hurt yourself in the bathtub at a trail motel, too.

If I read Weary correctly he is saying that on the Knife Edge you would not be risking a fall off a sheer cliff. The big plunge, if you will.

Are you suggesting that is the kind of exposure you find there?

[rickb]

Evey so often someone post this link to a really scary trail in Spain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1Nd1qtk1Go

Surely there is a good youtube video of the Knife Edge on line? Any one found it yet?

And also one of the Hunt Trail section that some are speaking of.

[4eyedbuzzard]

There are many places on the AT or any other backwoods trails that you can have unfortunate falling incidents. Best that I remember the highest cause of deaths while hiking is falls. If you insist that the Knife edge is safe and not a possible fall event, go for it. I've hiked it and think you are FOS.

Geeze... It's not like you're going to fall 1000' feet to you death or anything.

It's more like you'll fall and start rolling down the really steep sides getting beat up and bloodied along the way and THEN die when you finally stop by hitting a big jagged rock.

[weary]

Certainly one can fall and hurt themselves is countless places along the AT.

Opportunities to fall 10 or 20 or even more feet abound. You can fall and hurt yourself in the bathtub at a trail motel, too.

If I read Weary correctly he is saying that on the Knife Edge you would not be risking a fall off a sheer cliff. The big plunge, if you will.

Are you suggesting that is the kind of exposure you find there?

I don't believe I've ever said the Knife Edge is safe. You can certainly fall while doing the Knife Edge. Many have. People have broken legs and arms, a 16-year-old fell 20 feet and died. The trail down the steep gap between Pamola and Chimney Mountains is particularly dangerous.

I've suggested how to hike that mountain gap on the Knife Edge trail more safely.

The mountain in fact slopes a thousand feet downhill from the narrow Knife Edge Trail.

All I've suggested is that slope is not usually what kills and injures, but rather the falls down the steep trail itself. It's easy to fall 20 feet or more on the Knife Edge, especially while descending Chimney Mountain.

The slope is what makes some hikers nervous. It is the potential for falls on to the trail itself that maims and occasionally kills.

[envirodiver]

Certainly one can fall and hurt themselves is countless places along the AT.

Opportunities to fall 10 or 20 or even more feet abound. You can fall and hurt yourself in the bathtub at a trail motel, too.

If I read Weary correctly he is saying that on the Knife Edge you would not be risking a fall off a sheer cliff. The big plunge, if you will.

Are you suggesting that is the kind of exposure you find there?

it would make me feel a lot better to know that I only fell 20 feet before I died. Yes I do think there is an opportunity for the big Plunge as you catagorize it. Do you not agree. As bodies fall they bounce and as they bounce they fall and as gravity continues to pull them down they would end up at some point that stops them. Many times that is the end of the slope.

Are there not any steep slopes along the Knife edge? If not maybe it shgould be renamed the "butter knife edge"

[rickb]

Yes I do think there is an opportunity for the big Plunge as you catagorize it. Do you not agree.

Yes, I agree. I am surprise there haven't been more accidents.

[emerald]

Surely there is a good youtube video of the Knife Edge on line? Any one found it yet?

And also one of the Hunt Trail section that some are speaking of.

Even looking for stills, posting them and letting people make up their own minds would be time better spent.

[rickb]

Even looking for stills, posting them and letting people make up their own minds would be time better spent.

Some of the stills of the Hunt Trail going down look scary as all get out. I think that is mostly an optical illusion of sorts, however. To me one is rather nestled in the boulders without much chance to fall very far at all.

I was surprised to hear some peoples experiences on the way up.

The Knife's Edge is a different story.

[emerald]

Images depicting the route on Katahdin's Hunt Spur from both directions would give a better overall impression. Those taken from the top with nothing but air in the background may tend to give a false impression, but people have taken some nasty spills there too which have resulted in aborted hikes.

It would probably be harder to demonstrate with images what experiencing The Knife Edge is like unless someone set out to do so specifically.

There are images of both in WhiteBlaze's Katahdin Gallery, some of which may be helpful.

[envirodiver]

There's no record of anyone ever falling down those thousand feet. The reason is simple.

Except for a short distance -- maybe 10 feet -- there is no sheer drops. One would have to deliberately somersault off the Knife Edge to be hurt -- and even then it would be difficult. Even the 10 feet is not really dangerous. There's a rock face on one side that provides numerous hand holds.

People get hurt on the Knife Edge, not from falling off the trail, but from falling on to the trail. The reason is simple. The trail is steep. And many don't turn around and face the steep trail, thus not being able to use the numerous hand and footholds. They walk the Knife Edge as if they were going down a ladder front first, unable to use the rungs for hand holds.

A woman did die on the Knife Edge once, a half century or so ago. She encountered an unusual early season snow and deliberately walked off the edge of the trail to escape the wind and snow. She slipped and fell on a ledge, where she died along with the ranger that tried to rescue her.

But thousands of hikers have done the Knife Edge without mishap, before and since. All it takes is some rudimentary hiking skills, and the ability to not panic from an overactive imagination.

I don't believe I've ever said the Knife Edge is safe. You can certainly fall while doing the Knife Edge. Many have. People have broken legs and arms, a 16-year-old fell 20 feet and died. The trail down the steep gap between Pamola and Chimney Mountains is particularly dangerous.

I've suggested how to hike that mountain gap on the Knife Edge trail more safely.

The mountain in fact slopes a thousand feet downhill from the narrow Knife Edge Trail.

All I've suggested is that slope is not usually what kills and injures, but rather the falls down the steep trail itself. It's easy to fall 20 feet or more on the Knife Edge, especially while descending Chimney Mountain.

The slope is what makes some hikers nervous. It is the potential for falls on to the trail itself that maims and occasionally kills.

Perhaps everything you said is true as you know it. However, do not sugar coat this trail to people that have never walked it.

I have and it was scary as hell. You can give me stats, you can tell me whatever misinformed crap you can come up with, but that trail is scarey.

[envirodiver]

Images depicting the route on Katahdin's Hunt Spur from both directions would give a better overall impression. Those taken from the top with nothing but air in the background may tend to give a false impression, but people have taken some nasty spills there too which have resulted in aborted hikes.

It would probably be harder to demonstrate with images what experiencing The Knife Edge is like unless someone set out to do so specifically.

There are images of both in WhiteBlaze's Katahdin Gallery, some of which may be helpful.

Pictures are not always an adequate description. 2D ya know.

[Sierra Echo]

Geeze... It's not like you're going to fall 1000' feet to you death or anything.

It's more like you'll fall and start rolling down the really steep sides getting beat up and bloodied along the way and THEN die when you finally stop by hitting a big jagged rock.

One of the members of my hiking club was talking about how when he was up at Baxter some guy fell/blew off the Knifes Edge and it took 4 days to find him. And by some miracle he was alive!

[emerald]

Pictures are not always an adequate description. 2D ya know.

Do you believe 3D would be better than opinions in your opinion and do you know where we might obtain 3D images that would answer this question to the complete satisfaction of everyone forevermore?

[weary]

One of the members of my hiking club was talking about how when he was up at Baxter some guy fell/blew off the Knifes Edge and it took 4 days to find him. And by some miracle he was alive!

I knew a hiker with stories like that once also.

[envirodiver]

Do you believe 3D would be better than opinions in your opinion and do you know where we might obtain 3D images that would answer this question to the complete satisfaction of everyone forevermore?

My opinion is based on having been there. So you can post pics and links to pics and links to links of pics to let people know what it is like and they will not get it.

To answer your question more directly : yes 3D would be much better.