Daicey Pond Cabins to be removed

[TJ aka Teej]

This is the campground the AT was recently rerouted away from, and the one with the classic photo-op of Katahdin http://www.whiteblaze.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/1103/password/0/sort/1/cat/all/page/1 across the pond from the dock in front of the library. Park Director Buzz Caverly has announced that the cabins at Daicey Pond will be removed as part of the Wilder Within program. No time table has been announced, but it's expected they will be torn down this fall. These cabins are highly prized by long time Park visitors and are the remains of the old Twin Pines sporting camp that predated Baxter Park. Friction between cabin campers and AT hikers led to the relocation of the old AT shelters http://www.whiteblaze.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/1089/password/0/sort/1/cat/500/page/2 to Katahdin Stream Campground a few seasons back. The plans for camping at Daicey Pond are not yet known, but I see walk-in sites with tent pads and possibly lean-tos happening as early as the 2005 season.

[Tramper Al]

Me, I'd like to see these cabins saved.

But to clarify:

It's not "the cabins at Daicey Ponds", but two of the ten cabins at Daicey Pond that are being considered for removal. And they aren't the two that are used for winter stays in the park, if that matters to anyone (certainly does to me).

Last time I was there in March '04, the AT still went very close by Daicey Pond, with the views in question being a few hundred feet to the east of the trail. You can still take that picture as you hike on by.

You can still stay at Daicey Pond (cabins) or Katahdin Stream (tent, lean-to), you just have to make a reservation. Yes, I understand that can be difficult on a long distance hike.

If the old AT shelters were moved to Katahdin Stream, the thru-hiker facilities were not. The "Birches" site is of course down the road a bit, off the trail.

And I'm not sure how loss of 2 of 10 Daicey Pond cabins makes it likely that walk-in sites and lean-tos will be installed for '05? Still, I wouldn't mind if they were.

Story (http://www.bangornews.com/editorialnews/article.cfm?ID=424877)

Map (http://www.baxterstateparkauthority.com/camping/daicey_pond.html)

[TJ aka Teej]

Me, I'd like to see these cabins saved. >snip< If the old AT shelters were moved to Katahdin Stream, the thru-hiker facilities were not. The "Birches" site is of course down the road a bit, off the trail.

Thanks for sharing what you've read in the paper, Al. I did not know a cabin was planned to be built behind the older ones. Me, I agree with the Director's plan to remove the cabins at Daicey Pond. The actual AT lean-tos at Daicey were taken apart in October 2001 and rebuilt at Nesowadnehunk Field Campground. The rerouted AT now goes right through the old lean-to site that was down the road a bit from Daicey Pond Campground. The long distance facilities are now connected with Katahdin Stream Campground instead of Daicey Pond Campground. The two new larger lean-tos, designed by a Baxter Park Ranger, were brought as kits towed by snowsleds in early 2002. There's also a tent platform, bear cable, and benches around a nice campfire area. Last fall finishing thruhikers couldn't use the Birches because of a very slow to dry dark brown stain formula and were put up at the two tiny (and old) overflow lean-tos at KSC. The Birches site might be all of .25 miles from the Ranger's cabin, but KSC is where hikers need to register, KSC is where the maintaining Ranger is located, and KSC's where the water source is. If you'd like to learn more, see my listing for Baxter Park in the ALDHA Thru-hiker's Companion at www.aldha.org
hope this helps,
TJ

[Bankrobber]

What sort of altercations occurred between hikers and cabin campers at Daicey Pond?

[TJ aka Teej]

What sort of altercations occurred between hikers and cabin campers at Daicey Pond?

Hi Bankrobber,
The complaints were about partying at the lean-tos, drying clothes in the library, skinnydipping off the dock, and basically an unwillingness to share "their" campground with stinky hikers. The cabin campers at Daicey have a core group who rent the same cabins for the same weeks year after year. They complained well enough to have the AT lean-tos and the AT itself removed. The AT was rerouted by Baxter trail crew, not by the MATC, and without notice I've been told.
The married couple who were the Daicey Pond Rangers seemed to be overwhelmed by the "added" task of taking care of the thruhikers in my opinion. The Rangers at Katahdin Stream are the finest kind, and handling the new chore of taking care of the thruhikers and the Birches extremely well. Even with the 12 hiker limit no thruhiker wanting to stay in the Park has been turned away yet, much to the credit of the Rangers and the Trailrunner.
TJ