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View Full Version : Oct. 15th



Former Admin
10-19-2002, 15:47
Comments, concerns, experiences related to the Oct. 15th deadline.

TJ aka Teej
02-02-2003, 23:37
To explain the 'deadline':
The overnight camping season (including the Birches AT lean-to) runs from May 15th to October 15th each year. Doesn't matter if the 15th is a Monday or Thursday - it's still from 15th to 15th.
The reason it's important to ATers:
1)To succesfully summit Katahdin late in the season and during daylight it is important to start as close to the trailhead as possible. For that you should stay at the Birches. The closest "legal" camping outside the Park is 5 miles via blueblaze, and 10 by AT.
2)Winter. The mountain can close to hikers as early as late September. It snows in Maine in come October.

And 'naught for nothing' to potential flipfloppers: The Kennebec Ferry stops running on Oct 15th, too. Plan on flipping ahead to Baxter by Oct 1st so you have time to hike back to Caratunk while the ferry is still operating.

Peaks
02-03-2003, 10:25
It is still possible to summit after October 15. It's just that there are fewer good days when the trails are open. Or, you can organize a winter assent.

And, I think that after October 15 you can still arrange for a ferry across the Kennebec.

TJ aka Teej
02-04-2003, 12:51
Originally posted by Peaks
It is still possible to summit after October 15. It's just that there are fewer good days when the trails are open. Or, you can organize a winter assent.

And, I think that after October 15 you can still arrange for a ferry across the Kennebec.

Possible, yes. But by not being able to camp inside Baxter you need to drive in to the trail head, or turn a 10.4 mile day into a 25+ mile day if you camp outside the Park and hike in via the AT.

Winter assents, in the context of thruhiking, are not relevant. They require advance permits, different gear, large groups, and do not use the AT.

You could arrange a crossing with the Ferryman in years past, if he was around. The ferry contract (and insurance) ran until the 15th, so he was understandably reluctant to do so. But now he's retired, and the MATC has yet to find a new service provider. If it is one of the local rafting outfits, the ferry service might end even earlier than Oct 15th, as they close down in September. In the context of Flipfloppers who summit the 15th and then head south, expecting ferry service at the end of October would be foolhardy. And for Northbounders getting to the Kennebec after service has ended, they can only hope that someone notices them on the far bank while they wait.

Lone Wolf
02-04-2003, 13:10
The park is open to day use only after Oct. 15th. No camping allowed or climbing K on a class IV day. After Nov. 1st all roads in the park are closed to vehicular traffic.