Red River Falls
06-22-2010, 23:58
Well, I was in Baxter State park on June 9-10 and hiked to Baxter Peak on Thursday, June 10. I did the Chimney Pond trail and the Saddle trail for an 11 mile round trip from the campground. I got on the trail at 5:45 am and got back around 1:45 pm for an 8-hour trip. The weather was great, a bit cool and breezy on top but good visibility. I saw a handful of other people on the ridgeline. Surprisingly, the ranger told me it would take 10 hours to make the trip. I am by no means a fit hiker, but I thought 10 hours seemed a bit excessive. When I suggested maybe it could be done in 6-8 hours, he replied that only AT thru-hikers would go up and back in 8 hours. Anyway, I may walk a little faster than the average person, and I knew I needed to meet my brother-in-law at Acadia in the late afternoon. I had a reason to get up and back. I guess if I had plenty of time, I might be a little more leisurely and yield a 10-hour trip.
I did not have time to attempt another route, but the Knife Edge is intriguing. By the way, I did see a moose in the park in the woods near a pond by the campground. It was probably 50-60 feet away. Good for me since I live in Virginia and am rarely in moose territory.
I then went down to Bar Harbor and met my brother-in-law to camp three nights in Acadia National Park. We hiked for two days covering about 13 miles in the park. Some seriously scenic hiking and beautiful terrain. Nothing too strenuous and the trails are very accessible.
Overall, I really enjoyed the visit to Maine. We were blessed with good weather and I saw two distinct parts of the state--mountains and sea. It is a bit comical to see "peaks" of less than 1000 feet--in the case of Flying Mountain, under 300 feet--termed mountains and given a sign at the summit with the elevation, but that is the case at Acadia National Park.
I did not have time to attempt another route, but the Knife Edge is intriguing. By the way, I did see a moose in the park in the woods near a pond by the campground. It was probably 50-60 feet away. Good for me since I live in Virginia and am rarely in moose territory.
I then went down to Bar Harbor and met my brother-in-law to camp three nights in Acadia National Park. We hiked for two days covering about 13 miles in the park. Some seriously scenic hiking and beautiful terrain. Nothing too strenuous and the trails are very accessible.
Overall, I really enjoyed the visit to Maine. We were blessed with good weather and I saw two distinct parts of the state--mountains and sea. It is a bit comical to see "peaks" of less than 1000 feet--in the case of Flying Mountain, under 300 feet--termed mountains and given a sign at the summit with the elevation, but that is the case at Acadia National Park.