peakbagger
08-14-2013, 09:29
I am getting ready for a trip up to Baxter on Labor Day and have been helping a few folks with trip planning. Most folks think of Baxter State Park as a couple of trails that happen to end up on the summit of Baxter Peak of Katahdin and one of those trails happens to have white blazes on it. Fortunately, there are lot more places to go and things to see at the park that many miss as they rush on out of the park to resume life. Perhaps its best that maybe they make a return trip at a later date but here is a short lists of places to go that arent on the typical AT hikers itinerary.
The Traveler loop in the NE corner of the park at South Branch Pond is a worthy trip. It can be accessed via the internal trail system in the park as an overnight or via the perimeter road (but its a long drive from the south end of the park to the north end). Great views most of the day and some real great views looking south at Katahdin. One caveat is that the traffic in and out of this area is much lower and the usual acces is via the north gate. The odds of getting a ride to the Millinocket bus stop arent great.
Doubletop Mtn - This is great 4 to 6 hour trip with super views, its great for someone to do if they are waiting for a thru hiker to get in the park. The north approach is well graded but a bit out of the way. The south approach has a very steep section near the summit that is as steep as anything you climbed on the AT.
The Brothers and Coe - A long loop hike with great views, the climb down off Mt Coe is via a large boulder slab/slide, not recommended when wet or icy.
Backcountry - There are several backcountry backpack trails the run through the park but unless you can get a car spot you may be backtracking . Of particular interest to hikers are the remote shelters, they are generally located at great places to camp and frequently, the nearest other camper is several miles away. Davis Pond is probably the most remote and if you can score a night there, there is nothing close on the entire AT. The interior trails tend to be old tote roads so the going is reasonable although occasionally wet.
Lesser used ways of heading down from Baxter Peak, There are two trails that head north from the summit to the Russel Pond area. One goes through the Northwest Basin and the other is ridgeline walk over the Howe Peaks, both would add an overnight to the trip at Russel Pond and most hikers would end up on the Wassataquoik lake trail, although some could extend the trip one more day heading up to South Branch Pond. Both of these trails get little use by dayhikers and you may not see anyone until the Pond. Heading to the east towards Roaring Brook is the infamous Knifes Edge, the rarely used for decent Cathedral trail, the Hamlin Ridge Trail and the Saddle trail. The Saddle is a bad weather route and Cathedral is not recommended for ascending. They all end up at Roaring Brook Campground which is a popular trail head on a dead end road. It highly likely that you can score a ride to the main gate and most likely Millinocket at the trail head.
There are numerous shorter hikes many without a lot of elevation gain around the park that would also be good for people meeting AT hikers. Sentinel Mtn near Kidney Pond and South Turner mountain near Roaring Brook both are half day hikes that most can handle with good moose viewing potential. One thing to note is that it is quite difficult to see many views of the park while on the perimeter road, people really need to get a bit of elevation so they can see above the trees.
The major caveat is that you need reservations to camp anywhere in the park. Unless you are there on a busy weekend, you can normally do a last minute itinerary but reservations are not optional, if you do not have them you can try the visitors center at Togue Pond Gate to check for open spots or cancellations. The reservations are on line so there is no excuse for just heading up and hoping The drive up campgrounds around Katahdin may be booked up but generally the sites away from the mountain are less so. Just in case folks haven't heard, there are also day use parking reservations for the three Katahdin trailheads, Katahdin Stream, Abol and Roaring Brook, if you dont have a reservation for a parking space you cannot park at these lots even for a short time. So if you or the folks welcoming you want to have a picnic with a thruhiker when they finish their hike, have them make a reservation or head down the road a few miles to the Abol Pond Picnic Area which has a nice beach for swimming which may be appreciated by those who the hiker is riding with. One other reminder if you are cell phone dependent, the only spot for a signal is up on the summit ridges there is zero cell service in the park down low.
The Traveler loop in the NE corner of the park at South Branch Pond is a worthy trip. It can be accessed via the internal trail system in the park as an overnight or via the perimeter road (but its a long drive from the south end of the park to the north end). Great views most of the day and some real great views looking south at Katahdin. One caveat is that the traffic in and out of this area is much lower and the usual acces is via the north gate. The odds of getting a ride to the Millinocket bus stop arent great.
Doubletop Mtn - This is great 4 to 6 hour trip with super views, its great for someone to do if they are waiting for a thru hiker to get in the park. The north approach is well graded but a bit out of the way. The south approach has a very steep section near the summit that is as steep as anything you climbed on the AT.
The Brothers and Coe - A long loop hike with great views, the climb down off Mt Coe is via a large boulder slab/slide, not recommended when wet or icy.
Backcountry - There are several backcountry backpack trails the run through the park but unless you can get a car spot you may be backtracking . Of particular interest to hikers are the remote shelters, they are generally located at great places to camp and frequently, the nearest other camper is several miles away. Davis Pond is probably the most remote and if you can score a night there, there is nothing close on the entire AT. The interior trails tend to be old tote roads so the going is reasonable although occasionally wet.
Lesser used ways of heading down from Baxter Peak, There are two trails that head north from the summit to the Russel Pond area. One goes through the Northwest Basin and the other is ridgeline walk over the Howe Peaks, both would add an overnight to the trip at Russel Pond and most hikers would end up on the Wassataquoik lake trail, although some could extend the trip one more day heading up to South Branch Pond. Both of these trails get little use by dayhikers and you may not see anyone until the Pond. Heading to the east towards Roaring Brook is the infamous Knifes Edge, the rarely used for decent Cathedral trail, the Hamlin Ridge Trail and the Saddle trail. The Saddle is a bad weather route and Cathedral is not recommended for ascending. They all end up at Roaring Brook Campground which is a popular trail head on a dead end road. It highly likely that you can score a ride to the main gate and most likely Millinocket at the trail head.
There are numerous shorter hikes many without a lot of elevation gain around the park that would also be good for people meeting AT hikers. Sentinel Mtn near Kidney Pond and South Turner mountain near Roaring Brook both are half day hikes that most can handle with good moose viewing potential. One thing to note is that it is quite difficult to see many views of the park while on the perimeter road, people really need to get a bit of elevation so they can see above the trees.
The major caveat is that you need reservations to camp anywhere in the park. Unless you are there on a busy weekend, you can normally do a last minute itinerary but reservations are not optional, if you do not have them you can try the visitors center at Togue Pond Gate to check for open spots or cancellations. The reservations are on line so there is no excuse for just heading up and hoping The drive up campgrounds around Katahdin may be booked up but generally the sites away from the mountain are less so. Just in case folks haven't heard, there are also day use parking reservations for the three Katahdin trailheads, Katahdin Stream, Abol and Roaring Brook, if you dont have a reservation for a parking space you cannot park at these lots even for a short time. So if you or the folks welcoming you want to have a picnic with a thruhiker when they finish their hike, have them make a reservation or head down the road a few miles to the Abol Pond Picnic Area which has a nice beach for swimming which may be appreciated by those who the hiker is riding with. One other reminder if you are cell phone dependent, the only spot for a signal is up on the summit ridges there is zero cell service in the park down low.