Baxter / Katahdin hike in August - first time

I will be doing Baxter Peak for the 1st time in August. Have a couple of questions:

1) How hard is it to get a parking spot on a FRIDAY morning @ Roaring Brook campground? I hear that I should show up between 5:30am and 7:30am. I also know that out of state residents can make reservations for parking within 3 wks of the date - how likely is that going to be an option? (I guess i'll check 3 wks to the date and find out too).

2) Can someone give me a comprehensive list of trail combination distances and times that it took them to do it?

3) Has anyone done Algonquin Peak in the Adirondacks? If so, how does this (let me know which trail combo) compare to Algonquin.

Again, I'm planning to start from Roaring Brook Campground.
Thanks everyone!

Your chances are good on a Friday morning except possibly if its going into a long weekend or is a holiday. The gate is typically open at 5:30 in August and its worth going early so you can get on the trail early as there is a higher likelyhood of pop up showers and possibly thundershowers later in the day, so getting up and off the summit before noon is a good thing. The other plus is that the angle of the sun in the morning makes a lot of the colors in the Chimney basin quite intense and in general the views are better as the haze starts to form as the weather warms up later in the day.

The new parking pass fee applies to drive ups as well as three week advance people so you are going to have to pay anyhow, might as well make the reservation in advance. Remember in addition to the hiking reservation, they also tag out of state vehicles with a road fee (I think its $8 but may have gone up).

I went on the Park's website and reserved a parking spot for Sunday the 29th just in case, but as of right now, there's plenty of open spots. We'll be visiting relatives for the week and I wanted to ensure we get in the park at least one day! LOL ...it's worth the $5 to be assured a spot.

I've done Algonquin Peak in all 4 seasons. It's just a walk in the park compared to the Big K! Enjoy the hike. It'll be one you always remember.

the out of state fee is $14 per vehicle.

if you dont have a reserved pass you cant get in until 7:30, i cant say if that is 100% if not all the spots are pre-reserved. both days we were there were sell outs so they had a holding area prior to the gate where they had everyone without a reservation staged.