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Thread: lost hikers

  1. #1

    Default lost hikers

    https://wgme.com/news/local/crews-wo...mount-katahdin

    Looks like a couple hikers got a little off trail and weather messed with them. Hopefully they have learned something and no one gets hurt.

  2. #2
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    Hope they get down safely, but I wish there was more detail to the story.

  3. #3

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    looks to me they tried to find "an easier" way down - straight down the chute.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  4. #4
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    Not much, but a little more detail.
    https://www.wmtw.com/article/rangers...pdate/28153202

  5. #5

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    Here is copy of my post from VFTT on my speculation based on several hikes of this trail over the years.

    If someone is headed down the knife edge from the south summit the trail starts out relatively flat side to side and is 4 to 6 feet running along the top of the ridge, its then turns a corner and the actual blazed trail is quite narrow in some places 12" wide but the reality is there shelf to the south side of the marked path (which is blazed at the highest point. If it is calm and am walking newbee's I will usually walk along the top of the ridge on the narrow trail and point the shelf out to them. There are what I call "chicken routes" around most if not all the tight spots. There are several slides headed down the south side that look like they might be reasonable escape routes. About 5/8th of the way to Pamola, the ridge gets steeper and there are series of pinnacles between this point and the Chimney. There is a distinct transition where the southerly shelf disappears and the ridge gets steeper on both sides. The only option at that point is to climb directly on the spine of the ridge for 10 to 15 feet up hill and there is no way around this spot other than technical The trail then transitions to either the top of the ridge or the north side until the last pinnacle where the trail heads to the south side and then drops down into the chimney. In the past taking new folks over the 10 to 15 foot section requires some convincing as up to then they had options. My guess is there were some clouds showers and wind on Saturday in the area so it was already interesting and when they encountered that spot they followed anyone of several herd paths that attempt to go around this spot but all dead end quickly. My guess is they "lost the trail" at this steep section and elected to head down slope via a slide.

    The standard recommendation for someone dayhiking the summit from Roaring Brook and wanting to do the Knife Edge is hike up Cathedral to the summit and down Knife Edge and then Helon Taylor (counter clockwise). The Saddle trail is still closed from this winter and Dudley has been closed for a couple of years with no firm opening year so that limits clockwise options as Cathedral is not recommended for descending. The only other option that ends up at Roaring Brook is Hamlin Ridge trail and although spectacular its adds a few hours to hike and is exposed right to the end. The rational for Climbing Cathedral is get to the summit early and over the Knife Edge early in the day as the summit attract clouds in the afternoon on many days in the summer and fall and is a magnet for afternoon thundershowers if the conditions are right. Helon Taylor is still exposed but it is broader ridge and the Pamola and Baxter Peak tend to protect it from direct strikes (still not a place I would ever want to be with thundershower close by).

    The trade off for the counter clockwise day hike is that the Knife Edge starts out easy at the summit and get progressively harder heading to Pamola. After that transition described in my copied post the pinnacles require low level technical skills where a sidewards traverse while hugging a rock wall with nothing but steep slope below ups the exposure. The final drop into the Chimney is an infamous chokehold as there is only one route down or up and its definitely one person wide and it requires a few foot critical foot placements that are not optional and typically not within sight of the person heading down. In the opposite clockwise direction it requires upper body strength to pull up and without a rope there is no good way of assisting. it not unusual for there to be a 15 to 20 minute backup at this point with as many as 50 to 100 people waiting in line. I generally end up assisting folks at the choke point, on occasion guiding their feet down to a foothold while calling out how many inches remain between their foot and the rock. Once at the base of the Chimney there is a near vertical wall scramble up that definitely requires hands and feet. Google hasn't backpacked their 3d cameras over Mt Katahdin and the 3d google tricks used to make them look 3d tends to flatter out the terrain so folks underestimate that section. I have met folks who have turned around and were heading back to the summit as they could not bring themselves to do that last stretch into the Chimney. The best way to describe the base of the Chimney is a flat parking space between two slightly tilted 5 story facades. Given the volume of traffic I am always surprised there are not more rescues.

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