Baxter's Tote Road

[torn&frayed]

We're heading into Baxter State Park on September 23. We have a site at South Branch Pond and we plan on doing a repeat hike of the Traveler Loop.
But, on day one (travel day) we want to hike The Owl in the south end of the park.
So, here's my question: after hiking The Owl, from the trailhead at Katahdin Stream Camp, should we just continue driving on the Tote Road all the way to South Branch Pond? Or should we exit the park the way we came in,(Togue Pond Gate) and use paved roads to get to Matagamon Gate?

 

[spencer]

It's much faster to drive around via Patten, but it's much more interesting to take the Tote Rd. (as TE already said)...

Don't forget to drive slowly! We passed many over-aggressive drivers this weekend, including one close call.

I drive fast everywhere but in BSP...

spencer

 

[Papa Bear]

It's much faster to drive around via Patten, but it's much more interesting to take the Tote Rd. (as TE already said)...

Don't forget to drive slowly! We passed many over-aggressive drivers this weekend, including one close call.

I drive fast everywhere but in BSP...

spencer

I know Spencer has done it many more times that I have and I drive slow when I don't know where I'm going, but when I went up last week it was 2 hours from exit 244 (Medway, where I got gas) to South Branch Pond via the north gate. When I went out 3 days later I drove from South Branch Pond on the Tote Road out to Millinocket (about 20 minutes shy of Medway). It took 2:40 and I would say I was to Katahdin Stream in a little over an hour, call it 1.5 hours to be safe.

Tote Road time = 1.5 hours
Out of Park and around time = 1 + 2 = 3 hours

So for me driving, it's half the time to drive on the Tote Road.

It may be faster Gate to Gate, but remember both South Branch Pond and KS are about 10 miles in on either end.

How fast do you drive Spencer?

 

[spencer]

True. I wasn't thinking specifically KS to SB but more generally Toque to Matagamon. It probably is faster within the park from KS to SB.

I'll have to write a small application for such driving times in the park.

I usually think of it in terms of is it quicker to get home via Patten or the Tote Rd. if I'm at South Branch. Patten wins every time. But to go elsewhere in the park , it's another story.

spencer

 

[Mad Townie]

Twigeater's and Spencer's posts raise an interesting question for me. I've always thought of the road as the "Perimeter Road," but now it seems most people are calling it the "Tote Road." Is this just a new name given to the road to make it sound more "Old Maine?" Or is it a name that's been used for years that I just hadn't heard?

 

[chomp]

Both names are used. I think that Tote Rd is the older name, but there are still signs up in the park that say Tote Rd. I walked past one in Katahdin Stream Campground last weekend.

BTW - Plan on over an hour to get from Katahdin Stream to South Branch, without many views.

 

[BorealChickadee]

I started camping in Baxter in the 70's and it was called the tote road. I never heard of it called the perimeter road until now.

Much quicker to drive the tote road form Katahdin Stream to South Branch Pond and that's going very slow.

 

[Mad Townie]

I, too, have been going to Baxter since the '70s, yet I always heard "perimeter" and never "tote." Could it be a locals thing? Some of the people I'm used to going there with grew up in East Millinocket in the '50s and '60s.

This may be stating the obvious, but tote roads are and have been very common in the Maine woods, always in the generic sense. I'll have to check Hakola's (sp?) book and see what he called it.

 

[Papa Bear]

I, too, have been going to Baxter since the '70s, yet I always heard "perimeter" and never "tote." Could it be a locals thing? Some of the people I'm used to going there with grew up in East Millinocket in the '50s and '60s.

This may be stating the obvious, but tote roads are and have been very common in the Maine woods, always in the generic sense. I'll have to check Hakola's (sp?) book and see what he called it.

Befor the Golden Road was built by International Paper in the 60s (??) the road was called the The Nesowadnehunk Millinocket Tote Road (see this Map) and later the Greenville - Millinocket Road. A road went from Ripogenus Dam over to what is now Nesowadnehunk Campground (then called Soudnehunk Campgroundf) which connected this road to the west - see this map and this map.

Before the Golden Road was built, the "tote Road" went west and south of Abol Ponds and over what is now an unused road that goes along the north side of the river from near the Abol Bridge to a ways past (south of) the present gate at a point on the first map labeled "Bitmans Garage".

That's the way I got into the park when I first went there in 1963.

 

[onestep]

I, too, have been going to Baxter since the '70s, yet I always heard "perimeter" and never "tote." Could it be a locals thing?

I've allways known it as the "perimeter" road but I do like "tote" road better!

According to my 1976 Edition of the A.M.C. Maine Mountain Guide:
"Most of the perimeter road follows the routes of old lumbering roads. For purposes of clarity and consistency, the older road names have been dropped in favor of the term "perimeter road."

Onestep

 

[Stan]

There is something about any tote road that makes it more appealing to me to spend two hours on it than an hour making better time on a highway.

 

[SherpaKroto]

Back to the question: it is MUCH faster to use the Tote Rd.

 

[BorealChickadee]

Sherpa Kroto- Yes, it is much faster. How much?? Now you're stretching my memory but I'm thinking it was at least an hour quicker to go the tote road. I do know that after trying it once we never once tried to go up the interstate again.

 

[torn&frayed]

Thanks for the replies, one and all. I discussed it with Gary over the past weekend, and we will definitely be using the tote road. In fact, we've set our sights on a second, much shorter hike, to a fire tower (forget the name of the mountain, it's less than 1,800 ft) that we'll pass along the way. SherpaKroto, do you think I'll bring enough water for The Traveler this time?
Jim Willette

 

[MikePS]

Tote road is great, several spots to stop and check out along the way. The mountain I think you are looking at is Burnt Mt., it is very much like Williard in the Whites, with views of Katadhin, enjoy, good luck and have fun!