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Day 1 - 22 July - Baker/White Cap/Big Moose
Baker: Decided to do bushwhack from north side. Moderately difficult with numerous blowdowns. No open woods here. Waist to shoulder high raspberry fiels for 1st ¼ mile. Took 2½ hrs to reach summit 1¼ m. away & 2 hrs to return to car. Found Spencer’s & Papa Bear’s Gatorade jar from Aug. 2005. Register in excellent condition. Only 1 other entry since then, dated 1st July 2006, from Glenn Houle, #449/453; list started in 1988. Only 4 to go with finish in Baxter. Bravo Glenn!
Car directions to reach Baker from north:
- From Lily Bay Rd north of Greenville, turn right on Frenchtown Rd just before reaching Kokadjo. It’s a dirt rd in excellent condition allowing 40-50 mph, but speed limit is 35 mph (campgrounds & cottages).
- At 12.4 km take dirt rd on right.
- Drive up this rd for 8.1 km before parking. On your way you will pass by a few side rds on left.
- Note that at 7.5 km you will meet 1st fork with better rd going uphill to right. But you must take left turn-off onto logging dirt rd.
- Drive up logging rd for another 0.6 km, crossing wooden bridge at 0.3 km, where you meet 2nd fork. Park there. Baker is clearly visible on your left, approx. 1¼ m. away.
White Cap: After returning to intersection with Frenchtown Rd, turn right & drive for another 10 km where you come to gate. Park there. It’s an 8 min. road walk to reach A.T. trailhead & then a 1h45 hike to summit 3.1 m. uphill. Total time of 3h15 to return to car. Very nice views on summit, but sky was too hazy that day to see Katahdin. Also checked out ugly building near summit with solar panels.
Big Moose: Easy 2h04 total time to bag pk & drive off. Summit in clouds with impending rain. Zero visibility. Rain started 15-20 min. before reaching car.
Day 2 – 23 July – Saddleback/Doubletop
Saddleback: Followed Papa Bear’s car directions. Note that one of boulders blocking rd is now removed, but need truck to go further up road, so I parked there. Started on skid rd up saddleback at 1800’ elevation according to my Suunto watch altimeter & with NE bearing. Easy bushwhack through skid rds, moose herd paths & open forest. Should be able to bag pk & return to your car within 3 hrs. No canister on summit (pk less than 3K), but there is an orange string tied to tree. Beware of numerous false pks before reaching end of ridge.
Doubletop: Took me slightly less than 3 hrs total time to bag N. & S. Doubletop (6.6 m. hike to & from). Had to argue with Baxter Park ranger who didn’t want me to start hike up Doubletop from Nesowadnehunk, despite 4h45 of daylight remaining! Very well maintained trail. Zero blowdown. Can easily be moonshined. On my return again discussed with ranger who was now much more cooperative. And yes one can moonshine pks in Baxter though you must before hand obtain a special authorization & check with park rangers to ensure you carry all the proper equipment (namely headlamps with extra batteries & light bulbs). A bit too paternalistic to my liking, but that’s Baxter for you. BTW I found a bronze plaque behind boulder on N. Doubletop in memory of Kepple Hall, whose ashes were dispersed into the wind by his wife on summit of N. Doubletop at sunset on 20th Aug. 1926, with following epitaph “Love only is eternal”. Now that’s the way I would like to exit this world, though I am in no hurry to find my summit. Does anybody know who Kepple Hall was? The park authorities seem to ignore it. It seems the plaque was erected before that land was annexed to park.
Day 3 – 24 July – Hamlin/Katahdin
Went up via Hamlin ridge trail & returned via Helon (Heel-on) Taylor trail. Don’t miss Blueberry Knoll on your way up with its spectacular views of the north & south basins + knife edge which was still partly in the clouds that morning, but luckily the sky cleared up for me later on, thus allowing fantastic views from Katahdin summit & during my rock hopping down knife edge. An unforgettable experience!
Day 4 – 25 July – OJI/Cox/S. & N. Brother/Fort
2 lists completed that day, NE 4K & 111(115), on N. Brother. Rained on & off during most of the hike. Rain & cold wind on summit of S. Brother & Fort. Very wet bushwhack to reach Fort, but herd paths relatively easy to follow. Long 9 hrs hiking day. Met no one all day. Turn-off for OJI Link trail easy to miss when going up slide towards Cox. Had to backtrack.
Day 5 – 26 July – Pk of the Ridges/The Traveler/N. Traveler
A tiring 7 hrs round trip. Left at 05h05 and was back at 12h02. Went up via Rocky Ridge. Very hot & humid making for rough rocky ridge walk. Was I glad having started at daybreak! This also avoided me getting caught by the heavy rain & thunderstorm which occurred later on that afternoon while driving back home.
Pierre
Baker: Decided to do bushwhack from north side. Moderately difficult with numerous blowdowns. No open woods here. Waist to shoulder high raspberry fiels for 1st ¼ mile. Took 2½ hrs to reach summit 1¼ m. away & 2 hrs to return to car. Found Spencer’s & Papa Bear’s Gatorade jar from Aug. 2005. Register in excellent condition. Only 1 other entry since then, dated 1st July 2006, from Glenn Houle, #449/453; list started in 1988. Only 4 to go with finish in Baxter. Bravo Glenn!
Car directions to reach Baker from north:
- From Lily Bay Rd north of Greenville, turn right on Frenchtown Rd just before reaching Kokadjo. It’s a dirt rd in excellent condition allowing 40-50 mph, but speed limit is 35 mph (campgrounds & cottages).
- At 12.4 km take dirt rd on right.
- Drive up this rd for 8.1 km before parking. On your way you will pass by a few side rds on left.
- Note that at 7.5 km you will meet 1st fork with better rd going uphill to right. But you must take left turn-off onto logging dirt rd.
- Drive up logging rd for another 0.6 km, crossing wooden bridge at 0.3 km, where you meet 2nd fork. Park there. Baker is clearly visible on your left, approx. 1¼ m. away.
White Cap: After returning to intersection with Frenchtown Rd, turn right & drive for another 10 km where you come to gate. Park there. It’s an 8 min. road walk to reach A.T. trailhead & then a 1h45 hike to summit 3.1 m. uphill. Total time of 3h15 to return to car. Very nice views on summit, but sky was too hazy that day to see Katahdin. Also checked out ugly building near summit with solar panels.
Big Moose: Easy 2h04 total time to bag pk & drive off. Summit in clouds with impending rain. Zero visibility. Rain started 15-20 min. before reaching car.
Day 2 – 23 July – Saddleback/Doubletop
Saddleback: Followed Papa Bear’s car directions. Note that one of boulders blocking rd is now removed, but need truck to go further up road, so I parked there. Started on skid rd up saddleback at 1800’ elevation according to my Suunto watch altimeter & with NE bearing. Easy bushwhack through skid rds, moose herd paths & open forest. Should be able to bag pk & return to your car within 3 hrs. No canister on summit (pk less than 3K), but there is an orange string tied to tree. Beware of numerous false pks before reaching end of ridge.
Doubletop: Took me slightly less than 3 hrs total time to bag N. & S. Doubletop (6.6 m. hike to & from). Had to argue with Baxter Park ranger who didn’t want me to start hike up Doubletop from Nesowadnehunk, despite 4h45 of daylight remaining! Very well maintained trail. Zero blowdown. Can easily be moonshined. On my return again discussed with ranger who was now much more cooperative. And yes one can moonshine pks in Baxter though you must before hand obtain a special authorization & check with park rangers to ensure you carry all the proper equipment (namely headlamps with extra batteries & light bulbs). A bit too paternalistic to my liking, but that’s Baxter for you. BTW I found a bronze plaque behind boulder on N. Doubletop in memory of Kepple Hall, whose ashes were dispersed into the wind by his wife on summit of N. Doubletop at sunset on 20th Aug. 1926, with following epitaph “Love only is eternal”. Now that’s the way I would like to exit this world, though I am in no hurry to find my summit. Does anybody know who Kepple Hall was? The park authorities seem to ignore it. It seems the plaque was erected before that land was annexed to park.
Day 3 – 24 July – Hamlin/Katahdin
Went up via Hamlin ridge trail & returned via Helon (Heel-on) Taylor trail. Don’t miss Blueberry Knoll on your way up with its spectacular views of the north & south basins + knife edge which was still partly in the clouds that morning, but luckily the sky cleared up for me later on, thus allowing fantastic views from Katahdin summit & during my rock hopping down knife edge. An unforgettable experience!
Day 4 – 25 July – OJI/Cox/S. & N. Brother/Fort
2 lists completed that day, NE 4K & 111(115), on N. Brother. Rained on & off during most of the hike. Rain & cold wind on summit of S. Brother & Fort. Very wet bushwhack to reach Fort, but herd paths relatively easy to follow. Long 9 hrs hiking day. Met no one all day. Turn-off for OJI Link trail easy to miss when going up slide towards Cox. Had to backtrack.
Day 5 – 26 July – Pk of the Ridges/The Traveler/N. Traveler
A tiring 7 hrs round trip. Left at 05h05 and was back at 12h02. Went up via Rocky Ridge. Very hot & humid making for rough rocky ridge walk. Was I glad having started at daybreak! This also avoided me getting caught by the heavy rain & thunderstorm which occurred later on that afternoon while driving back home.
Pierre
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Did you take the KI road from Greenville through the mountains for Saddleback, or drive way around (which might have been faster)?
