Katahdin advice needed

I`m heading up early Sept. to finish my 115 and I`ll be staying at the Katahdin Stream campsite. What`s the best route to hit up Baxter & Hamlin peaks? I want to do the knife edge weather permitting. I also perfer loops. Thanks in advance.

If you can I'd suggest that you drive to Roaring Brook, head up to chimney pond, go up Hamlin ridge then climb along the massif to pamola and make a loop of it that way (head down Taylor tr). This is the way I did it and I enjoyed it throughly.

If you do it that way you get everything you want -- a loop, both peaks, knife edge, awesome views etc. The only problem is you'll be camping on the other side of the mountain!!!!

I'd go up the Dudley Trail from Chimney Pond, then head over the Knife's Edge to Baxter Peak, and then onto Hamlin Peak. I very much prefer to climb up the Knife's Edge than down it from Baxter Peak. The view from Pamola Peak when you reach the top of the Dudley Trail is amazing - you get to see just how much more climbing is needed before you reach the top.

If you want to do the Knife's edge, you really want to do it from the east side of the mountain. Granted the Hunt trail is the Appalachian Trail and the view up to the summit across the plateau is great and Abol slide is fun, but compared to the east side you are missing something.

If you are in shape to do the 115, I would do the "grand slam" if the weather is right. Drive to roaring brook early (unless things have changed, even campers in the park cant drive over there if the parking lot is full). Alternatively when you get to the park gate or stoip by the park office ask to see if any sites are open at Roaring Brook and swap sites for one night. Hike up Helon Taylor trail to Pamola, then pick up the Knifes edge trail. Hike across the Knifes edge to the Summit. At this point look at the weather and your motivation, if the weather is marginal or you are losing motivation, take the Saddle trail down, otherwise hike over to Hamlin, then take Hamlin Ridge Trail down (Hamlin Ridge trail going down is quite spectacular), take the Hamlin ridge cut off and then down Chimney pond trail back to Roaring Brook parking lot. Note, the route is very dry, plan on carrying water all the way up and over the summit to the spring near the Saddle trail and expect the spring to need filtering if it is there (there is spring up near Hamlin that is usually a bit more reliable, plus one on the trail going down) . Cathedral trail is not a good option for getting off the summit quickly, yes it gets you off the ridgeline quickly, but the footing is treacherous downhill (sort of equivalent of going down Huntingtons Ravine trail, possible but not recomended)

I would not reverse the route as Knifes edge is more impressive climbing up the mountain and Hamlin ridge is more impressive climbing down.

If you dont want to drive, go up Hunt trail to the summit, hike across the knifes edge and down Helon Taylor trail to Roaring brook. Hitchhike back to Katadin stream. Its not hard to get a ride, Roaring brook road is a dead end and anyone dayhiking will be driving back down it to the main gate.

Hamlin & Baxter

I went up the Helon Taylor Trail, across the Knife Edge to Baxter then down to the Saddle over to Hamlin and down the Hamlin Ridge Trail (and this is lengthy and time consuming enough). This trip does not include a stop at Chimney Pond which is a spectacular spot worthy of its own hike! (you can throw in the Pamola Caves on this one). However, my original plan called for hiking up the Abol Trail, cross over the AT at Thoreau Spring and over to Hamlin. Then back up to Katahdin via the Saddle and down the Hunt Trail, which started my series of AT southbound section hikes. We arranged a car shuttle of 2 miles along the Park Road (but of course it can easily be walked). What happened was it was a miserable rainy day when we did the Katahdin hike from the west (Abol Slide) so we never got to Hamlin. But if you bag Hamlin by going from the west (original plan), then you can go up the Cathedral Trail from Chimney Pond (original plan) and descend via the Knife Edge/Helon Taylor Trail. The Cathedral Trail is probably the most spectacular trail directly from Chimney Pond to the summit of Katahdin.

In essence what I am saying is that Katahdin deserves two climbs! (one from the east and one from the west). By doing this you get the Hunt Trail for descent, Hamlin Peak, Knife Edge, Cathedral Trail, Chimney Pond, Abol Slide and everything spectacular Katahdin has to offer.

Whichever route you take, make sure to get in line (or drive around from KS) EARLY so that you can get a parking spot at Roaring Brook. Helps if you are good at sleeping in your vehicle.

I've done the Knife Edge trail 3 times - each time I took it counter-clockwise, and I loved it. Contrary to what some people say, going up the Knife Edge to Baxter Peak is not the only way to go.

I have been to Hamlin Peak 3 times, also. Once I came up the AT from KS, crossed over the table-land, did Hamlin, then back and up to Baxter, then back to Thoreau Springs and down Abol Slide and a 2 mile jog on the road back to the car. Wasn't so bad, maybe 12 miles of hiking and 2 miles easy on the road.

The other times I went up Roaring Brook to Chimney Pond - this is the most impressive view of Katahdin that you will ever get. I took the Cathedral Trail up both times - it is a fun rock scramble. Then I took the cut-off over to the trail to Hamlin Peak, then back across and up to Baxter Peak, across the Knife Edge and down Helon Taylor. You get to go down the Chimney and up to Pamola Peak - it was fun but I hope you're not afraid of heights! Probably about a 14 mile hike. Loved it.

Baxter is the higher and by far more impressive of the 2 peaks - an ideal place to finish your 115. Watch the weather carefully up there - once you start the Knife Edge you are at least an hour from shelter, and that is if you're travelling fast. As the others have said, you have to get in line early (particularly if you're going on a Saturday) to get a spot at Roaring Brook. Hopefully you'll get good weather - a clear day on Katahdin is one of the most sublime hiking experiences you'll ever have! Good luck!

Guess I've also done the Knife Edge 3 times--once in the rain in summer and out-and-back in winter.

A suggestion: If you are doing a loop, you might want to do the Knife Edge earlier rather than later in the day. If the weather turns bad, the Knife Edge is not one of the better places to be.

Doug

I think that driving over to Roaring Brook is too much of a hassle when I can hike right from my site. I`m looking at a counter clockwise loop starting on the Hunt trail. Head for Chimmney Pond and up the Hamlin Trail out on the NW Basin trail, Baxter Cutoff, etc. It adds up to 16.5 miles and I`m figuring that me and my buddy Scott can knock it off in ~10hrs max with plenty of sight seeing. I`ll finish the next day on N.Brother weather permitting. If the weather is iffy then we`ll just do N.Brother come back for Katahdin. Any thought`s on this plan? Again, thanks!

It's doable if you are REAL strong and the weather is good, but don't underestimate the trails on Katahdin. You're looking at 6000 ft or so of vertical in those 16.5 miles too. You will not want to blow by Chimney Pond in a hurry- it has no comparison in the East. If you have extra days, enjoy it more! Just my $.02.

Edit: If you end up doing your planned hike you can save a little energy and time, and perhaps 500 ft of climbing, by reclimbing the Saddle then taking a right toward Hamlin, rather than dropping down from Chimney Pond to the Hamlin Ridge Trail... but it would be more boring and less spectacular.

Weatherman

If you are camping at Katahdin Stream, do the road walk over to Abol slide first and hike up the Abol slide trail. It is a much cooler ascent than the AT is from Katahdin stream, and if you are taking the Hunt trail down, there is no need to do it twice in the same day. Abol slide is really fun, probably the toughest climb in a one mile span in the eastern US. You climb around 2,000 to 2,500 vertical feet up the slide in just around a mile of climbing up boulders.

What you are planning is doable but..... The only thing is that in your original post you said you wanted to do Knifes Edge and now your plan is bypassing it. If you have one day, I would do the loop out of Roaring Brook and definitely include Knife's Edge (unless the weather is wet).

askus3 said:

What you are planning is doable but..... The only thing is that in your original post you said you wanted to do Knifes Edge and now your plan is bypassing it. If you have one day, I would do the loop out of Roaring Brook and definitely include Knife's Edge (unless the weather is wet).

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No. We`d hit up Pamola and down The Dudley trail to Chimmney Pond then over to Hamlin. We love abuse.

king tut said:

Abol slide is really fun, probably the toughest climb in a one mile span in the eastern US. You climb around 2,000 to 2,500 vertical feet up the slide in just around a mile of climbing up boulders.

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I don't remember as being all that hard, but then we did it in winter...

A nice route.

Doug

I did the two by starting at Roaring Brook, up Helon Taylor, across the KE over Baxter Peak & then to Hamlin & down Hamlin Ridge & back to Chimney Pond & then down.

A group from an AMC Chapter did loop in other direction:

Pro's to our direction, not that anyplace on Katahdin is a good spot in an afternnon T-storm but KE IMO has to be the worse place, especially when you consider wind sometimes comes with the light & sound effects too. When on Hamlin, you often have very little company & the way down while a ridgeline & rocky, it requires less care (when tired) & you can look around & see the profile of the KE - on a good day

Con's: Now BSP is more wild & less traveled than Washington, (since no road & train + far away from Boston, CT, NY...) BUT all the day hikers get to the gate at the same time, most trails are close (by a mile or so) to the same distance & most hikers plan on climbing Katahdin, therefore most get to the top close to the same time. when we did the loop it was quite crowded, we stopped for lunch just off the trail on some rocks near the saddle

(a couple of thru-hikers were smoking on the top too - they had not smoked for over 2000 miles & that was their reward, they earned it since the two of us really hated 2nd hand smoke, we just moved to another spot - everywhere up top has a great view)

That said, if you do the loop by going up Hamlin, you still get limited company on Hamlin since it's the little brother & by the time you get to Baxter Peak, most people are on their way down.

So if no T-storms forcasted, do Hamlin first, if chance do KE first, if T-storms are a certainty, they won't let you up.

I don't think Mike P. understands that you are starting at Katahdin Stream, so you are doing Katahdin twice although the second time it is up and over Hamlin. That is grueling and I agree with your statement "you love abuse" although it borders on masochism. Forget about the distance, the elevation gain for your hike is something like 8,000+!!! All I can say is get going at daybreak and GOOD LUCK! Then for an encore next day - North Brother - OH BABY - WOW!!!

Oh yeah. Forgot you wanted to do Knife Edge. Hunt, summit, KE, Dudley, Chimney Pond, down a bit to pick up Hamlin Ridge, back up, then down Hunt? Even worse than I thought. Crazy. That's like eating one of those enormous sundaes- if you can eat it all, you get it free, but then you never want to eat ice cream again.

Thats a cool loop you have planned! Definitely doable if you are up for some suffering Doing that loop in 10 hours is going to be tough... Those trails are very rugged and it's hard to move fast without getting hurt. The upper part of the Hunt Trail is tough and slow with lots of hand to hand scrambling. The KE is slow, but the best part of the loop your proposing. Heading DOWN the Dudley trail is painfully slow, and heading up Hamlin Ridge is rugged, slow, but beautiful! Overall, you picked one awesome way to do Hamlin and Baxter Peaks...

Make sure you bring lots of sunscreen, moleskin, and have a bunch of cold ones waiting for you back at your campsite

Alright. It sounds like we need to maybe rethink this a bit. I understand that the going will be rugged/slow - that's the rub. The 8k of el doesn't worry me too much and we're used to crack of dawn starts. I'll ponder this some more as we've got a month to figure out an awesome game plan. Though Mother Nature may step in and show us what's possible and what's not. Any other thoughts are appreciated and welcome.

The 8k of elevation gain on normal trails may not be too bad, but the Big K can F your knees up pretty good. I have done the Hamlin, Baxter, Knife Edge, Pamola route in 6 or 7 hours, but my knees were pummeled at the end of the hike. Lots of Advil....

I would say just hike one side of the mountain one day and do the next side the next day. Both are amazing and completely different hikes. The brothers hike and the other hikes are decent but it's really not in the same ballpark as far as hikes are concerned. Hike the big K twice, enjoy some beers, the other mountains will be there the next time you come up to the middle of nowhere.