Ray
New member
I left for Baxter State park on Tuesday afternoon at about 4:30 pm arriving in Millinocket about 5 hours later. I checked into a motel and was at the trailhead at 4:45 am the next morning with about 10 cars ahead of me. It promised to be a great day for the Baxter Peaks, clear, sunny and dry with winds at about 5 mph.
I took the Chimney Pond Trail and then the Cathedral Trail, the most direct way to the Katahdin summit. The Cathedral trail is absolutely spectacular, steep, and challenging. It honestly feels like doing a mile on all fours! I arrived at the summit just as a pair of AT thru hikers were arriving amid whoops of joy. I had always wondered what it was like when these hikers finally reach their goal and here was an opportunity to witness it firsthand. The views are breathtaking from the Katahdin summit. Photo-ops abound! Although Katahdin is the highest of the Baxter peaks the dramatic view of Pamola with its stark angular beauty really seems to have the last word.
After a brief lunch I journeyed northward on the beautiful and open Saddle Trail toward Hamlin Peak. This was a chance lose the crowds and enjoy the profound solitude of the mountains. Getting there is not at all difficult. Hamlin Peak is a feast of views in its own right. I was told by the rangers that very few people climb it and I had it to myself. I descended via the steep (and difficult) Hamlin Ridge trail with stunning views of the North Basin on my left and the Great Basin on my right with the looming presence of Katahdin like a some great sentinel in the distance. I took the North Basin Trail to the North Basin cut-off, joined up with the Chimney Pond Trail and was soon back at Roaring Brook Campground.
The following morning I began my ascent of North Brother via the Marston Trail. This is a richly wooded trail, shady and full of detail making for rather a more pensive hike in comparison with the drama of the previous day. It is quite steep in places and there are several lovely outlooks on the way. The trail emerges above treeline for the final steep ascent. The day was cool, cloudy and quite windy making it actually difficult to keep my footing at the summit. The Brothers have a unique character of their own and a remoteness which I find attractive. One of the rangers had mentioned that this was her favorite area of the park. There are awesome views and these mountains left me with a deep longing to return here again.
North Brother brings me to #60 in my efforts to climb the NE 67 highest.
Baxter rocks!
pics at: http://good-times.webshots.com/album/560430668MLefiY
Ray
I took the Chimney Pond Trail and then the Cathedral Trail, the most direct way to the Katahdin summit. The Cathedral trail is absolutely spectacular, steep, and challenging. It honestly feels like doing a mile on all fours! I arrived at the summit just as a pair of AT thru hikers were arriving amid whoops of joy. I had always wondered what it was like when these hikers finally reach their goal and here was an opportunity to witness it firsthand. The views are breathtaking from the Katahdin summit. Photo-ops abound! Although Katahdin is the highest of the Baxter peaks the dramatic view of Pamola with its stark angular beauty really seems to have the last word.
After a brief lunch I journeyed northward on the beautiful and open Saddle Trail toward Hamlin Peak. This was a chance lose the crowds and enjoy the profound solitude of the mountains. Getting there is not at all difficult. Hamlin Peak is a feast of views in its own right. I was told by the rangers that very few people climb it and I had it to myself. I descended via the steep (and difficult) Hamlin Ridge trail with stunning views of the North Basin on my left and the Great Basin on my right with the looming presence of Katahdin like a some great sentinel in the distance. I took the North Basin Trail to the North Basin cut-off, joined up with the Chimney Pond Trail and was soon back at Roaring Brook Campground.
The following morning I began my ascent of North Brother via the Marston Trail. This is a richly wooded trail, shady and full of detail making for rather a more pensive hike in comparison with the drama of the previous day. It is quite steep in places and there are several lovely outlooks on the way. The trail emerges above treeline for the final steep ascent. The day was cool, cloudy and quite windy making it actually difficult to keep my footing at the summit. The Brothers have a unique character of their own and a remoteness which I find attractive. One of the rangers had mentioned that this was her favorite area of the park. There are awesome views and these mountains left me with a deep longing to return here again.
North Brother brings me to #60 in my efforts to climb the NE 67 highest.
Baxter rocks!
pics at: http://good-times.webshots.com/album/560430668MLefiY
Ray
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