Bob Kittredge
Active member
I've passed up the opportunity to do the Owl twice before, and people keep telling me what a nice hike it is, so on Sunday I drove down to Katahdin Stream Camp and started up the Hunt about 9:30. It was a muggy but cool day with high cloud cover, so no sun but reasonable views.
The first mile of the Hunt is pretty mellow, rising only 400 feet. Surprisingly few people within view. I think I only saw six other people during the entire hike. Turning onto the Owl trail, it gets somewhat steeper but still easy. The stream crossing was very easy and there was sheep laurel and indian pipe in bloom. The moderate grades continued for a long time, and I rightly reckoned that I would be paying my dues in the last half mile. Indeed, it got
very rocky, rough and steep with some challenging scrambles and tight squeezes. I had to take off my pack twice to get through a couple of spots. Finally I pulled myself up a large boulder and found myself on the first outlook with another hiker. From there it was a simple matter to follow the narrow trail along a small ridge and up another 100' or so to the real summit.
The summit is very dramatic and craggy with views of the Brothers and Coe to the north and the Hunt Trail ridge to the south. The other guy loaned me his monocular so I could see the hikers on the Hunt. I ate lunch and lingered for a half an hour or so before heading down.
Definitely a rewarding hike, but not for newbies.
The first mile of the Hunt is pretty mellow, rising only 400 feet. Surprisingly few people within view. I think I only saw six other people during the entire hike. Turning onto the Owl trail, it gets somewhat steeper but still easy. The stream crossing was very easy and there was sheep laurel and indian pipe in bloom. The moderate grades continued for a long time, and I rightly reckoned that I would be paying my dues in the last half mile. Indeed, it got
very rocky, rough and steep with some challenging scrambles and tight squeezes. I had to take off my pack twice to get through a couple of spots. Finally I pulled myself up a large boulder and found myself on the first outlook with another hiker. From there it was a simple matter to follow the narrow trail along a small ridge and up another 100' or so to the real summit.
The summit is very dramatic and craggy with views of the Brothers and Coe to the north and the Hunt Trail ridge to the south. The other guy loaned me his monocular so I could see the hikers on the Hunt. I ate lunch and lingered for a half an hour or so before heading down.
Definitely a rewarding hike, but not for newbies.
