Descending the Dudley Trail - Katahdin

Hi all,

Am thinking about hiking the Dudley trail to the Knife's Edge in fair weather summertime conditions. I know that it is steep, bouldery and mostly above the treeline. Would be a tough climb up, but lots of fun. What I don't know is how the descend would be.

As far as Katahdin comparables, I ascended Cathedral. Loved it, but would not want to descend it. I descended Hamlin Ridge to the North Basin Trail. Tough going, but no problem. I ascended and descended Hunt. I actually found the descent on Hunt to be a bit easier, as you could sometimes slide down the boulders.

So, any thoughts on how difficult it is to descend Dudley?

Many Thanks,
Marty

I climbed Dudley once, several years ago, but never descended it. From my recollection, I don't think it would be too bad of a descent. Perhaps some butt-skidding down boulders but no flying leaps. To contrast, I climbed the Hunt Trail but took the Abol slide down because there were some sections on the Hunt that I could not imagine descending without having to hurl myself over a ledge and hope for the best. I think Dudley would be like descending Abol, but perhaps with bigger boulders?
-vegematic

I descended Dudley a few years ago and thought it was really difficult.
I am usually kind of slow and cautious going down any of the trails on Katahdin--but Dudley was definitely the most frightening descent for me. I would go up it again but not down.

I've descended Dudley in the rain (summer). It was a long time ago, but I don't recall any undue difficulties.

Probably not any harder when dry...

Doug

I ascended and descended the Dudley Trail from Chimney Pond to the junction with the spur trail to Pamola Caves. This spur trail led to a dead end in this jumble of rocks. The spur trail even loops over itself and for a change of pace it was kind of fun. As for the Dudley Trail to that point we scrambled for twenty minutes up and over boulders as we climbed to the junction in 0.3 mile. The return descending we knocked off in 15 minutes. I never went beyond the cave spur junction up towards Pamola. This hike was done on Sept. 5, 2002 on a sunny & windy day with a temp in the 50s.

I've ascended and descended both Dudley and Cathedral. Cathedral was certainly harder, but both were just some basic rock scrambling. My guess is you'll be fine but take it slowly at the end of a long day.

I descended Dudley last Oct while in the throes of Plantar Fasciitis, it was not fun. Lots of boulders to negotiate. Nothing death defying, just *&$(@ annoying!!

I have gone down Dudley several times over the years. The biggest issue is that it usually comes after a long day of rock scrambling and the knifes edge. Its easy to get psyched out as it looks like its a lot shorter than it actually is when starting out. There is a fair share of buttsliding in spots and definitely it requires using your hands on occasion. I would rate it as easier going down than Cathedral, as it is most dropping from boulder to boulder rather than scrambling on the small stuff on Cathedral.

Thanks for all the helpful replies, everyone. Much appreciated.

Regards,
Marty

Marty:
By the time I got down the Dudley Trail, the seat of my hiking shorts was worn away from all the butt scooting. Not exactly a 'walk in the woods'. It was memorable though!

Trainwreck said:

Marty:
By the time I got down the Dudley Trail, the seat of my hiking shorts was worn away from all the butt scooting. Not exactly a 'walk in the woods'. It was memorable though!

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Thanks Trainwreck!

I will be sure to wear briefs under my hiking shorts, rather than go commando style . Would not want the BSP Park Rangers to haul me away for indecent exposure.

Regards,
Marty

Descending Dudley

We descended Dudley out of necessity, not knowing what we were getting into. I was fine with it, even enjoyed it. Judy on the other hand...

Someone said just use caution after a long day. Best advice given so far. It's just rock-hoppin!

KDT

I hated Dudley, but I think it was a psychological thing... as others have said, it doesn't strike you as a "hard" trail on paper, so you think "I'll save my mental and physical energy for the Knife Edge" and get surprised when it actually is a bit of a butt-kicker. I think the Hunt trail with bigger boulders is an excellent analogy. If you realize you have to actually work to get down (or up) it, it's OK. Having said that, I'd much rather descend Saddle or Hamlin, as I'm way better going up than down in general!

Enjoy. I think I'd rather go down Dudley than, say, drive to work.
Weatherman

If car spotting is possible, I'd vote for descending Hunt. Hamlin would make for a longer day, but one thing I would throw into my thought mix is that I don't like going down the Knife Edge.

erugs said:

If car spotting is possible, I'd vote for descending Hunt. Hamlin would make for a longer day, but one thing I would throw into my thought mix is that I don't like going down the Knife Edge.

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Dudley Trail is a sloping boulder field. Nothing like the Knife Edge--it ends at Pamola summit.

Doug

I've been down the Dudley and wouldn't do it again if possible. When I did it the Baxter map noted that it was NOT recommended for descent. We didn't notice the notation at the time, and got a good laugh when we were down. Wasn't fun.

I'd rather go down Dudley than the Saddle Trail. You'll be fine, Marty.

marty said:

Thanks Trainwreck!

I will be sure to wear briefs under my hiking shorts, rather than go commando style . Would not want the BSP Park Rangers to haul me away for indecent exposure.

Regards,
Marty

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I did my descent in a kilt.

MadRiver said:

I did my descent in a kilt.

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Probably a fine way to descend, unless you are going commando and someone is not ascending from below

Thanks again to everyone for all the replies

Marty

Unrelenting DOWN

I descended the Dudley Trail after going up Cathedral and across Knife's Edge. It isn't a long trail - but the "down" is unrelenting. IIRC, it seemed as if every step required butt scooting - or at least a decent "jump" down. I don't think there were too many times when I could just take an easy step down.

I also remember thinking that I should be getting closer to Chimney Pond with each step down, but it seemed to take much longer than I would have thought. Of course, it came at the end of a long day, I was tired, and had left my last water with folks who had hiked with me and had run out. Unlike many trails, it doesn't level out until you are practically at Chimney Pond!

As has been my experience with Katahdin - there are no easy trails!