Baxter State Park Update - Many trails closed

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spencer

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Maine Avatar: We could use some snow around here
I just found out that much of BSP is now closed to hiking due to the crazy early season warm up. Abol Slide is mostly snow free (there was about 18 inches two weeks ago) and the Tableland is apparently mush (I guess I got those skis down just in time!), so all south/west trails are closed. They've offered refunds for folks who has Chimney Pond reservations b/c the trail up there is running water and you can't haul sleds.

See the BSP Trails Blog for more info. Be sure to call BSP HQ before you head there if you were planning on playing in the Park.

The new norm?

I was planning on making another Abol climb this Saturday so now I'm scrambling to come up with some interesting alternative
 
It was crazy...went in last friday and it was still pretty good - had to bail out of CP on Tues (was supposed to Wed) because things were getting nasty up there travel wise (ranger was pushing for us to head to roaring brook tues eve)...have been to CP in winter 3 times and never saw what I saw this time around...the Saddle Brook bursted through something and made parts of the CP trail running water and by that I mean mid thigh in places and that was something I never had to deal with - with a sled before....got another skill now! We had to set up a rope on one part to get things across....was kind of fun though - def a baxter adventure LOL...

We made it out yesterday with more or less snow or ice covering 99% of the way out...but there were people sledding in as we were coming out and I was thinking how the heck are these people going to get these sleds out 16 miles on likely 50% of that dry road by the time they were coming out.

was hoping to get a headwall climb in and got to CP on Sunday literally watching waterfalls emerge down the headwall as well as ice chunks crashing down - was able to more or less bareboot the Knife Edge in winter though.... was fun in a different kind of way...didn't suck not freezing your ass off in there for a change.

Just a freak year...and yes I can say for certain that Abol slide is 100% snow free - at least looked that way from the hike out to Abol bridge.
 
With the small bare spots we had to deal with while coming out from Roaring Brook on Wednesday I was glad to be heading out when I was. I felt bad for the groups hauling sleds in because I knew by the next day that the road would be at least half bare ground.
 
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