The Traveler - August 30th

On Monday, I left the Boston area about 9:00 AM for Baxter State Park. The weather forecast was mixed at best and doubtful at worst. We had had great weather for over a week, but then on Saturday, things had turned cloudy and on Sunday we had some showers.

I had reserved two nights at the South Branch Pond Camp Ground and two at Nesowadnehunk Camp Ground. The first priority was climbing The Traveler, and after that I wanted to climb OJI and the Owl. Then on Saturday I hoped to meet up with a group who would climb Katahdin with Tramper Al, who would be finishing the New England part of the Appalachian Trail.

The Traveler was the last peak on my New England Fifty Finest list - excepting Carrigain, which would be my finish-up-all-the-lists peak that I was saving for Columbus weekend. A couple of weeks ago I had also finished the New England Hundred Highest list (except again for Carrigain). The Traveler also has the distinction of being the only peak on any of my lists that had actually turned me back while I was part way to the summit. Last year I was attempting to climb it with Spencer and Rambler, but cold rain and blustery winds had chased us away when we were about a mile from the summit. So The Traveler was a must.

The Traveler stands apart from the giant mass of mountains around Katahdin and consists of three peaks on a series of ridges forming a U-shaped mass of granite. It is supposed to be the largest volcanic mountain in New England and you might imagine the ridges forming the rim of a giant extinct crater. I’m no expert on volcanoes, but I’d like to know how the volcanic rocks were turned into the hard granite that is there now.

I had to enter the park at the north entrance (which is an adventure in and of itself). You must drive up on I-95 about 20 miles past Medway (the usual Baxter exit) to exit 264 and then follow secondary and then tertiary and then dirt roads for about 20 miles to the gate. I got to the gate about 3:15 PM, got my paperwork checked and then proceeded another 10 miles or so to the camp ground. I arrived there about 4:00 PM. I had passed through a few heavy showers on the way up and the weather looked threatening.

I had reserved a spot at the bunkhouse, and expected a few others would be there, but the camp ground had only a few other groups and I had the whole 8-bunk bunkhouse to myself.

That night it rained, and it poured, with lots of thunder and lightening. In the morning, I planned to go up via the North Traveler Trail , which was an easier climb, so if I had to turn around I’d have an easier escape route. The trail guide recommended starting at the other end (the Center Ridges Trail) but since I was unsure I’d make the whole loop and I didn’t want to have to retreat down that trail, I took the contrarian approach.

I got up at 20 to 6:00, ate some breakfast, and packed for rain. I was later told that over 4 inches of rain had fallen Monday night and the streams were so high that a large group of hikers we stranded at Roaring Brook who couldn’t make it to Russell Pond. I put on my rain gear and got hiking at 6:30

Continued on next note

North Traveler

The first thing I did was to take off my rain jacket. It wasn’t raining and that jacket was just too hot. So it was just heavy boots, gaiters, running shorts and my Coolmax shirt. Bottom heavy, to say the least.

I wasn’t raining, but as I climbed I could see low lying fog in the valleys. The vegetation was soaked and so were my boots rather soon, but the trail was relatively easy. I climbed the steep ledges and rock fields that form the ridge that you see from the shore of the pond. As I mounted this steep face, I found myself on a long, mostly open ridge line leading up to the North Traveler peak. The rock piles were punctuated by Dwarf Birch forests and it was an altogether beautiful walk. But there were rocks, rocks and more rocks. This was an easy climb but very tough on the feet.

As I got higher and higher, I could see that the clouds were in two layers: a high thin layer with patches of blue overhead, and a thick layer hugging the valleys to the east which toped out around 2000 to 2500’.


Bald Mountain to the east, surrounded by clouds

This low lying layer was lapping against the ridge I was on and some of the clouds were spilling through the cols and drifting down to the ponds I had left below.

I reached the North Traveler peak at 8:18 AM and took a little break. This was the first of three peaks with the main peak, The Traveler, coming next. It looked like rain would be no problem today - there were more and more patches of blue above. But my worry was that the clouds below were rising and might eventually reach my elevation and cause a type of white-out, or “fog-out”, if you will. I would not want to navigate some of the rock fields or cliff faces I had climbed this morning with little or no visibility. But The Traveler was there, about 3 miles distant so I pushed on.


North Treveler (seen from The Traveler)

Continued on next note

The Traveler

As I moved down off of North Traveler, the clouds on the east side of the ridge were starting to spill over the col, and this raised my anxiety a bit. The trail between North Traveler, where I was , over to The Traveler and on to Peak of the Ridges, was newly constructed, having been opened only last September. So the part I was starting on was not well trodden. It started with cairns down the south side of the open summit, and within a few minutes I managed to lose the trail twice. The first time was when I was going through an Alpine meadow and the second when going over some rocky ledges. Each time I had to back-track to the last blue paint blaze I had passed, and look carefully for the correct route. What was missing was the ever-present treadway that most trails have, even over open rocks. That unmistakable dirty path, the missing lichen, the broken branches had just not had time to form on this new trail. Maybe doing the loop the other way, which was recommended, would be easier. I don't recall anyone going that way complaining of losing the trail.

When I dropped down from the peak and the trail went through wooded areas, there were no route finding problems, but in the open areas, of which there were many, one had to be very careful and observant.

The ridge drops to a col and then climbs to a long open ridge and then drops again to a second col before the final climb to The Traveler summit. The open ridge consisted of a series of rock fields and ledges punctuated by clusters of scrubby vegetation. I would be very easy to lose track of the trail here so I had to pay careful attention to the blazes. These rocky areas were slow and tiring, but not difficult in a technical sense. Both cols were fairly dense Spruce/Fir forests and having to bushwhack this route would not have been easy.

The final climb to the summit was once again open and rocky. But this summit was rather broad and rounded to the route was quite easy. At 10:20 AM, I at last arrived at The Traveler summit.



It was a good feeling and the views were spectacular. The dense clouds below creeping up, and the partly sunny sky above made the scene all the more dramatic. Katahdin lay to the south, dark and foreboding sitting in a sea of clouds. North Traveler lay to the north and Peak of the Ridges to the west with sunlit summits and clouds crowding around the lower levels. To the far north were the great flat lands of Aroostook County with layers of clouds over lakes and forests and the occasional solitary mountain rising. To the east the land was shrouded in clouds and to the west, some of the smaller peaks led to the Brothers range and to Doubletop.

This was long in coming and it was nice to finally climb this peak solo in such weather. I saw not another soul hinking this day and this seemed appropriate for ths moment.

A new sign had evidently been placed here and a canister was partly hidden in the summit cairn. But it had but one entry – from 1997: “Bushwhacked from Peak of the Ridges – A piece of Cake!”.

Continued on next note

Peak of the Ridges

The traverse from The Traveler to Peak of the Ridges was about half the length of the traverse from North Traveler. But the pattern was the same. Down off the peak, crossing many rock fields and then moving through the dense Spruce/Fir forest in the col. It was here I saw the fox. It looked for a moment like a yellow cat, but too large. Then I could fully see it walking quietly about 10 feet away through the woods. It stopped and looked at me and we made eye contact. It had something in its mouth, probably prey. Then it turned and disappeared. It was a magic moment.

As I was moving across one of the rock fields, I slipped and fell and hit the ground hard. My left butt hurt and I hit the right side of my face on a tree when I hit. I was going neither down nor up a particularly steep section. It was more of a traverse. It may have been a slippery or loose rock, or perhaps my tired legs. But I tried hard to be more careful. This would not be a good place to get a broken bone or a sprained ankle.


Peak of the Ridges in the clouds

The Peak of the Ridges has the most dramatic shape of the three peaks. It has a gradual slope on the north side but a avery steep sheer face to the south. It is probably a glacial effect known as “Roches moutonnées”. Along the narrow ridge top there are a series of pinnacles with a visible vertical structure. This is called the “Little Knife Edge”. A recent report suggested that this was more like the Air Line Ridge on Mount Adams than Katahdin's Knife Edge, but I would beg to differ. Perhaps because I was climbing up the ridge rather than down I found it “interesting”, with at least one exposed stretch where the trail went around the left (south) side of a pinnacle which had a sheer drop-off, whereas most often the trail would pass to the right (north) side which had a gradual slope. It was much shorter, but more like Katahdin's Knife Edge than Adams' Air Line. One might ask, why did they bother blazing the trail along the top of this ridge when it looked like they could have bypassed most of the pinnacles to the south. Maybe they didn’t want to cut a trail trhough the Alpine scrub, or maybe they were just picking the fun route. And it was fun. I just wouldn’t want to be here in the wind and rain – hey wait a minute! I was here in the wind and rain last September!

I reached the summit at 11:49. It was the last of the three rocky peaks and the only one I had climbed before – only this time I could see more than 10 feet in front of my face! I could now see down to the Ponds where I was headed and I could see the long steep ridge which last year I stumbled down in the rain without seeing where I was going. The clouds were blowing across the peak but there looked like there was little danger from them after all. The ridge line was mostly in the sun, and in fact it got rather hot and humid once I got down out of the wind.

I got started down just at 12 noon and I took it very slow and easy. The trail guide cautioned against going down this trail, but at least in the upper sections it was no different than going up or down either of the other two peaks. Just rocks and rocks and more rocks. Perhaps there were more of them but they were the same rocks I had been stumbling over all day. In fact even in the woods there were rocks on this ridge. I saw a Perigrine Falcon flying over with its wild call. I was very tired and this was one time that going down was definitely slower than going up.


Rocks and rocks and more rocks

In the lower third of the ridge, the trail actually got much steeper. The rock fields were replaced by steep ledges and yes this is one place that would not be fun to go down in wet conditions. Somehow, the memory of me doing it last year in the rain seems to have left my memory banks. But today it was just slow going, no real danger.

Once at the bottom I took a short break and enjoyed the view across upper South Branch Pond. Then I made the 1.5 mile trek back to camp along the Pogy Notch Trail. I arrived back just after 3:00 PM. Just over 8 ½ hours. But it was one of the most satisfying climbs of all the Fifty Finest or Hundred Highest, and Washington or Katahdin notwithstanding, it was the wildest and roughest and rockiest of them all.

Continued on next note

Postscript


The South Branch Ponds from Center Ridge

The scene was just lovely chatting with the ranger that evening as the sun shone on the ponds and the peaks surrounding Pogy Notch. The North Ridge and the Center Ridge and the steep flank of South Branch (Black Cat) Mountain across the notch to the west were at last clear and stunning. I slept well that night and got moving about 6:00 AM. And at that very moment the rain started. It would continue non-stop for 36 hours. It was the last hurrah of Hurricane Katrina. My plans for the rest of the week were washed out and I decided to call it quits while I was ahead and spend the Labor Day weekend with my family and grandchildren.

But The Traveler, The Traveler - I did it!

Great report and an "almost there" congratulations! I love those nice dramatic shots with thicks clouds, sunshine, and blue skies. It looked like a true full day.

PapaBear, you ARE the Traveler!

Tyler W

PB- Great post! Photos say it all. I'll make my attempt next week (weather permitting)- but "counterclockwise". Made it to Peak of the Ridges in '95 but my 11-yr old son at the time was incapable of a loop bushwhack. Probably good we didn't from what I've read about the old "trailless" rote. This sounds tough but very doable!

That's just an awesome loop - the best in New England IMO - such a feeling of remoteness. Are you sure the "fox" wasn't a coyote. Something shadowed me parallel to the trail in that same spruce forest...

Gris said:

That's just an awesome loop - the best in New England IMO - such a feeling of remoteness. Are you sure the "fox" wasn't a coyote. Something shadowed me parallel to the trail in that same spruce forest...

Click to expand...

The fox was reddish yellow with a long bushy tail and dark points on the ears, feet and tail. Sort of like this.

Not like this.

I'm back home now so I had a chance to put up the rest of the Traveler pictures. The day started overcast and fog was creeping in much of the day, but still there are lots of good pictures (besides the few I put here in my report).

The Traveler Album

Enjoy.

Oh man, stop! yer making me "homesick" for South Branch!

Papa Bear, thank you for the trip report. I hiked the Travelers this past weekend (thankfully during the one Class I day Baxter had during the four days I was up there), and in clear weather the loop is amazing. Simply one of the best New England has to offer. While on Traveler I even looked around for the canister, but it wasn't to be found. I asked a ranger about it after the hike, but since he was new he didn't know anything about it. But, since there's very much a trail up there it isn't necessary. Regardless, this is an amazingly beautiful hike and is a must for anyone who is able to reach the northern reaches of Baxter.

You took some really nice pictures... Great trip report!

Papa Bear said:

I’m no expert on volcanoes, but I’d like to know how the volcanic rocks were turned into the hard granite that is there now.
Continued on next note

Click to expand...

The Traveler is comprised of Rhyolite which is a volcanic rock. There are places on the mountain where you can see clear columnar jointing... a sure sign of volcanism. I believe the theory is that the rocks comprising the Traveler erupted (volcanic rocks) from a magma body (igneous rocks) that is today exposed as the Katahdin massif.

Traveler

Great trip and photos, Papa Bear!
I have been up North Traveler, and was waylaid, because the blueberries were so yummy! My hiking companion didn't think that I would get to the top, but finally I did! We did this in the afternoon after setting up camp.
We did a separate trip to Center Peak, and there were thunderstorms in the distance and we did not want to rock hop off of Center Peak, so we didn't go to Traveler. That is one rocky trail!
So, this summer I plan to go up to North Traveler and over to Traveler. I may not make the whole loop. It depends on weather, etc.
bogorchis

Fun Facts from AMC

From the Maine Mountain Guide 9th edition pg. 41-42...

"Traveler Mountain is the highest volcanic mountain in New England (3,541 ft.) and possibly the entire east coast. The upper portions of the Center Ridge Trail and "The Traveler" contain large rhyolite talus....

Traveler Mtn. was formed by a volcanic blowout similar to the Mount St. Helens explosion. Traveler Rhyolite is a fine grained and dense granite that is smoother in texture than Katahdin granite. Traveler rhyolite is essentially identical with the rhyolite of the Kineo flint in the Moosehead lakes region."

Interesting! And great pics and report Papa Bear!

Also, Mt. Monroe and Garfield are other great examples of the Roches moutonnées left by the glaciers.

edit: oops! just noticed you included the highest volcanic mtn. tidbit in the TR...hmm, I guess I'll leave it in...